18 ene 2008

Feeling much better now, enough to get back out on the floor, although to be honest I'm still kind of riding the winter tango blahs. Nevertheless, managed to get some really good practice with A last night. Both of us have not danced much lately and had some rust to work off, but also felt pretty fresh mentally speaking. Worked out a new turn which just kind of came out of nowhere. "That's really nice!" A exclaimed after I repeated it a few times. Had to figure it out after the fact. I love those moments when new things just happen. Although they will never have the purity after that initial discovery. Subsequently, it becomes something "learned" and as such exists as a predetermined part of the repertoire. But that's okay. Always nice to have a different manner of expression.

On Monday I went to one of the "Farewell" milongas for Roberto Riobo at La Cumparsita. At the time I was still having difficulty with my back and only consented to one dance, with M, who just got back into town. We had only danced together on one occasion, and this after several years of missed opportunities. I really like her as a dancer but at times I have a little bit of difficulty because her steps and her resistance are so light, and I think she reads my lead a bit differently than I intend it. At times I completely lose track of where she is, where the weight is on which foot. I think this is all still just a calibration issue and something that will correct itself with mutual familiarity. To be fair, on this occasion we danced to what I found to be a particularly difficult tanda. First off, it was Pugliese, and I may have mentioned this before but though I love his music I CANNOT dance to it, at least not in a way that leaves me satisfied. And this was not easy Pugliese, not the stuff from the 40's. No Mala Junta here. One song in particular was completely unfamiliar, almost all strings, all rubato, slow, no discernible rhythmic underpinning – very elusive. When it was over M and I had a little chuckle over how amorphous it was, how little accessibility it offered to dancers.

Aside from the dance with M I sat and watched, as I usually do. Roberto performed one song which got stretched out to three by audience demand. Always a joy to watch. He's playful and quirky but can also put on his porteño face and project some intensity when he wants to.

This weekend, hope to get out there again. Maybe play around with that new turn a little.