Skip to main content

Shoes

I tried on, again, my very first pair of proper dance shoes that I had bought early 2010 when Tango started becoming an activity that was very much a part of my life. Back then those shoes were so new, so fitted, and felt to me kinda high. I remember dancing 5 hours straight in them, 1.5 hours of lessons and another 1.5 hours of practica and sometimes Tios after which resulted in stabbing pains at the balls of my feet which I'd try to alleviate by soaking in hot water and propping my feet up.

Now as I try on the discarded pair, I realize something. That rewearing them has pointed out how much more centered I am in my balance and how much more dependent I have become on swivelly 3 inch heels, and also just how big my bunions are. The CIF's are unsalvageable as my foot seems to have outgrown it, but this pair. Yes this pair that had gotten compliments from CIF owners is still wearable and danceable in. Albeit a lot lower this time which might actually make it easier for me to do crazier things in.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2020

Ah 2020. You have been upended in the most ridiculous way possible by a virus that has destroyed every single activity we do for fun, leisure, pleasure, necessity, survival. Because, humans. Was so looking forward to a year of dancing starting with the Taiwan Valentine's Tango Marathon, leading into STM v5, London, Portugal and maybe BA by the end of the year. Guess what! ALL GONE, DESTROYED. It has been a year since I went to a marathon/event. I am probably the saddest I have been when it comes to the dance front. 11 years ago I made it such a part of my identity that it has accompanied me through the years of visiting different cities for work, for holiday, for weddings, for connections, for reunions with exes, for meeting new interests. Shaped my 20's like nothing else has and only grows stronger year after year. 2020 was the reset required. Mentally, emotionally. This relationship with Tango remains my strongest and most developed of my many relationships with many a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Malaysia Prelims & Tango Festival - Musings

Off the back of a weekend that required me to leave work early and sleep cray hours to finally get back into a semi-human mode of work and sleep. Thoughts? When I first started tango, I jumped straight into a Fire & Ice festival in Ann Arbor January of 2010. That was my first taste of a tango festival which was relatively social and a good scene in hindsight. Coming back to Malaysia I've participated in the KL Festival every single year, Singapore festival twice, Taiwan festival once (24 hour on a whim - fuck it all flight), Shanghai festival once. Other than that the flavour of the day nowadays is definitely geared more toward marathons/encuentros, and for a good reason. Festivals in this part of the world are seriously so tipped toward a certain "type" that it is far more worth my money and sanity to go for the social dancing rather than the festival format. Granted, lessons were good, always learning, picking up new things. Competition was, so-so for me, was...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Unselfish Lead

Been putting on the hat of a leader over this past week and enjoying it even more. Yeah I have no idea how to do giros or sacadas, and don't talk about ganchos either, but what I've figured is that as long as musicality is there, as long as connection exists, both parties enjoy it. This has made me wonder about something though-I always thought that leaders were having all the fun at the start-in the sense that the steps that are taken in this dance are dependent on the leaders to have trained and learnt them-as a follower you can follow even if you don't know much about what you are doing, as long as the leader does. All the classes then seem to be about the leader's steps. But then I've also come to realise that, as a leader, you are expected to craft the dance to understand the steps through the viewpoint of the lady, and maybe this is where many teachers don't emphasize enough. That every step you take, you have to realise what signals you are giving ou...
Post a Comment
Read more