My One Year Tango Anniversary

Today marks one year since I first stepped foot into Marcelo and Romina's Steppin' Out studio for my first Argentine tango class. I remember deciding I wanted to take Argentine tango so I googled all the possibilities in the South Bay that I could attend the following week. Tuesday was going to be Steppin' Out, Thursday would be Starlite, and Saturday or Sunday somewhere in San Jose. At the beginning of the first class I felt very overwhelmed and lost... this is not easy stuff! But even by the end of the first class, with Marcelo and Romina's style and guidance I was able to feel the connection and feel a sense of small improvement over the course of an hour... I was elated with this newfound activity! Thursday's class was a bit discouraging. I suddenly had to learn this "basic ocho" pattern that is used as a teaching mechanism by some teachers... front, side, back, back cross, yadda. I didn't feel as much of the connection that I had earlier in the week. Then on the weekend I actually forget where I went, but it wasn't for me. I couldn't wait to get back to the Tuesday class the following week... but I only had a couple more classes until they went back to Argentina for a few weeks over the holidays. I was definitely in withdrawal already!

I've been one super lucky gal in many ways:

To have discovered Marcelo and Romina from the beginning... I feel I have a strong foundation from which to work. Some dancers have been dancing for years and don't walk away with these essential fundamentals, only to discover and learn them later. I highly recommend them as teachers, and they are also just super nice and approachable people. They teach Monday nights at Alberto's club in Mountain View, but also teach weekly in San Francisco, Walnut Creek, and Lafayette (and no they didn't pay me to advertise for them hehe). Still lots to learn though and work on.

I was also blessed to have been asked and persuaded to be Martin's dance partner after only having danced 6 weeks. It was funny having this experienced dancer trying to sell himself to me and telling me why I was gold to him. His years of experience and expertise on both the lead and follow helped me progress at a rapid pace and helped mold me into the dancer I am now. I couldn't have asked for a better situation as a newbie! I remember I didn't even know the names of steps so I'd have to ask how the step goes where he hits my leg and then it goes around in a circle from front to back, or that thing where my leg whips back and then forward. We had some funny conversations, but he was extremely patient and accommodating and still is.

I remember being really nervous going to milongas by myself last December. I was on my way to Tarragon milonga for the first time, but when I arrived I discovered I'd left my wallet at home! Not having really met anyone in tango yet since it'd only been a couple weeks I didn't know anyone I could borrow money from so I had to drive back home to get my wallet. After retrieving my wallet, I remember driving back to Tarragon thinking, "what the hell am I doing?" See, usually I am not a very social person, but with tango I started to become more social. I kind of had a reality check that night though and almost didn't go back to the milonga... me, being social? and dancing with all these strangers? What had I gotten myself into? Oh, and since it was December, it was also my birthday month, so they had this birthday waltz. I remember boldly going up to the front to help blow out the candles and then was told that people would take turns dancing a Vals with me. A vals?! I only knew a little tango, and quickly whispered to the first guy, "sorry, I don't know waltz, only tango" to which he replied, "you'll be fine... just follow me" and it was alright. Of course now I know that tangos consist of the tango, vals, and milonga :)

For New Year's Eve, I dragged myself alone to Alberto's New Year's Eve milonga. That night was amazing though. I met some dear groups of people that night who have stood by my side as friends to this day. Suddenly I went from being awkwardly alone to gabbing it up with a bunch of gals. Then it was 2009.

For my one-year celebration, everyone was busy, so I went to Cell Space by myself. At first I just sat there, but then after the first tanda I kept getting asked by guys to dance and got a good 2 hours of almost solid dancing in which was great. The music is so-so (not the classics I'm used to) but everyone is friendly and nice there, and since it wasn't as crowded as usual, we could use the space more which was nice. I'd only been to Cell Space once before and it was enormously crowded. I remember several times my foot would wind up off the main floor since we were pushed to the outermost edges of the dance floor!

I can't say things just came easily to me. I put in a lot of hard work, and so did my teachers and dance partner, Martin. From the very first week I danced 4 or 5 times a week, going to every class or milonga I could find in the southbay. The multiple classes quickly got replaced by practice time with Martin. Now I'm taking privates with my teachers twice a month and practicing once or twice a week, plus going to 1 or 2 milongas a weekend. The hardest thing is probably finding balance in my life. So many of us get bitten by the tango bug and it is such a friendly addiction that we don't notice other things in life passing us by. Tango becomes our world. Actually the hardest thing is probably finding tango shoes that fit my feet, but that aside, it's been an incredible year for me and I look forward to another exciting and eye-opening year.

Keep your friends close, but your tango shoes closer :) Breathe, relax, connect, and have fun! See you on the dance floor...