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Valentine's milonga
Oh, man. Where do I start?
First off, there was a really-well dressed guy there (in some awesome dance shoes) who looked quite like Andy Lau. Sadly, I did not get to dance with him.
I did, however, make it a point to dance with people who are a lot better than I am. And when I didn't suck or get "thank you"ed, or even told I was a good dancer, then I got to glow for a little while. Like my policy of asking the teacher to dance at some point in the night.
I also got paid some really nice compliments last night. Sometimes, nothing feels better than having two new dancers pause and point to you, saying "Watch what they do." And some direct compliments! Like after dancing to Sur o No Sur with an excellent dancer, he pulled back and half-stared at me in this fascinated way.
"Wow, you're a handful!"
"How so?"
"You're great, and you dance when you dance. I love it!"
He told me that he loves dancing with people who actually enjoy themselves and put feeling into it. I told him there was no point if you didn't love it, and he agreed. He mentioned the two ways experienced dancers can go, and I knew exactly what he meant: the cool way or the bitch way. There are some dancers who seem to dance for status, usually identified by less than 2% body fat and their noses in the air. These people don't seem to enjoy themselves at all, and even then will only dance with teachers and people they know are skilled.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
elenuial and I talked about this last night, bemoaning the fact that the inexperienced but enthusiastic dancers often get overlooked for the ones who look like they know what they're doing but refuse to act like they're having fun. That's why I like a lot of the really experienced dancers who'll dance with newbies: sometimes it's the energy someone puts into it rather than their skill at dancing.
I, personally, would much rather dance with a guy who had no idea what he was doing but was having a great time rather than the professional who looks bored the entire night.
And even though it ached, I like being aware of my body. You can feel every muscle, even ones you didn't know you had, as it moves. Same with your partner - the embrace is such that you take cues from someone else's body by feeling every step of the movement process. The biologist in me loves that. =)
One thing that I also enjoy is picking up new moves from peoplewatching. There's a really slick-looking one that's a sandwich into a levantada, which I'm planning to attempt in the near future.
There were a bunch of photographers there. When I get pictures, I'll post them.
All in all, a v. good night.
-Haz
First off, there was a really-well dressed guy there (in some awesome dance shoes) who looked quite like Andy Lau. Sadly, I did not get to dance with him.
I did, however, make it a point to dance with people who are a lot better than I am. And when I didn't suck or get "thank you"ed, or even told I was a good dancer, then I got to glow for a little while. Like my policy of asking the teacher to dance at some point in the night.
I also got paid some really nice compliments last night. Sometimes, nothing feels better than having two new dancers pause and point to you, saying "Watch what they do." And some direct compliments! Like after dancing to Sur o No Sur with an excellent dancer, he pulled back and half-stared at me in this fascinated way.
"Wow, you're a handful!"
"How so?"
"You're great, and you dance when you dance. I love it!"
He told me that he loves dancing with people who actually enjoy themselves and put feeling into it. I told him there was no point if you didn't love it, and he agreed. He mentioned the two ways experienced dancers can go, and I knew exactly what he meant: the cool way or the bitch way. There are some dancers who seem to dance for status, usually identified by less than 2% body fat and their noses in the air. These people don't seem to enjoy themselves at all, and even then will only dance with teachers and people they know are skilled.
elenuial and I talked about this last night, bemoaning the fact that the inexperienced but enthusiastic dancers often get overlooked for the ones who look like they know what they're doing but refuse to act like they're having fun. That's why I like a lot of the really experienced dancers who'll dance with newbies: sometimes it's the energy someone puts into it rather than their skill at dancing. I, personally, would much rather dance with a guy who had no idea what he was doing but was having a great time rather than the professional who looks bored the entire night.
And even though it ached, I like being aware of my body. You can feel every muscle, even ones you didn't know you had, as it moves. Same with your partner - the embrace is such that you take cues from someone else's body by feeling every step of the movement process. The biologist in me loves that. =)
One thing that I also enjoy is picking up new moves from peoplewatching. There's a really slick-looking one that's a sandwich into a levantada, which I'm planning to attempt in the near future.
There were a bunch of photographers there. When I get pictures, I'll post them.
All in all, a v. good night.
-Haz
no subject
And the thing is, it seems to be context-dependent. When I visit family in Quebec, I have no problem being kissed by total strangers when introduced. Back in the States, though, even the relatively non-intimate hold for the waltz made my skin crawl. It was ridiculous how much I relaxed when the partner rotation came around to
no subject
I'm still nervous and tense with new people, but I seek them out to try and get over it. It's rough, but Argentine is kind of nice in that there's a ballroom-like hold that's distant, but a more intimate and swishy-looking embrace for advanced/comfy dancers.
I envy the dancers who have no trouble with personal space.
no subject
It's not like I think they're taking advantage or judging or whatever. My discomfort has nothing to do with what I think their level of discomfort is. I just don't want strangers touching me. :\
no subject
That is a more than legitimate concern.
I'm not so bad with the touching as the afraid of new people. A lot of times, my self-confidence is pretty shaky, especially since I try to dance with the really good people and chances are that they'll whip out something I don't know or I'll make a mistake.