7 mar 2008

Time off can be a very good thing. I was getting to that point where tango was feeling like an obligation, the "I told x that I'd be at The Beat tonight but if I had my druthers..." So not much dancing lately. Last Saturday I went to The Late Shift a few hours after a leg workout. Bad idea. Immediately into my first and only tanda of the evening I felt myself collapsing into simple side steps. Afterward, I decided it was a night for watching and listening. It felt like a light night attendance-wise but the energy was good and the general level of dance was high.

Since then I have not gone out to dance socially, although last night was the weekly practice with A. It was one of those nights where we didn't focus so much on form as with exploration. Many things I had worked on and forgotten through my tango history suddenly reappeared and they had a kind of alien familiarity. I was happy to welcome them back into the fold and will try not to neglect them so much in the future.

Skip back to Sunday, Shorey's music lecture and workshop at the Finnish Hall. She talked about the evolution of orchestras, mostly focusing on Di Sarli and D'Arienzo and how they changed between the 20's to about the 50's. Some fascinating information, and things I had only a vague knowledge about (like the cause of Di Sarli's eye problems, apparently from a gun accident when he was young). Anybody who has an interest in delving deeper into the music (and that should be EVERYBODY) would do well to check out these lectures. I think they will be a monthly thing.

Tonight, Trio Garufa at Ashkenaz. Should be a blast. Also, my good friends Negracha and Diego are back in town. They are elegant, classic dancers and really friendly people. If you're interested in seeing/learning a very pure form of tango check them out.