September 21-28

Saturday, September 24, 2011
Otra Milonga @ Basic Ballroom with lesson beforehand by Claudio Villagra & Romina Levin. I was looking forward to this lesson and got ready and out the door in ample time to make it. However, the Metro-North did not get that memo and so was not cooperating. The express train was 13 minutes late, which is an entire lifetime when it comes to express train schedules. Thankfully though, they didn’t bother collecting fares from any of us to compensate. With a hot extra $7.85 in my pocket, I decided to take a cab, and the fare turned out to be $6 and change, so I gave him $8. So it all worked out that I got to the lesson on time.

Maestros taught in BsAs style with showing us a bit of a sequence and then us trying to do it, with them going around to provide individual feedback.

The sequence was a side step (Leader’s left, Follower’s right) to a Follower left foot forward step, then immediately back in a rock step to a Follower right foot side step while Leader does a right foot front cross weight change into a Leader left foot side step on the Follower’s left foot back step (back ocho), to a right foot back ocho, to left foot side step while Leader does lapice, to do a right foot parada after the Follower’s right forward step to pivot. For the Follower’s rock step to right foot side step, she needs to make each of the steps elegant and not clunky or floppy.

Next, maestros changed the sequence. Side steps (Leader’s left, Follower’s right), into a Leader’s left foot sacada of the Follower’s right foot trailing foot during her left foot forward step during her counterclockwise molinete.

Next, they gave us another little big with an Americana promenade with both Leader and Follower having left foot forward steps.

Maestra's philosophy on ocho is that they don’t need to militaristically collect at the ankles during each leg passing. Instead, they should be more rounded and open-ended a little.

It was a good class, and we got attention from both Maestro and Maestra, even though the class was packed (more Leaders than Followers later on).

It seems that everyone and their cousin got the memo that this was THE milonga to be at on this night, because it became even more packed. The room is spacious. Interestingly, the floor is Pergo, but it was roughed up and the slick finish spanked down, which made for a very nice surface to dance on (in my opinion, the regular out-of-the-box Pergo is a little too slick for social dancing, but OK for classes). Though there were window air conditioners and ceiling fans, the room got quite humid and warm, and that was in the early part of the evening during class. After dancing just a few tandas, it got extremely humid and hot, too much for my liking.

Then it was announced that the upstairs alt room was open. So I ventured up and stayed most of the night. Though it was a smaller room, both window air conditioners work well and were set at a perfect 60 degrees. It was also only sparsely attended, so there was ample room to dance and very amusing to people watch. Later on, they announced that the performance would start soon, which effectively shepherded us all downstairs to the main room again.

After coming from the comfortable confines of the adequately AC’d Alt room, when we got to the door, the heat and moisture hit us like a wall and we were entering a steam room. The milonga was just finishing up the milonga tanda, and after that a mini salsa tanda. So basically, the room was sweltering. Thankfully, since the Alt room dancers were tipped off about the performance, we were able to get seats to cool our heels and comfortably watch the 3-song performance, which was great.

After that, the person I danced with in the Alt room had to go, and so I stayed in the main sweltering room. I danced a few tandas, and soon it was 1:00 a.m., time for me to go to grab a bite (I started to bonk, but didn’t want to eat any of the snacks there since by the time I got to the table, the only things left were white-flour derivatives: pretzels, cookies, cakes, sugar wafers, oreos, etc.) and make the walk back to Grand Central in time for the last train home.

I didn’t realize this since I cabbed it there, but Basic Ballroom is quite close to Penn Station, so there were lots of food places open 24 hours in the area. I passed by White Castle, which I had always been curious about, but it was packed with a lot of people waiting for their orders, and I didn’t want to risk missing my train, so I just kept walking. Thankfully, I found a Halal cart still open. So I had my usual Lamb Salad (basically, it’s a lamb plate only without the rice). It was a longish way back to Grand Central, but the weather was comfortable and balmy, and since I had ample time to get there, I was able to stroll without pressure.

It was a very nice night, one of the best times I’ve had thus far at a NYC milonga, despite the sweltering conditions in the main room (which is shocking and a miracle that I can write that).

Sunday, September 25, 2011
RoKo milonga with lesson beforehand by Robin Thomas and Jenna Rohrbacher. I got there a little late, and the lesson was already in progress with work on forward ocho technique with a focus on disassociation (keep your nose to the mirror). They also worked on side steps, taking big ones, and making smooth and complete weight transfers. Then we went into the sequence. We began with a basic side step (Leader’s left, Follower’s right), with Follower matching Leader’s size of step. Then we changed it whereby the Leader pivots the Follower such that instead of a regular right foot side step, her leg/foot actually turns so that it is more like a right foot forward step. Here, she practices disassociation, so while her lower body is at a forward orientation, her nose is still toward the Leader to maintain connection. Then the Leader leads the Follower to do a left foot forward step around him, and then a right foot forward ocho in front of him. There was much discussion on the detail of Leader torso rotation/torsion and footwork. The Follower should not do any of these steps automatically, but should wait for the lead to make the turn, make the forward step, etc. Follower should not step forward without the lead. And in her steps, she should extend the leg before transferring the weight, and not be clunky and uncoordinated. Jenna reiterated that the motion is reaching, then extending, then transferring the weight by pushing off the standing, supporting leg, and being slow and deliberate, trying to remain on the standing leg as long as possible. Follower needs to stay connected to the Leader, and her right arm needs to collapse when she does her forward ochos. She needs to really turn her hips perpendicular to the Leader. Here is where my notes end, which just goes to show I got lazy as the rest of the sequence and lesson really focused a lot on what the Leader needs to do with respect to his chest rotation, torsion and footwork. The sequence had a nice little Leader colgada-like ending to it, but sadly my brain turned off by then, although I do recall that the Follower had to be able to be in balance, pivoting on one foot as the Leader went around her in his colgada-like movement. It was a good lesson. Too bad I wasn’t particularly mentally focused.

The milonga was not the greatest, on account of the extreme humidity. Basically, after the first few tandas, we were all hot sweaty messes, despite the air conditioning. I left pretty early, as I just wasn’t fun to dance with extremely wet, sweaty people while being sweaty myself.

So what am I excited about these days?
Oliver Kolker workshops October 1-2. OMG, I feel so lucky to be able to take his workshops ($35 for each 2-hour workshop).
Homer and Cristina Ladas in NYC October 14, 15, 16; Northampton October 21, 22, 23; and Providence October 28, 29, 30 with costume-themed milongas. I am SO there!


L'shanah tovah to all who celebrate it!

September 7-20

Saturday, September 10, 2011
Practilonga-939 @ RG Studios. The walk to this practilonga from Grand Central, though a bit long, is very eye-candy rich, going through the Diamond District (thank God all the stores were closed, otherwise it might have taken me hours to get to the studio, if I ever made it at all), Times Square and the half-price ticket booth, up Broadway through the theatre and music district, all the while passing by many historic buildings (or buildings that housed historic companies).

I got there early enough to take the special premilonga lesson, taught by Juan Marchetti y Natalia Manca from Buenos Aires on turns with sacadas and ganchos ($20). The lesson prior to that was on close embrace volcadas ($35 if you took both lessons). Since I am comfortable with where I am with volcadas, I decided to take just the lesson on sacadas, figuring it would (should!) have more Leaders than Followers, and since I wanted to keep working on my turns, lest they go to pot. When I got to class (a little late as the walk took longer than expected), there was only one other couple and one single leader, happily one of my favorites.

I don't believe Maestros spoke any English, so if you did not speak Spanish, it probably wouldn't have been the most enlightening of lessons. They taught in BsAs style, where they demonstrated a step, and then expected the students to do it. They then added to the step, turning it into an interesting, challenging sequence. Our sequence involved many technically difficult things for the Leader: his lapice while still leading the Follower molinete, to a weight change, to a right foot gancho the Follower on her open step, a front cross for him into a quick weight change to a left foot sacada of the Follower’s trailing leg, a right foot gancho into his own right foot bolero, to lead Follower to do a back ocho, and then left foot back boleo to a left foot forward boleo, out to close. So there was a lot for our bodies and brains to work on.

It was an OK, but not great class. I had an OK time because I was able to partner with a Leader I know and like to dance with, so we got along well (still politely). But the room was on the warm side, and quite humid, despite the fans and window air conditioning unit. Plus I wore a dress so had to go back and forth to get my notebook to take notes (that was my fault, certainly not the Maestros’ or organizer's). Since the class was so small, it was more like a group private. Maestros had lots of instruction and tips for my leader, whereas I got no commentary or instruction (basically for the sequence, the Follower’s part was molinetes, back ochos, and back steps). That was OK though, I just really wanted to work on my molinete technique, and I was really focusing on how Luciana Valle taught me to do them.

The milonga started out pretty slowly after that, and I had my doubts on whether I should stay or go to the Manhattan Ballroom Dance party ballroom dance party instead. I decided to stay for a while to see how things worked out, and luckily for me I was able to dance with an amazing leader – the best one I’ve experienced yet in NYC! Though I didn’t quite catch all that he threw at me, I think we danced well together overall. Because of the humidity, we had to stop and dry off after our first tanda. Then we danced again, and again it was amazing. Then he had to go. :o(

After that, more people arrived for the milonga. While the overall technical skill level turned out to be mostly high, the friendly warm and fuzzy quotient was lacking. Maybe that comes with the territory…when you get better and better, you want to dance with fewer and fewer people. I never noticed that in San Francisco since I had been part of that community for years, but being the new girl in town, I can see how NYC is not the warmest, most open place for newcomers (maybe I should qualify that with newcomer Followers since newcomer Leaders, as long as they don’t truly suck, are usually welcomed with open arms everywhere). Or maybe it's a NY cultural thing, where folks are a little more reserved and suspicious and avoid eye contact with strangers.

And oddly, even though the overall technical skill level was high, the floor crafting was lacking. It’s not that there were huge crashes, but there were many times when couples would get backed up and bunched up on one side of the room when there was ample space to utilize all four sides of the room. It was surprising and bizarre how often this happened and extremely unexpected from a group with high technical skills.

Tete had a very interesting comment about which communities he thought were the best in the U.S. when I asked him a few years ago. He did not mention New York City or San Francisco, and I got the impression that both places were far down on his list (though I think San Francisco has improved a lot since then). He mentioned several cities, and he considered them “best” based on their musicality and floor crafting (basically how well they connected to the music and to each other), not the level of their technical skills. Very specifically, he mentioned the "lack of maturity” of several communities that lots of folks (but not him) considered “the best”. He did not mean the relative age of the dancers or how long the community had been around, but of the overall mindset of the dancers (me versus us, performing and doing showy things on the milonga dance floor versus dancing elegantly and simply so that everyone on the pista had a good time and so that the tracks would flow evenly and rhythmically). I am finding that he is right. After all, isn’t the whole point of community to be able to dance with everyone and get along on the dance floor?

I danced a reasonable amount, but the room was very humid, despite the window air conditioner. After the three-song performance by Maestros, which was fantastic (but which left them dripping as well), I had my last tanda. During that dance, I found the floor to be very difficult to pivot on compared to my earlier dances, and I speculate it was because of the humidity (environmental and maybe because we were all hot sweaty messes and dripped on the floor).

Foodwise, it seemed to be a potluck of sorts with folks contributing bottles of wine (with price stickers still on), and random food (cherry tomatoes, butter-flavored corn puffs, apples, and home-made cookies (oatmeal walnut? They were delicious.).

Sunday, September 11, 2011
Milonga RoKo @ Dance Manhattan Ballroom. I got there early as I was looking forward to taking the lesson. Unfortunately, the sign on the door said the lesson was cancelled. So instead, I scoped out the neighborhood a little, wandering into H&M and Duane Reade to pass the time.

The milonga started out a bit slowly, and a friend speculated that maybe people were spooked by all the September 11 warnings and decided to stay home. The milonga soon filled up though, so it became quite packed. I was able to dance several fun tandas, but after things got too close for comfort, I decided to go.

Friday, September 16, 2011
Tango Lounge @ Dancesport. I got there too late to take the lesson, taught by Tamara Bisceglia & Federico Paleo. The milonga for me was just OK, not great. I didn’t get any tandas that knocked my socks off and there were ample followers there. So I left on the early side, just after the performance, which was great. And I am glad I stayed for it, since I missed it at RoKo the Sunday prior (but thankfully YouTube captured the RoKo performance):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6w60cfha-s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkvHPRwOH1M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC53sqxkmZk

Saturday, September 17, 2011
Robin Thomas’s Nocturne @ Dancesport with lesson beforehand by Jaimes Fridgen and Christa Rodriguez. The purpose of the class was to challenge us. We began with a warm-up dance. Then we were given the salida basica (8CB) to work on, doing it together without arms. We were to step in any way we want, timingwise, but we were to do only those steps of the 8CB in the line of dance. For both dancers, this would be an exercise in concentration and balance. This step would require many weight changes, and working the pattern without arms would illustrate our own default habits (sometimes bad). Our goal was to make our 8CB smoother, and keep the line of dance flowing and not pass each other. We were also to stand up straight and the leader should not lean/crouch over their partner, and neither dancer should curve their bodies weirdly. We drilled this some more, just working the 8CB with no arms, because apparently we looked pretty bad. Our goals were to have better posture (stand up straight), and make every step in sync together. There could be a slight favoring toward the of the open side of the embrace to make us more connected. We drilled this some more.

Then we added the embrace and drilled some more, just the 8CB.

Then, while in the embrace, at 2 we were to let our arms open up as if they were wings, and then after a few steps fold the arms back down and into the embrace. This was to help us dance with our entire bodies, having the whole dance in our bodies, all the way out to our fingertips.

Our next challenge was to focus on the musicality of the 8CB. Tango music is in quarter notes. We all counted out together to 8 over and over again so that we could all be on the same page, musically speaking. Then we added the break on 5, with 6, 7, and 8 being quiet or silent. For our exercise, we would do the 8CB with each beat, specifically not rushing to or out of the cross. We drilled this.

Then we were to dance the 8CB with the specific phrasing of the leader stepping back on 7, which would cause the Follower to land the cross on 7 as well if we were doing our crosses correctly for this exercise (i.e., in a controlled manner and not rushing to or out of it). The point of this was because lots of orchestras end their songs on the 7, so we were hoping to get that pretty ending with the leader’s back step (almost like a rock corte).

We had various orchestras for the evening. Among them, D’Agostino and Calo.

The lesson was good. I did not switch from my partner, a buddy of mine, even though there were more leaders in class. The reason was that, due to the subject matter, I just was not that comfortable dancing chest to chest with no arms with a couple of the leaders there, and several of the other leaders… well, honestly, they are not leaders who make newcomers (me!) feel welcome and accepted (meaning they have never asked me specifically to dance in any of the milongas I’ve been to, even though I’ve been around for weeks and have tried to make eye contact with them – many of the leaders here are excellent at uncabaceoing, and many just dance with the same few followers all night)… so, why would I want to work the class material with them? Granted, maybe I am reading them all wrong, maybe it’s just the culture here… but I was happy to leave them to work the class material with their “usual” follower partners, who were nowhere to be found at this class (guess they were just way too cool for school).

The milonga itself was very fun, the most fun I’ve had in a while. My buddy told me I HAD to go to it, because all the GOOD dancers went to it. I was skeptical in the beginning, but came around to agree that, technically speaking, as a whole the dancers were generally above average. I danced with several people I had never danced with before (turns out, all visitors from Europe, all excellent dancers) and the usual people I dance with (so no new locals).

I started to bonk around midnight, so planned to leave after Jaimes & Christa’s performance. But then Robin Thomas announced that there would be another special performance around 1:00 a.m., and another buddy of mine and I figured out it would be Veronica Palacios and Omar Quiroga. So of course I had to stay for that, and of course it was outstandingly brilliant.

Happily, Robin Thomas announced that next month’s Nocturne teachers will be Homer and Cristina Ladas. So any SF Bay Area folks needing an H&C fix should come on out for that. H&C mentioned that they are going to do a series of workshops in NYC (as part of their East Coast tour which will also include Northampton and Providence). I don’t have the exact details, but they mentioned the idea of two workshops each on both days the weekend of October 15. :o) I’m looking forward to the NYC, Providence, and Northampton classes, as it will be nice to get some more lessons into the tangostudent notebook.

But then I really, really had to go after that, as I didn’t want to miss the last train out of Dodge. It turned out to be an excellent bargain night: for $12, I got a quality lesson, several hours of good milonga dancing, and two top-notch performances.

Sunday, September 18, 2011
Milonga RoKo @ Dance Manhattan Ballroom. I got there too late for the lesson so can't comment on it. The milonga itself was fun, the most fun I've had at a NYC milonga in a while. It was crowded, but not excessively so. Floorcrafting was reasonably OK, with at least the outer track somewhat mostly in line with no speeders/passers. (One of the things that bugs me about NYC floor crafting is that when there are bumps [even though they are gentle and small], no one ever apologizes, which just seem downright rude to me.) Anyway, back to the good parts... I danced with several new people (half visitors, half local), excellent dancers. Someone complimented me, and my "sensible" dancing. Not sure what that meant, but I accepted graciously.

August 22 - September 6

Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tango In Colors Milonga @ Colors Restaurant. I wanted to go to this milonga the week before, when it first opened, but I got swamped at work and was just too tired afterwards. And after being underemployed for the last three years, it thrills me that I can write something like that.

I checked out the web site for Colors restaurant earlier that afternoon. It's run by a bunch of folks displaced by the September 11 World Trade Center bombing. Their menu is local, sustainable, made by folks making a decent life wage with ownership stakes in the restaurant, etc. In short, this is an ideal-values restaurant, a feel-good kind of place, kind of like Delancy Street meets Chez Panisse. Prices are reasonable, and so I wanted to have a meal there.

Amazingly just two days after Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene, the trains were all up and running on normal schedule. Arriving at Grand Central at 6:30 p.m. was again harrowing and stressful, and I was thankful to reach the relatively safe confines of the subway to catch the 6 to Astor place. Emerging from the subway station, I spied a very interesting food truck: that of GoBurger. My God, it was the biggest food truck I had ever seen. And sleekest. And most gorgeous. If Cadillac made food trucks, it would look like the Go Burger truck. The smells emanating from the truck tickled my nostrils. Curious, I had to have a peek at the menu. Burgers started at $5, and the sides were around $5 as well. One intriguing side was their Vidalia Onion Rings. I thought really hard about buying a burger and rings instead of having a meal at Colors, but I resisted temptation and crossed the street instead, onto my destination.

The Tango in Colors milonga happens 6-11 p.m., with a lesson from 6-7. On this night, Ana Padron and a man whose name I didn't catch were the teachers. Since most of the folks in the lesson were beginners, they did very simple things like walking together, connection, and working on the line of dance with instructions not to pass any other couple, but to stay in place and do simple things if the couple in front of them was not moving. So I think it was a good lesson, though I did not participate in it since there were several extra beginner followers.

The restaurant's happy hour is 5-8 p.m., which gave me time to sample some of their bar nibblies as I knocked back my free glass of sangria included in the milonga entrance fee. There were four $5 appetizers at the bar available: Argentine meatballs with chimichurri sauce, chicken lollipops, fried calamari, and sweet fried tofu. I chose the meatballs (since I was curious about how well they might do Argentine meat and chimichurri) and calamari (because it's a bar staple and I am sure I am an excellent judge having had this dish in more place than I care to count). The 6 melon-ball size Argentine meatballs were decent, likely made with full-fat beef (and not the lower fat ground meat that I am used to), and served on a bed of "fresh herb" chimichurri, which was more like a very finely processed pesto (very different from the chunky, leafy chimichurri sauces I've had in BsAs). Though the chimichurri was unconventional, it was delicious. The calamari was good too, with the coating nicely covering all the pieces with no wet or excessively doughy clumps. Seasoning was fine, and the dish came sprinkled with a fresh tomato relish, which I thought was a nice touch. Instead of a little bowl of tartar sauce, the calamari was served atop a bed of it. I ended up finishing the meatballs first, and then finished off the rest of the calamari, dipping it in the chimichurri sauce. I also partook in a happy hour glass of wine, also $5. When the bill came, I was pleasantly surprised that each dish and the glass of wine were $4.59 each, so with tax, it all came to $14.99. I thought that was a nice touch for $5 to really mean $5, and not $5 means $5.50 with tax.

At the bar, I got to chat away with some other patrons. Apparently, at the opening milonga the week prior, the place was packed. So regretfully, I missed another packed opening day (same as the Purple Orchid milonga). Folks slowly streamed in for the milonga, many of them women, and many of them content to have a meal there as well. Tango royalty showed up, and it was super fun watching Facundo Posadas and his wife social dance the night away. Dancing for me was just OK. The crowd was on the light side, there were a lot more followers than leaders, and many couples did not switch partners. So I ended up dancing with two people the entire night, putting in several tandas. The highlight of the evening for me was meeting a super-fun Brazilian tanguera who is fluent in Spanish, so she could sing a lot of the song lyrics. She has a beautiful voice, knew all the words, and could translate their meaning into English for me. I told her she should join a tango band, as I am sure they could use her as a singer, and recommended she start with Malena. She sat next to the DJ, and I sat next to her, and we spent a good part of the night playing Name That Tune, impressing each other with our respective knowledge/guesses of songs and orchestras.

After I left the milonga, I saw the Go Burger truck was still there, so I succumbed to the call of Vidalia Onion Rings. I asked the gal if they were TRULY vidalia onions, and she said that that's what they were labeled. I am no stranger to Vidalia onions, having first eaten them in the early 1990s, shipped directly from Vidalia, Georgia in the summer, so I would know if they weren't. As I waited for my order to cook, other folks came up and ordered, so it seemed the truck did a very brisk business. Finally, my rings were ready. I bit into one of them, and they were good, but not great (as I was hoping because I love Vidalias). I don't think Vidalias are actually the best onion to use for onion rings, as their texture is a little softer, and their taste is sweeter. That being said, it was an excellent execution of an onion ring with the coating nicely adhered to the onion (doncha just hate it when you bite into an onion ring and you get a mouthful of coating with attached onion, as the onion pulls away from the coating and out of the center of the ring because of its tough membrane?). I only ate a few, and threw the rest in my bag to save for later on. The next morning I snarffled the rest of them up without reheating. Overall, I think they are a tad too sweet for onion rings. But it does cause one to pause and consider other possibilities like Walla Walla sweets or Maui sweets, but they don't carry quite the same recognition as Vidalias.

Saturday, September 3, 2011
Mala Leche milonga @ Club 412. Unfortunately, time got away from me and I missed the lesson. I hoofed it over here, near Penn Station, from Grand Central, and I marveled at all the 24-hour restaurants I passed by.

The milonga itself is both traditional and nuevo, as there are two mid-size rooms, one for each, separated by the entrance area where they take the fees and serve the food and drinks (water and wine). They also have access to the swing room across the hall, although on this night there was no swing party, unfortunately. I was looking forward to it.

I got there on the early side, so saw the tail end of the lesson. Then I made my way over to the Nuevo room. Adam Hoopengardner was the DJ, and lucky me, he asked me to dance straight away, and for a milonga tanda! Since it was early, we had plenty of floorspace. This was not the first time I had danced with him (the other time was at Cafe Cocomo when he was in SF teaching with Luiza Paes), and I feel I did better this time around. They had not yet turned on the air conditioning in that room, so after our tanda, I was sweating and needed to rest. Interestingly, the air conditioning units were just like the ones in BsAs -- those ones mounted on the top of the walls that are about 4 feet long.

So I moseyed on over to the traditional room, where the dancers seemed to have a good time. I danced with a couple of my local favorites. After that though, my dances were few and far between. So sadly, what had started out as a brilliant milonga for me soon fizzled out to kind of boring. I left on the early side (at least for this milonga, which goes until "last man standing"), though I had warned my roommates earlier in the night that I might not get back until morning, as I might miss the last train and have to take the first one out instead. My hopes were THAT high for this milonga. Too bad it didn't work out. But I was thankful that the Halal food cart out front did not close until 2:00 am, and it served a delicious lamb salad (same as lamb over rice, only no rice) dish, and I believe the chef gave me a lot more lamb than normal. So I am glad I didn't get completely dolled up for nothing.

Sunday, September 4, 2011
Milonga RoKo @ Manhattan Ballroom Dance. I missed the lesson, unfortunately, as it was taught by visiting maestros Alberto Catala & Belen Montell, who teach at Salon Canning on Monday nights. I do wish the local tango calendar had better details regarding the special visiting teachers of the premilonga lessons.

The milonga was very crowded, as it seemed everyone was happy to be dancing on this Sunday of a holiday weekend, especially after last Sunday post Irene. I danced with the usual folks I like to dance with, but no one new, unfortunately. I had intended to leave, as it got too crowded for me, and the floorcraft was lacking. To top it off, there was a raver party going on one floor below, so not only could we hear the monotonous music blaring, but we could feel the pulsating bass thumping up through the floor. So it made for a very jarring, annoying milonga experience, and a major distraction in connecting with the tango music.

But surprisingly, maestros did a performance (RoKo doesn't usually have performances). It was excellent, one of the best I had seen in a long time. So I am glad I stayed the extra 10 minutes to watch their three-song performance.