Now you’re flying in the big milonga in the sky.  The milongas here on earth won’t be the same without you.

…that I could have danced with this man when he was alive.  Sigh….

If you’re in Seattle this weekend, you’ll have a chance to learn from one of the most graceful milongueras I’ve ever seen, Alicia Pons.

Click here for information.

Also, tomorrow night, one of my favorite dancers/DJs, Mourad, is hosting his new monthly milonga, “Despues“.

I’m looking forward to supporting him!  I hope we see Alicia there, and also at the Sunday milonga, La Garua.  If you can’t wait until then to dance, there’s also a milonga tonight at the Century Ballroom.

Goodness me, Seattle is certainly active this weekend! You can find all of this and more at allseattletango.com.

I didn’t want to be one of those people who posts videos of themselves, for fear that you would all find me snobby, but I love this video so much because of who I’m dancing with in it:

Pedro Sanchez, a good friend of mine for the past year and a half. I don’t write here about people I know in the milongas, but he’s different. He’s been a genuine part of my life (and he said I could talk about him). He is 72 and has been dancing more than 50 years. Dancing with him, as my aunt once said after a lesson with him, is like being swept into heaven. His interpretation of the music is so literal and beautiful, and oh my, que cadencia!

We made this video last Thursday during the class he was teaching prior to the milonga he’s been hosting, Asi Se Baila el Tango. Sadly, that milonga is no more – it is hard to start a new milonga in the winter season and in San Telmo at that, so in the end he and Ale had to call it a day at Peru 571. But I see those Thursdays as some very special times, with opportunities to learn from a true-blue milonguero. When will I have that chance again? How many people are lucky enough to have that opportunity?

Please let the video load all the way first so it’s not choppy, and then enjoy. No grand leg-flailing moves – just true-blue tango milonguero in its purest form.

Published with the kind permission of Pedro. I am so lucky to know him. And lucky that I can share a bit of him right here with you.

A friend who dances more “nuevo” said something over lunch that kinda sorta rubbed me the wrong way a few weeks ago – he apparently finds the “milonguero style” to be the “easiest” because, according to him it has “no technique”. Hum. Well, if that were the case then I think a bunch of us would have been the hottest milongueras in town after our first tango class! Easy?  I don’t really think so.  I’ve been dancing more than 5 – almost 6 – years and I’m still discovering so much in the realm of the milongueros.

I didn’t say much but I wish I could have told him that no, it is not the easiest, and that is because in my humble but strong opinion it goes beyond technique. I believe (from first-hand personal experience) that when you dance with a milonguero you are not merely dancing steps or patterns and you’re certainly not twisting your shoulders or hips exactly three-point-five degrees this way to execute the perfect ocho; no, no, no… when you dance with a milonguero you are entering into his entire musical world, as the following article will tell you.

And to me, that’s complex and simple at the same time. And beautiful. It goes beyond the merely physical-technical aspect of tango. It’s not a case of being “easy” or “hard”. It just is what it is.  And frankly, apart from some amazing individuals, I know very few nuevo dancers who have a comfortable embrace or a good solid walk or good posture.

Anyway, I think I have found somebody who might understand…her lovely article is here.