Yale Tango Fest 2007 - part 1

I got back yesterday from the Yale Tango Fest, where I didn't get much sleep, but there was a lot of tango. Three milongas (of which, one was all night), two practicas and six workshops in 56 hours ... And since I was the "official photographer" I also took a few hundred shots and took videos of the performances.

Here are the high points of the festival (for me, that is), and they are not in any particular order, I'll list them as I remember ;)

Sunday night I had the pleasure of dancing a tanda with Jennifer Bratt. While in the last six months I took a number of workshops with her and Ney Melo, it was the first time I had an opportunity to dance with her. There were no surprises there, she is a fantastic dancer, and the only thing I remember is having trouble to get back on the planet Earth at the end of the tanda... I just wish I wasn't as exhausted as I was Sunday evening, as when I'm exhausted my musicality (not to mention motor control) suffers. I did OK though, I just wasn't at my best. Jennifer and Ney will be teaching a couple of workshops at Harvard on April 13-15, I am planning to take at least the milonga workshop.

Just before I jumped ship Sunday evening, as I was waiting for D to finish dancing so we can leave, a woman I've seen around but never danced with, came to me and asked for a dance, as she really liked the song and wanted to dance on it. While I was barely awake, I remember it was a song I also like and after explaining that she is not getting the best of me, as I was exhausted, off we went. Wow, that was a very pleasant surprise. She is a great dancer, she is musical and playful, we had a great time. And as it happens, for the 10 minutes the tanda lasted, I forgot all about being tired and about the pain in my feet. Such is the magic of tango (what a wonderful thing endorphins are ... ;).

I've had the pleasure of dancing again with T, from NY. While she comes to Boston quite often, we didn't have a chance to dance lately, so I had almost forgotten how much I enjoy dancing with her. She is one of the very few people I can dance milonga with, somehow she manages to read my muddy leading, and she also has a rare quality. Her movement doesn't get "muddy", even when my lead does. So instead of going into a downward spiral effect, like it usually happens when I lose it, she "keeps the boat afloat" until I can get it back together. And what is cute is that she doesn't believe me when I say she is one of the best dancers I ever danced with.

(to be continued ...)