[Tango-L] Fw: Gricel

[Michael]

>I was at Gricel Thursday April 16. I'm surprised it took Deby one week to 
>respond if she was actually there April 16. I danced at Lo de Celia which 
>is also very crowded with navigation problems. At Gricel, I stayed on the 
>outside. Just about everytime I did a molinete, there was somebody 
>different behind me, which means that men were jumping in and out of the 
>line of dance.
>
> I never wrote there was a fight at Gricel. I said two Argentines ARGUED. 
> It didn't look good natured from the look of the partner of one of the 
> men. She look absolutely embarrassed.
>
> Wrong, Deby. I didn't come to your table and ask you to dance. I don't 
> know who went to your table, but it certainly wasn't me! I don't go to any 
> woman's table and ask her to dance. I exclusively used cabeceo my entire 
> stay.
>
> My ONLY comment about the Argentines was on their navigation skills and 
> nothing else.
>
> The Argentines thought I was Argentine until I told them I wasn't. They 
> spoke to me in Spanish and I told them in Spanish I was a NorthAmerican 
> and that Spanish
> isn't my primary language.
>
> I wasn't afraid to go out of my barrio. I didn't want to go outside. 
> Experience has proven that when the women see me at milongas in the 
> barrio, they are more likely to accept my invitation. I don't see any 
> reason to go to a lot of milongas and be a stranger at each one. At my 
> last milonga, El Arranque, I danced eight tandas, which is a  lot. I 
> danced two REPEAT tandas with two women. One of them waved to me when I 
> walked in to let me know she was there.
>
> Deby's attitude is similar to other people who didn't like my postings. 
> Instead of offering corrections, like Shakruh on a woman declining an 
> invitation, they just launch into ad hominen attacks in public and private 
> emails.
>
> And Deby, I didn't have any trouble connecting with the women who wanted 
> to connect with me. I've lost count because it doesn't matter. It's not a 
> competition.
>
> Michael
> I danced Argentine Tango- - with the Argentines
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Deby Novitz" <dnovitz at lavidacondeby.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 10:19 PM
> Subject: [Tango-L] Gricel
> I was in Gricel the night Michael was there.  It was crowded.  This is a
> milonga well attended by locals and by regulars.  It is rare to see
> people who normally do not come to this milonga.  While some of us may
> not come every week, we know each other.
>
> There is navigation on this floor.  Perhaps at times it may not be the
> best but it is there.  This is Buenos Aires at its best.  A tightly
> packed floor of dancers with hardly any room to move.  There are several
> "lines of dance" and if you dance here regularly you know where to find
> them.  If you are new to Buenos Aires and our milongas, I am sure it
> would seem like chaos.  The center of the floor is for newbies.  The
> outside is for more experienced dancers, the rest dance in the middle.
> When the floor is very crowded it sometimes seems impossible, but
> somehow the dancers always seem to find their way.
> There were no fights at Gricel.  Sometimes men purposely bump into each 
> other
> and fake a disgruntled attitude,  They always smile and hug afterwards.
> Even when they do bump into each other and there are "some faces" and
> maybe an exchange of words there is never a "fight".
> For the record, Michael actually came to my table and asked me to
> dance.  So much for his recognizing me and doing the cabaceo.  He was
> shocked when I turned him down. I don't accept dances at the
> table from strangers.  From my friends who know I want to dance with
> them yes.
>  The one thing you do not have is that you do not  understand the music, 
> the soul of tango.  North Americans, generally
> speaking are so concentrated on being the best technically they dance 
> without soul.
>
> Perhaps if Michael had come to Gricel and tried to enjoy himself instead
> of judging us on his North American values, he would have had a better 
> time.