Labor day weekend in NYC

Since we were both sick the weekend of the LongaMilonga, Deb and I were looking forward to the New York trip this long weekend. So Saturday at the crack of dawn (well, more like 6:45AM) we jumped on the motorcycle and headed south. This time I decided to avoid I95 and I took I90 to I84 to 15 (the parkway). While it seems slightly longer, it is definitely a better way to get to NYC. The parkway is so much more tranquil then the I95. Except for the occasional dead skunk... Damn they stink!

We made to NYC around 11:30AM (got a call from work half way through the trip and spent at least 30 minutes on the phone) and went straight to the "La Práctica @ Dance Manhattan". While in theory a practica, many people seem to come here just to dance. I practiced with Deb for about an hour and then I danced a couple of tandas with S, a woman I met a while ago in Providence. She is a good dancer, but I could not find my balance with her in close embrace. I have to somehow improve my ability to ground myself as it seems like lately everyone but very few dancers are taking me off-balance in close embrace, which is why I've been dancing open lately quite a bit. I recently changed my posture to be more straight, I wonder if this is what is screwing up my ability to be stable on my feet.

At 2PM the practica was over and me, Deb, J, P, L and K went out to eat. J was on his way to the airport, heading to BsAs for 6 weeks. I should start taking some Spanish lessons ... We went to a Vietnamese restaurant, I had duck and ... it was pretty horrible. Stringy and chewy, I left most of it untouched. Normally I would've demanded something else, as it was not edible, but I didn't want to make L feel guilty since he chose the place. I also wasn't in a feisty mood.

From the restaurant we headed to the Central Park milonga. The initial plan was to go to the hotel and come back for the evening milonga, but the hotel was 35 miles away ($55 per night at a Holiday Inn in Stamford, CT sounded a lot better then the hotel prices in NYC) and I didn't feel like being on the road for at least 30min each way, probably more as it was a holiday weekend. So we went to the park instead. I was pretty tired already, and the night was young, so I decided I was not going to dance unless I would see someone I really wanted to dance with. After dancing with Deb a few tandas in the beginning, I mostly watched. I danced with P a couple of tandas, a former professional dancer which shows in her balance and ability to move to the music. While dancing in the park is quaint and romantic, the concrete floor is a pretty bad surface to dance on and floor craft is non existent. When P and I stopped dancing, a woman I didn't recognize came near us and P introduced her as I, her friend from Toronto and a great dancer which whom I should definitely dance. From the short conversation we had it seemed we actually met and even danced together in the spring, at the Nuevo tango festival. The fact that I didn't remember her at all seemed a bad sign, as I normally remember good dancers. Also, I don't normally ask someone to dance until I've seen them dance, it's usually the best for all involved, but I couldn't think of an elegant way of getting out of it so off we went. And I'm glad we did... She is a great dancer with a lovely embrace, musicality and following skills. Shortly after that, Deb and I left, as we were starving and wanted to grab a bite before heading to the "Noche de Tango @ Dance Studio 101"

After having some food, we made it to the milonga around 10PM. Good size space with great floors, a bar and some extra cheesy decor. It was also pretty well attended. After starting the evening with Deb as usual, I saw the woman from from Toronto and without many words off we went. With the help of a great floor and good music, we had a few fantastic tandas. She even hung out through a milonga tanda, which I didn't fumble too bad, but damn, I need to get better at milongas. After that, I thought I saw another dancer from NY I really love to dance with, D, and went to say hi. Only it wasn't her ... Ooops, well too late to back out now, so she got up and off we went. She is actually a very good dancer, but I had a hard time connecting with her. But sometimes that happens and I hope next time when we run into each other it will work out better. Then I ran into R, an amazing dancer from NY with whom I always enjoy dancing with. She has an amazing embrace, not to mention balance, following, musicality, etc. I was talking with her between tandas and I asked if there was one teacher in particular that she considered her mentor. Her response did not come as a surprise. Robin Thomas and Ney Melo. Robin seems to have been the catalyst that helped forming most of my favorite dancers in US, so, thanks Robin. You rock. Around 1AM we left as Deb was dead tired. I was kind of sorry to go, but I was pretty tired myself.

Sunday I was up at 8AM after only 4-5 hours of sleep. It's very difficult for me to sleep in. In the afternoon we went to Maria José's Práctica @ Stepping Out. The room is large and the floor is great, but there is hardly anyone there. Music was great though, so if you bring a partner with you, it's a perfect place to practice. Maria also said that soon she would extend the duration from 2 hours to 3, so that would make it even more attractive.

Then it was the Seaport milonga. There was a big concert near the main location, so until 9:30PM we went to the "rain" location, which is on Pier 17. But that place is small and it quickly became a zoo. Pedestrians who obliviously walked though the "dance floor", small children, etc. Then once we moved back to pier 16 it got better as far as space, but the floor on the pier is pretty horrific. It's an old deck, with all you'd expect, nail heads, splintered wood, uneven boards, etc. Deb had a great time, but I had a hard time getting in the "zone" while trying to minimize the damage to my own and my partner's knees and ankles, navigating around random obstacles included but not limited to dogs, bicycles, joggers, empty bottles, little kids, etc. But the real difficulty was the inability to pivot. I'm not experienced enough to limit my vocabulary (to exclude movements that required pivots for example) and still be able to relax enough to be able to connect to the music, to my partner and to have fun. So while I did dance with a few people, I didn't enjoy those dances as much as I would've enjoyed it on a decent floor.

We left "early" (around 1AM) again as we were spent. Again, I was sorry to leave, as towards the end of most milongas only the hardcore dancers are still standing and then you have the space to dance + good dancers. Besides, no matter how tired I get, I always have a hard time leaving a milonga.

So, was it worth the approx $200 hole in my wallet (hotel + gas + milonga costs)? Maybe. There are plenty of worst ways to spend money, and it may have been worth it if only to learn a few lessons :
- Try to avoid making trips to NYC while a major tango festival is happening someplace else. A lot of my favorite dancers in NYC were in Denver.
- Learn to better manage my resources. As in, make sure I'm not exhausted at midnight. Dance less, be more discerning, sleep more. While I did good at being discerning, the lack of sleep got to me.
- Bring some hard leather shoes for outdoor milongas. The dance sneakers were a bad choice.