Simple pleasures

I had a really lovely time tonight, no drama, no tangocoaster, no Brain hyperactivity, just a really nice, simple, chilled evening. For once the milonga felt like a safe, friendly place, not an emotional minefield. It was just what I needed, thoroughly good for my morale and my soul. Some highlights:

1. I shared a proper table with my tango friends, and spent most of the evening gossiping and laughing with them. I'd really like to do more of that. It means I don't dance as much, but I enjoy myself a lot more. There should be more of this in my tango life, and less worrying. I'll have to make the effort to hang out with them more from now on instead of fretting about who's going to ask me to dance and whether I'm on form.


2. I test drove the new contacts, and it was a success.


3. I saw the maestro that I danced with the other day dancing with his partner, and their close embrace was more open than I'm used to, not less. So it can't have been a question of too little pressure. Also, one of my regular partners asked me how it had been to dance with said maestro, and when I explained, he said that I shouldn't assume that the problems were all me. Apparently he's danced with some teachers who looked absolutely fantastic when he watched them but then when he danced with them he found they couldn't quite follow him. (He's a wonderful clear leader, so there's no reason it should have a problem with his lead.) He theorises that some teachers spend so much time teaching and performing that they somehow forget how to lead or follow. I wasn't tremendously convinced by this argument (I can't believe any Bs As based dancer would get away with that), but in any case it's good for me to be reminded that problems aren't always all my fault.


4. I watched the man from one visiting couple dancing with the woman from another visiting couple, and saw them have problems more than once. I'm so happy to know that even tango gods make mistakes! No schadenfreude there - it's just good for me to remember that there's no such thing as perfect, and it's ok to make mistakes. That even the best dancers may for some reason just not click.


5. I didn't dance with anyone on my usual most wanted list, and I didn't care. I didn't worry about it once. I was too busy having fun with my friends. Instead, I danced with a lot of guys who were relative beginners, and enjoyed the relaxed simplicity of it. I just danced.


6. I danced with one guy that I almost said no to because he just looked... not quite right. When we started dancing, I briefly kind of wished I had said no. But it quickly became apparent that he was just nervous, or acclimatising, or both. Having warmed up he was actually a very nice dancer, subtle and musical, and I was glad I'd said yes, and ashamed of myself for having been initially judgemental. Must try to be more humble.