Providence's 30 hours 2007 New Year milonga

Yeap, 30 hours. Well, I "only" made it through 22 hours out of the 30. I guess I'll have to do better next time...

So, over all it was really awesome. I think... Some parts are a bit of a blur ... but here are the highlights :

The Dec 31st evening/night felt like a "regular" all night milonga. I went dressed with my grey straight cut pants, a white fitted shirt (un-tucked) and my tail coat. Yes, I wore a tailcoat I bought on eBay a month ago. It (or should I say "I") looked pretty sharp. I left at 6AM and crashed when I got home.

I was back there around noon for the "brunch". This was the coolest part, people were dancing and taking breaks to talk and eat, some people were sleeping on whatever horizontal surface they could find and the music was a combination of clasic and alternative music. There was enough space on the floor for me to dance without getting stressed with navigation so despite the exhaustion, I think my dancing on the 1st was much better then the dancing the night before. The "brunch" time kind of blended into the evening and around midnight I was too tired to even stay awake so I left. I wore my black flared cords (really flared) and a white linen shirt, a pretty cool outfit. However, all that "coolness" came at a cost. I kept stepping on my own pants which caused some ... err... trouble a couple of times. I know I should hem them higher, but they look really, really good when they drape all the way to the floor, so I think I'll just keep them as they are. A rather small price to pay I would say ...

I have to mention just a few of the women I danced with. A from D, R from P, D from NY and S from NY, they are all amazing dancers and dances like that are the reason I keep spending this much time and money on tango.

S was dancing just for a year and not very often as she has other obligations, yet she is one of the best dancers I know. Like all the other dancers I mentioned in this and other posts, she really understands that tango is about the connection and communication, not about the steps or figures. At some point we danced maybe 4 or 5 tangas in a row, I was getting tired and one of my toes was killing me but I kept going because I did not want to break the "magic". Interestingly enough, last time when I went to the Chelsea Market milonga around Christmas she was there, but we didn't meet until she came to Providence. Since she lives in NY I'm sure we'll get to dance again soon, as I'm planning to go to NY on regular basis.

Dancing with R was the most fun I had the entire time. Not only she is an amazing dancer, but she can be playful and silly and we had a lot of fun dancing together. Sadly she lives 5 hours away so it's unlikely we'll dance very often together, but I'm looking forward to dancing with her whenever that may be.

D's style reminded me of M from Montreal, a very warm and ferm embrace but not heavy, head to head contact and her left hand on my spine between the shoulder blades. Very good dancer and VERY popular with the better leaders, so I didn't get to dance with her as much as I would've liked but she lives in NY so I'm sure I'll see her again.

I danced with A a couple of tangas and she was the most "serious" of the lot, but once again, an amazing dancer.

There were many more dances with a lot of people, but I'm going to stop before this entry reaches gargantuan proportions and just say that over all, it was a pretty good way to start a new year.

I wish you all a very, very
Happy New Year