Musical Adventures

In August I will D.J. my first small tango event, a coffee house milonga. Grimaldi's Coffee House in Issaquah, the 'burb east and south of here a few miles. It may be a bit off the beaten path, but it is charming, has some good coffees and wine and gelato, and in good weather dancing indoors and out on the deck. Patty Leverett teaches a small class ahead of the dancing, and she is the hostess of this event.

I created tandas and cortinas and just put this music on for parties, 'cause I like to play my favorites and I like to make the party people happy. At these parties, people have seemed pleased. I began to pay attention to the selections and to the "flow" of energy at the milongas, and to build tandas of my own. I have tandas for about three hours. I can see now that this is not just about playing some music, but about an ongoing self-education into this magnificent musical lexicon. I was going along and making notes of the dates, as the tandas work better if they are not only the same orchestra and artist, but the same general time period. This gives the tanda (the three to five piece sets) a coherence in tone and mood. During this exploration into time periods, I noticed that a great deal of what I like is from 1943-45. This a sweet spot in the arc of the music's development. There is so much to know and I don't claim any special knowledge or sense...just the desire to learn. So all you critics out there, (I know you are out there) go right ahead, just tell me what you like or don't like, and then, as I do with my art, I will ask the questions of my inner guide, and go from there.

I am a baby beginner here and I know it. I intend to stay open and to take all the advice that I can get. One of our local D.J's, Anton, has been very generous and responsive in providing music and knowledge. There is a wealth of information, just as there is in tango, the dance. But this is a journey that has to be made (for me) with a trust in intuition as well.

There has been a recent blogger discussion about people who "quit" tango. There might be a time when it is most graceful to stop doing certain things, mindful and self aware about dignity, reasonable expectation, place in the universe, and ability. I begin now to consider these things seriously. But whenever I cut back on tango, I end up listening to the music, then I realized just how hooked I am. Screwed really, just taken and carried away. The music has been around and alive for a long time. A good run. I can always be a part of that continued good run. The long gig. Lucky for us, tango does not know age, only spirit.

Show up if you can.