Tangodurians

Well well well, here we come again to the end of another Tango year in 2019. Granted, this year was a lot more muted for me, just one Tango Prelims Championship, one Fame Tango Weekend extravaganza, one Tango marathon (shit, just one?!). This years tango centered very much around home, no crazy travels (thanks to change in job), no multi-country tango events (thanks to no budget + no time), a smattering of lessons. But internally, centeredness, duende. Next year, Taipei Tango Weekend, Singapore Tango Marathon + Lisbon for food, travels and Tango. Where is my tango this year? 10 years since that fateful day running to Michigan Union in shorts and t-shirt with flipflops, hair wet from a swim on a balmy end of September day, 3 to 4 weeks into the new semester. Not knowing this would kickstart one of my greatest passions in this life. The one that brings me into the world of friendships, arguments, travels and meetings. All sorts of people, friends, acquaintances, annoyances. The ...

Hasta siempre, amor, pasarás de otro brazo y dolerá el fracaso igual que hoy. Farewell, love, you’ll move to another arm and the failure will hurt same as today. Hasta siempre, amor, corazón como el mío, que compartió tu hastío, no encontrarás.Y entre la gente buscarás la mano amiga que te di y sólo así comprenderás que por quererte te perdí. Farewell, love, heart like mine, which shared your distaste, you won’t find.And among people you’ll seek the friendly hand I gave you and only then you’ll understand that for loving you I lost you Hasta siempre, amor, Hoy me sangra el recuerdo como una espina nueva del corazón. Hasta siempre, amor, cuando sueñes conmigo en las noches de frío ya no estaré. Farewell, love, Today the recall bleeds as a new spine of the heart. Farewell, love, when you dream about me on cold nights I will not longer be there. Y no me llames, si me ves a mi también con otro amor, porque es inútil esperar si la esperanza ya murió. And don’t...

Due to the fact that I stupidly booked myself to go to Bangkok on the same weekend as the Tangoexposed, I managed to miss just about all the classes there were that weekend. Would have loved to have taken the ladies technique with Milena Plebs, and I heard that Tani Herrara's folk dance workshop was good too, but oh well, no use crying over spilt milk! If anything that is seriously ANNOYING about dancing in S.E.Asia is this persistant idea of D.I's. WTF. Cannot stand it, this is the only country where I get less dances per night on average, not cool. It remains a serious issue though when girls outnumber guys along the ratio of 5:1. I'm lucky because most of my basics came from Michigan and I know what it's like to dance with a variety of guys, but for those girls starting out here, there just isn't an incentive to be sitting on your butt the whole time for 2 measly dances. Time to start leading! So much more fun. Anyhow, took a class with Delia Hou and Sebasti...

Vagar… con el cansancio de mi eterno andar, tristeza amarga de la soledad ansias enormes de llegar. Sabrás… que por la vida fui buscándote, que mis ensueños sin querer vencí, que en algún cruce los dejé. Mi andar apresuré con la esperanza de encontrarte a ti, largos caminos hilvané leguas y leguas recorrí. Después que entre tus brazos pueda descansar, si lo prefieres volveré a marchar por mi camino de ayer… I havn't poured over tango blogs and critiques in sometime, but as I remember what it was like to discover the dance for the first time, so do I remember what it is like to be so thoroughly entertained by the observations of the people that dance this dance. Not the teachers or world renowned maestros, but the common people that I am more likely to get a dance with somewhere, sometime in the world. The ability to embellish, to express, to connect. A good embrace is like a warm hug, a bed after 18 hours of running around town, early morning gym, day of work...