Sure I'm definitely not planning to post every day; the thing is that today I'm still having plenty of time as no class is scheduled. On the other side there is not much to tell about... Sunny but windy weather, trees losing their leaves...
I bought as little radio but then realized that I did not know the frequency, as usually I'm getting it via their web stream. Here like in a dream I heard a voice
nueve...dos...siete. No importance by the way, in my area
la dos por cuatro is overtaken by another FM radio.
Maybe I'll try
La Ideal this afternoon after all, but just to check the water, not bringing my tango shoes.
So here I am, after an uneventful flight. Still got to get used to the Palermo area (The only little area I'm familiar with is between Zhivals and La Ideal). Also got to get used to these damn argentine keyboards! Well I've found the nearest subte, and also the nearest locutorio so it sounds good up to now.
It happens that my three teachers have their studios in different (and distant...) areas of the town so tomorrow, as it will be the last free day before the classes begin, I'm planning to figure out how much time it takes to go from here to there.
And milongas? Nothing planned tonight. No milonga tomorrow either, but the day after yes.
I just finished arranging my Bs-As fothcoming agenda. Of course, reality over there may be quite different, teachers may cancel, taxi dancers may not show up, milongas may be closed, but at least I'll try. Discussing yesterday with my local (but Argentina-born) teacher, I horrified him by explaining what I had scheduled, namely:
46 classes
20 practicas
2 milongas
"But tango is learned in the milongas, by dancing! You've learned already more moves and patterns that what you can put in one tango, or even in a whole tanda!"
I refrained with difficulty from the easy reply ('Then why are you teaching?")
I don't know for others. Sure I have seen many claims by maestros (Gavito, Chicho...) saying they had never taken a class, but used to go in milongas "every evening till sunset". But the little me never leaves a milonga with the feeling he has learned something. So I have planned only two milongas, one at the beginning of my trip and the last near the end. I like the idea of being in Bs-As and ignoring their milongas. It's like having a glass of
champagne and not drinking it.
Thursday. My partner mailed me she would not come to the class.
Monday. We ended up with 10 guys for 4 ladies, so the teachers had to pick 2 ladies from the previous class (initiation) and ask them to stay; of course the teachers had then to lower the lesson's level.
Tuesday. My partner did not show up so I left the class after the warm-up.
Wednesday. See Monday.
Saturday, Sunday. Nothing as the teachers who used to give classes last year moved away.
(insert endless loop here) Well, enough is enough. It makes no sense trying to learn the tango in this environment. Time to do something.
Leaving for good maybe, and coming back to the stable, steady ballroom world where announced events aren't cancelled, where everybody trades partners during the classes and where the syllabus is standard enough to allow me to invite ladies from other schools, and even other countries.
Or... or going where the tango is! Where the teachers cancel as well but it's not important because there are so many other teachers! Where six thousand ladies (rough estimate) can dance!
Buenos-Aires, here I come!
