Saturday, January 7, 2012

Mariela’s La Practica at Dance Manhattan: NYC’s best tango!!!

               I just left the city, feeling exuberant and satiated! I had planned on staying the whole day and had enough clothes to dance all night but Mariela’s Saturday morning practica was enough. It would be a shame to stay, kind of like eating crème brulee, followed by a piece of meatloaf:-( What can I say? Great gals to dance with, amazing discussions about aspects of tango that would be ‘verboten’ anywhere else and the most awesome music to dance to.
               I am so ecstatic I had to pull over and write this piece or I’d never forgive myself; if I’d waited, I would lose the feeling. I think back over my recent experience.  The woman taking my money, who has seen me, maybe, ten times a year, remembered my name, though I can’t remember hers. I saw her on the street and she looked so plain but, inside, she is the maestro and an integral part of keeping this event alive.
               My first partner is French. We danced and talked for awhile, nothing hard and I focused on keeping it simple, yet delightful. Her smile grew and grew until the tanda ended: a nice way to start the day.
               Next, I worked with a skinny blond hottie with whom I’ve always had a great connection. The first song is absolutely wonderful, I am creative, balanced, inspired and….lucky. All the notes seemed to suggest movements and she is the exact right follower for me to make the attempt. I reached for the stars….and grabbed one!
               This inspired her to try an embellishment. Over the course of two tandas, maybe three, we worked on it and discussed what would make it better. We decided it needed to be more seductive: what an incredible exercise for two virtual strangers to tackle! Only in NYC!
               This seemed to be the theme for my dances, today: seduction and sensuality. I think I went too far with one partner but we still danced two tandas. Another tango buddy worked on her embellishments as I tried to gauge the time she needed to enjoy herself and still keep pace with the rhythm of the song.
                Slightly after noon, a familiar tanguera arrived. She affects me. For some reason, she is one of those women who inspires me to write poetry at 5 a.m. Maybe she is the reason I am so elated but I think it is a combination of everything. We danced tango at three separate intervals, each session better than the last.
               The music ended and I had this odd feeling that I get sometimes, like I’ve had enough. To go on would be futile and would ruin the joy that I felt in my heart. It was time to go.
               I’ve been coming here for years. I can say, without a doubt, this is the BEST tango experience I’ve ever had in NYC!!! So many times I leave here, feeling as I do now. It is one of those things that just happens: great dancers decide to converge on one place, consistently, creating a thing of great beauty. We come to the conclusion independently but it seems as if we’ve acted with a collective consciousness, as if we were all meant to be here.
               I can leave now. New Mexico, here I come.

(For a more in-depth looking into the mind of the Kayak Hombre and his thoughts on tango, buy his book: River Tango, now available on Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/River-Tango-perri-iezzoni/dp/1453865527


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