14 September 2009

"Thank you" for my very special tanguera

I was at my favorite milonga this weekend. As I briefly watched the floor, a thought just dawned on me...

I have had the pleasure of dancing the tango with you from the very first time you set foot on a milonga floor, up to the present day.

I have felt your progression through your first ever dance. I've felt your development as you went from teacher to teacher. I've felt your progression from my bearing your full weight, to you finding your own balance. I've felt you evolve from being a heavy stepper to walking as if you were on rollers. I've felt your brain tick as they you try to figure out what was being led, to seemingly mind-melding and responding with instantaneous responses. I've felt you go from a nervous, sometimes terrified hold to an embrace only a consummate tanguera can do. I've seen you go from a wallflower to someone I can no longer get a tanda with because someone else always cabeceo's you before I.

To you, I thank you. I thank you for hanging in there and suffering through the effort and time it takes to be good at tango. Thank you for being there. Thank you for growing. Thank you for being beautiful in soul and movement. Thank you for being a beautiful tanguera.

Thank you for still wanting to dance with me.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ampster is the Guardian Hombre for all Seattle tangueras.

At my first milonga, I was nervous and felt like I had 3 left hooves. Noticing him as one of the Really Good dancers, I thought, No chance! (**Maybe in a year. Maybe. Sigh**)

Lo! He asks for a tanda and I mentally convulse. I won't say it was a miracle, but he was so careful and clear, patient and understanding--a consummate gentleman--that I didn't pass out after all.

That's a story I know I share with many wonderful tangueras. That Ampster was one of our first great experiences with tango. And he will dance with you if you're new and unsure, and make you feel like Geraldine. In fact, he is one of the reasons I got hooked.

So on behalf of all your appreciative chickadees, thank YOU, for being a rock star!

Any of your tango flock would be ever happy to put our shoes back on for you. You know it.

Proud member, Ampsters' swooning legions of fans

AmpsterTango said...

@ anonymous: Thank you very much. You're making me blush.

Unknown said...

Wow! I'll have what she's having :

Pete | The Tango Notebook