I had taken a break from tango classes over the summer just to free up my schedule and pursue other interests. When I returned three months later in September, I was a little rusty, but quickly got up to speed. I’m such a busybody that I had not managed to attend a milonga until last night–in mid-November.
Outside of the safe, predictable confines of tango class, my dancing ability truly buckled. I danced less graceful than a dancing bear. Jumping back into tango class was just like riding a bike, but the more appropriate cliche for dancing at a milonga would be “practice makes perfect.”
Sometimes I feel that I spend far too much time planning my personal schedule. I even plan to relax, which is a good thing because some other busybodies don’t even do that. Now, I’m concerned about scheduling more tango time, especially since a huge tango event is rapidly approaching over Thanksgiving weekend, which will bring people from other states and countries.
Last year, I took three days of tango workshops during the festival, but emerged a worse dancer due to information overload and I felt like a zombie. This year, I’m only going to the Saturday night milonga along with the tango show by the master instructors. I’m definitely going to enjoy my 5-day Thanksgiving vacation, reading, writing and catching up on a few things that I’ve been neglecting.
Yet, I plan to attend another milonga or two before the great event just so I can shine more. If anything, I want to be as comfortable expressing my musicality as I do with salsa. Stiff dancing like I have a stick up my butt is not going to work well at the tango festival. I think some guys asked me to dance last night because we take classes together. Toward the end of the night, I was one of the few options some guys had to dance with. Even if that was not exactly true, I certainly felt like the last kid picked for the kickball team.
At least I got to practice and socialize with some people I had not seen in awhile. I plan to be more than a social butterfly at the next milonga.