Back from Montreal

Monday around 9:30AM we made back from Montreal. We drove back the whole night right after we left the l'Academie milonga at 2AM. Well, Deb did, as I was too tired. Yeah, we're nuts. We didn't want to miss l'Academie, as it's one of the best milongas in Montreal, and Deb had to be back Monday at noon to teach a class ... So, after she took a power nap, she went to work ... As I said, nuts! ;-)

I had a great time even though dancing wise I wasn't exactly "in the zone". I started the evening as usual, with Debbi and then sort of hung out to check out the dancers. As I was sitting down sipping from a glass of wine a tall woman came to ask me to dance. I usually don't dance with people I did not see dance before, but she looked like she had summoned all the courage she had to ask, and I know well how rejection feels, so off we went. I danced the whole tanda in open embrace. This sort of became my favorite way of starting to dance with someone. Start in open, preferably on a vals and then proceed accordingly depending on how it works. I still have a strong preference for close embrace, but only with people who are a) truly comfortable with it b) able to keep their balance on their own. Also, in the case of much taller followers like this one (more then 3-4 inch difference), close embrace is awkward.

After that I danced with S one of my favorite dancers from Montreal. Sadly, I was not very inspired and the added complication of navigation on a crowded floor didn't help. As I was talking with M, a local leader, he pointed to a girl and suggested I ask her to dance as she is quite good. She soon became available and I went to ask for a dance. Turns out, she is Romanian (as I am). Small world. And she is quite good, although I had some trouble adjusting to her rather energetic movements.

Later in the night I danced with E, a girl Marika introduced me to last year. She has a lovely embrace, very smooth and balanced walk and I wish I was more "in the zone" but, well, sometimes that doesn't happen. Then I ran into (another) E, whom I met at the neo tango festival in the spring. She is a lovely dancer as well, with a pleasant embrace and a passion for the dance. It's quite interesting how some people are able to put a kind of energy during the dance that screams "I really love dancing". By contrast, I know of a few followers who, while a lot more proficient, they feel analytical and soulless on the dance floor.

Towards the end of the night I've danced a few tandas with an older woman I danced with before. She is really good and she is one of my favorite dancers in Montreal.

I ended the night as usual, dancing with Deb and once I stopped dancing I realized how tired I was. It's funny how exhaustion and/or pain are reduced while dancing (tango).

Sunday before the l'Academie we rode the bicycles through the city, had some food and we kind of kept it low energy as we knew it was going to be a long light. We were already tired from the night before, at Tango Fabrika, which we left around 4AM.

Tango Fabrika had a special all nighter Saturday, and I was looking forward to it as Marika, one of the hosts is my first "tango crush". She is so sweet and such an amazing dancer. I got to dance with her 3 or 4 tandas ( I always lose count when I dance with her) in two installments and it was just as lovely as ever. A big surprise was to run into R, a favorite follower from Princeton who was in Paris for the last few months. Apparently she just got back from France and went to Montreal for a conference where we ran into each other. She is a great dancer and we had a few wonderful tandas. She invited me and Deb to stay with her during the Princeton tango fest and hopefully I'll find a way to make it. I don't have any vacation days left, so I'll see how "creative" I can get ;-)

One frustration during the milonga was the music. I like Bulent, he is a nice guy, but his musical taste is heavily inclined towards electronica/neo tango which I simply can't dance to. He is accommodating and more then once he played something I requested and this is after all a neo-tango shop so I guess his selection was appropriate for the venue. But it was disappointing to see some great dancers being available, hear the music start and having to pass, as it wasn't something I would like to dance to. Or even worst, dance with a great follower, just to hear the next tanda start and to have to excuse myself and let them go.

Saturday during the day we hung out with Caroline, who was so kind to host us for the weekend, we went for a bike ride, checked out some shops (well, Deb and Caroline did, I had a book to keep me company as they were trying out outfits). At Caroline's apartment there was an outdoor grey cat always hanging out on the porch, we named it the "Fat cat". The "fat cat" was kind of lazy, kind of fat and very aggressive in her pursuit of affection. She would come next to us and relentlessly seek attention. "You will pet me NOW" was the unspoken phrase that seemed to transpire from her antics. Cute.

We also had a picnic on the porch. The street Caroline lives on is quaint and quiet, and after getting the key ingredients for a picnic which was supposed to take place in a nearby park, we decided to have it on the porch instead. Cheese, fruit, olives, fresh bread and wine. Yum.

Friday night we went to Moka Danse. The space was just as cute as I remembered, and it got just as crowded as I remembered ;-). From 11PM to 1AM it was impossible for me to dance and have a good time, as I was spending all my energy trying not to bump into people. After 1AM it cleared up a bit and I got to dance a bit. Deb left early, as she was tired, I stayed until about 3AM. I had some good dances, none of them fantastic, mostly because everyone was tired by that time, but I had a good time. The music was quite good too.

In conclusion, it was a good trip. We got to see Caroline again, had some great dances, a lot of good dances, hung out in Montreal, had perfect weather. Looking forward for the next trip there.