Coming into my own…

Last night’s “A Night of Canaro” was just what I needed.  Anton did a fabulous job selecting the various Canaro tandas based on different periods, singers, etc.  Naturally it wasn’t all Canaro - but it was a wonderful time.  This Thursday night practica is getting to be one of my favorite places to dance.  I feel free to have fun experimenting with inventing silly embellishments, etc. because it’s a practica, yet it’s also a nice place with a beautiful dance floor and very good music so I can also just chill, close my eyes and connect.  Very nice.  And they have snacks and tea.
Anyway.  I’ve been going through some changes in regards to my professional and personal life, etc… and last night just made it come together for me in my head and heart.  I have no idea how to word this.  I realized how truly independent I have come to be in the past few weeks or so, and how nice it is to walk into a place and see all the familiar friendly faces and be greeted, because I’m me.

I have come to learn that regardless of others in my life who may come and go and influence me, my love of the dance will always be mine. 

 I have friends in Tango and favorite people to dance with, and I created this for myself by opening my own heart - nobody did it for me.  I had help from mentors and teachers, but the social aspect of it is something I’m proud of.  In Tango, I’m never alone.  If it weren’t for Tango, I would have had the hardest time finding friends when living in Italy for example.  When I travel abroad, I look for the local Tango scene, which enables me to dance as well as chat with locals who can let me in on the secrets of their cities.  Tango is special that way.  It really is a social dance.

Last night I danced a wonderful tanda of milonga with a very nice guy who I think is new to the Seattle community.  What a gentle soul, and so positive.  You can feel it in his embrace - he just beams.  It’s so nice to dance milonga with someone who dances to the music with gentleness and tranquility and true rhythm - instead of plowing me across the dance floor as fast as possible.  For the last song of the tanda, to spice things up, a non-Canaro milonga was played - Esteban Morgado’s Morena!!  That had to be one of the best milongas I’ve danced in a long time.  So heartfelt.  I channelled my inner Corina, and we were totally in tune, and I don’t know about him but I was grinning from ear to ear as I joyfully went with the flow.  For the first time in a while, I felt true happiness come straight from my core - and a little tear came to my eye.  It was that kind of happiness.  I hope he felt joyful too, because it truly was a good dance.

Here are El Flaco Dany and Lorena Ermocida dancing to Morena… feel the joy!

[youtube=[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=MoZLG97dgpM]