I went to the best milonga in the city last night.
I came early and stayed till the very end.
I could not believe the amount of the good time I was having. I had never danced as much at that place as last night. It is mostly frequented by teachers and dancers of similar level, so the crowd is highly selective and competitive.
Of course, last night the demographics were favorably skewed. The festival is going on, and there are visitors. I started the night with three leaders from a famous out-of town tango community. All three were completely different one from another, and all were fabulous dancers. Then a local leader who I had been eyeing for a while finally asked me, and showered me with compliments. After that, several other favorites with whom I do not have a chance to dance often, took me to the floor.
I believe that the lessons of my first teacher kicked in. In general, I felt more connected to my partners, more in control. The music was all classic, very familiar. I am not sure how great my dancing was, looking objectively, but everybody seemed pleased, and I was on a cloud nine.
At some point I sat down next to my friend, and commented to him about how great everything was going for me that night, and how unexpectedly lucky I was getting such fabulous partners there, of all places.
The friend replied. "You so underestimate yourself. You have to know that you are a very good dancer. A star, you will become, perhaps, in two or three years. But right now already, your dancing is great. Everyone dancing with you, if he understands anything about tango, should see that, and realize that you are absolutely special. It is not a compliment. I am telling you the truth. I want you to remember that. You are an amazing dancer."
Listening to him go, I thought I was going to cry. These words meant a lot to me. Having somebody to tell you things like that sometimes is more valuable for your dancing than taking lessons.
I really want to live up to his words.
It was a very happy night.
2010 Update: This post is dedicated to Mari from Texas. May you have lots of happy tango!
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1 comment:
Oh thank you Frances - it sounds like you had such a beautiful night! It makes all the difference when someone says something encouraging like that. We work so hard and for every time our training (if that's the right word) seems to unravel and we can't get anything right - there's a night like that, when it all seems to come together, that makes everything worth it. ((abrazos)) -m
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