Tuesday 13 February 2007

Sunday Coffee and Tango at 4 p.m.

It's Sunday afternoon. What else would you do as a true milonguero than having a coffee at a milonga. Diana, still not sick of me stepping on her toes, meets me outside the Confiteria Ideal. The people at the entrance look a bit funny at us, but take our money anyway. Maybe it's because we are among the 10 people under 50 years of age at the Ideal... We get our table advised - in the back row - bad seats. Nobody ever would look that direction. And since all invitations to dance happen through eye-contact - it's hard to ask for a dance or invite... Tango is tactics, all tactics.
We have a coffee, the sweetest cake ever - and a tango-waltz. NICE. To help Diana to get invited to dance - I leave the table. It takes but a few seconds and the first fish is hooked. Diana is off with the old guys. I am stuck with the elderly ladies - and it ain't funny. Soon my toes hurt from getting stepped on - and more than half of the time it´s not even my fault! Again, L&&L (my instructors from Trondheim) were right: Dancing with old guys = good, dancing with the mature argentinas = it hurts...
But salvation is waiting just around the corner - a group of Italians enter the milonga - a tango club - all in their 30's. I am able to grab one or two - what a pleasure.

The Ideal is an experience not to miss. At 8 p.m. we leave. Diana is of to a roof party at her hostel - I go and see a tango show 'Tanguera'. NICE and amazing!

On my way home, I guide a group of turistas to my neighborhood, Palermo. First they take me for being Argentinian, but over a beer I explain the story about when and why´s of Germany, Norway, Cuba and the Tango in Buenos Aires (4 times in 4 languages). At 2 a.m. - it's still early for a night in BA - I hit the sack... Tomorrow, 2 classes, (lady´s) shoe shopping, and another milonga are scheduled.

I'm caught in the Tango-LOOP...

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