Performance

Some good friends asked us to "perform" a tango for their lovely 20th anniversary party.  A first we were pretty sure we weren't going to do it, because, for one thing, we aren't performers, and we dance strictly in a style which is not flashy, and in which a lot of what is happening is not immediately apparent to the casual observer.

A few weeks went by and we both thought about it, and realized it was not about flash at all, not (too much) about entertaining, and more about giving a gift.

Our friends have been remarkably patient, (having passions of their own), with our absence due to tango nights on weekends when we would normally barbecue, or hike, or play in the back garden with their kids.   They have been like indulgent parents, even though, we are old enough to be theirs.

So we thought to our own selves and to each other that we must say yes.

It became a search for music, mood, what could interest, and ended in a choice to use "Milonga Criolla" and to dance to that.  A milonga.  Our decision was helped along by our teacher and friend, Michelle Badion, who knows a thing or two about performance, and thing or two about us, and a thing or two about where we were coming from.  She knows how traditional I am in embrace and approach.  She gave us some gems of wisdom about how to be, what to address, and where to add a little pizazz.

Michelle puts on one or two cabaret shows in Seattle, and has done so for 18 shows now.  They get more wonderful, deeper, funnier, and more varied every year.  Michelle danced with Gavito at one time, and with many other great leads. She excels at understanding her students and their needs.  She excels at getting them there.  I was not nervous at all about performing, because in an earlier time I performed belly dance as a professional, and worked hard at that and at teaching it.  I passed that off to my sister Annette who is better and more technically proficient than I ever was, and a dozen years younger.  So, what was a concern to me was the thought of how it looked, how I looked,   and that is not something that generally aids the social dancer who is more of a mind to work on how it feels.  But by this time we had committed, and so we got all the help we could get, and then we ratcheted way back to what we know:  That tango is a dance of love and connection. And what better way to celebrate an anniversary of a couple obviously still deep in love, as we are, after all these years.  And it doesn't hurt to go very consciously back into technique.  It only helps connection to be more "in the body".

We ended up pleased, and from the non tango audience response, they were too.  But the important part is that it isn't always about us, but more about sharing.  And being ever so grateful for the friends in our lives.  The real friends. As we go on, they becomes even more important and more treasured. And as they say in yoga class, every time at the end, honoring our teachers teachers teachers.
Note: Those are glow sticks on Alan's head, his halo, and on my leg.