[Tango-L] Tango-L Digest, Vol 15, Issue 16

[Fantasia Sorenson]

My friend, let's call her Brenda, ascended the stairs, strains of Di Sarli
coiling down to her from above. She pushed open the door and the chorus of
"La Organita de la Tarde" fell upon her, smothering her happily. She paid
her ten dollars, sat by the entrance and changed into the shoes she had
purchased just last week from a traveling tango shoe saleswoman. She stepped
into the ladies' room to correct her makeup and then she entered the main
dancing room.

She found a vacant spot on one end of a love seat at the far end of the
room. So many of her friends were there! "Hi, Brenda." "Hi, Tom, save me a
dance?" She gave and received roughly twice as many kisses as people she
encountered and sat down as the tanda concluded. The cortina played New
Orleans jazz and then there were canyengues of Fresedo. She crossed her legs
and found her favorite dancers in the room. Herman was very creative with
this slow music. Maybe he would get the hint.

Herman was busy talking to someone. Well, fine. Brenda listened to the full
tanda of Fresedo and performed her own secret, invisible adornos. In the
privacy of her own magical world she was stylish, poised, and beautiful. The
tanda concluded and after another New Orleans jazz cortina she heard the
introduction of a milonga. Suddenly, out of nowhere there was Unni! Now,
Unni had to be the most fun milonga dancer she knew. Where did he learn
that? Somehow, he came up with the whole thing himself. He was unique.
Brenda leapt up to join him.

"Hi, Unni, it's great to see you! Listen could you give me a sec?" Unni
nodded knowingly.

Brenda dashed over to Fred who had his brand spanking new Panasonic HD video
recorder set up on a tripod. It was too large to hoist on a shoulder for
very long. "Listen, Fred , it's great to see you. I just thought I would let
you know that I'll be dancing this tanda right now, okay?"

Frank chirped, "Right-oh, got it!" He put the lens cap back on his
camcorder, powered down, and as an extra consideration, he folded up his
tripod which had crept out onto the floor and tripped up a few dancers at
that end of the room during the Fresedo tanda.

Brenda caught Unni's eye and held up a finger to indicate just another
moment. He nodded back to her, and she whisked over to a small group of
unfamiliar folks brandishing video cell phones.

"Hi."

"Hi!"

"Visiting?"

"Why yes, you know you have such a beautiful dance seen here. Nothing like
the slim pickings we have in our neck of the woods. Our friends will be so
fortunate to see what you have here."

"Yes, indeedy, that's great. I hope they like it, but I want to let you know
that I'll be dancing this tanda, and as tango is a rather, you know,
intimate form of communication, I would be so much obliged if you would hold
off for a moment so that I could enjoy these three, oh wait the first one
just finished, these two milongas undisturbed by any intrusion. That would
be peachy."

"Oh yes, of course. Wouldn't want to impose." They flipped their cell phones
shut.
Brenda completed her circuit around the dance floor, squelched a few more
blogsters, tourists, and a rather ominous looking man in a coat that looked
too warm for the season, all the while casting glances back at Unni to
assure him that she was on her way. She returned to Unni who gallantly
offered her his handkerchief. Goodness she needed it, for she always worked
up a bit of a, you know, glow when she was clearing the floor for a
non-videoed tanda.

Ah, but it was really, really worth it. She cherished the peace of the
single milonga that remained in that tanda. For a brief moment it was only
Unni, her, and the music.

The rest of the world was far, far away.

Fan