July 1-31

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Roko Milonga.  I wasn’t going to go, as I wasn’t needed and it was really hot and my eyelid felt bruised and my eyeball felt swollen (so then I get stressed out about maybe having intraocular pressure and what it all could mean but hoping that maybe it was just a reflection of wearing false eyelashes for 16 hours straight not being a very good idea). And really, other than Felipe de Colorado, there wasn’t anyone I particularly couldn’t wait until next week to dance with.  So I was thinking that it would be a good night to just chill out and rest my eyes.  But then I got the call that I actually was needed. And so I went.  I missed most of the lesson, taught by Robin and Amanda Archuleta on Milonga, but it looked like a good one.  Thankfully, the AC was working well.  I had a fun time.  Felipe de Colorado was there, and we got to dance a bit more.  Floor craft was a bit hairy at times. I didn’t stay too horribly late.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Triangulo Milonga.  It was a hot, sweltering night.  I wasn’t particularly keen on going dancing, but I was kind of a hermit in June and a buddy really wanted me to go. I was also curious since everyone says this is the place to be on Tuesday nights, and everyone is so friendly there.  So I schlepped myself on over.  It was freaking hot and humid on the walk over there, the type of heat and humidity that saps the energy to the bone (at least to my bones). When I arrived shortly after it opened, it was already packed, much more packed than I like to dance in. As I was changing my shoes, and as I glanced over, I saw that Felipe de Colorado was there! Woo hoo!! I thought he had left to go back home the day before, but I was mistaken.  He too, thought it was too hot and crowded to comfortably dance there, so we decided to go to Jesse and Javier’s Sangria practica at Dance Manhattan, just a few blocks away instead.

Arriving at Dance Manhattan, Jesse warmly welcomed us and told us what the deal was (where to put the admission fee, the sangria, the sign-in book, how each room is set up – there is two, one that respects the line of dance, and another one that does as well although a lot more “practicing” and “experimental work” go on in there).  It was very thoughtful of her to personally show us the ropes since neither one of us had ever been there before.

Felipe de Colorado and I had a good time practicing Intensivo stuff, and just generally working on other tango things he knew in general.  I worked on my following.  :o)

Saturday, July 7, 14 and 28

Mariella’s Practica at Dance Manhattan.  As usual, I had an excellent time here.  It seems some regulars are out of town on vacation.  The weather has been warm, but the AC working reasonably well.  Still, it gets pretty humid in there.  The lovely Linda gave me a fan seeing how hot and sweaty I get.  I thought that was incredibly sweet and kind of her.  Susana y Cristobal have been making regular appearances there, so I’ve been having a blast working with them on our Intensivo homework.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

The Ball NY Milonga.  This is a newish milonga, only started last month. I was curious about it since the YouTube videos of the space looked pretty good, and they advertised two rooms, a traditional and an Alt.  So I managed to stay in NYC all afternoon, occupying myself with ever more studying and watching $upercapitalist, a movie at the Asian American International Film Festival (the movie is fantastic, BTW, and set for distribution on August 10 – try to catch it if you can, it’s very entertaining).  The milonga was OK.  It wasn’t super crowded, but had a good group of people so that most folks who wanted to dance, did.  The food was ample (chips, pretzels, fruit, cookies) and there was wine (Franzia in a box).  The floor is nice hardwood.  I am not too sure about the ventilation though, as they had some huge floor fans that were going full blast. Normally, I love fans, but the fabric on my dress was not the heaviest or longest, so I had to be careful about dancing too close to those fans, lest I give all the other milonga goers an eyeful of a lot more than they were expecting. I left early, before the performance, as I was very tired and needed to wake up early.

Sunday, July 8, 15, 22 and 29

Roko Milonga.  I’ve been having a great time there, though generally missing the lesson. Robin has been teaching a lot with Amanda Archuleta, and they’ve been doing a good job.  Mostly focusing on milonga or turns leading/technique and the ocho cortado, including some mind-expanding work on doing the ocho cortado on the other side.  It’s been great. 

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I didn’t dance much at all in July since I was studying like a Mad Woman. The fruits of my labor were not for naught though, as I comfortably passed.  That was a huge relief.  With one more test to go, I’ll still be hitting the books for another month at least.  With any luck, I will pass that test too, grab the final jewel of the trifecta for my crown, and be anointed Rockstar Queen of the Universe. Or something like that. At least in my mind.  ;o)