[Tango-L] San Diego close embrace festival 2010

[Sandhill Crane]

I was at the SD festival as well. The ronda was mostly
a disaster. As usual, there were two classes of
clueless men. One group were the men who haven't had much
experience on a social dance floor -- that's OK, they'll
learn, and in the meantime they're easier to cope with
since they move slowly and predictably (yes, using the
8 count basic with dreaded back step).

The other group of clueless men were the ones who should
have known better. The most obnoxious ones were from LA.
It's a flashy, superficial town which breeds a
flashy, superficial dance. Stefan what's-his-name was
among the worst offenders. Thank G-d, at least he wasn't
a festival instructor. Did he go whirl around in the
center of the floor? Did he wait until the floor cleared
in the wee hours? No, he and his crowd were tearing up the
outer lane throughout the evening, bouncing back and
forth like pinballs, obliterating the music with their
hyperactivity ... bizarre, discouraging, and more than
a little shameful. Sigh.

Even Homer, who has been mentioned as an example of
responsible tango nuevo style, wasn't entirely a good
citizen in the ronda. His technique is careful but
not small; he's using all of the space between him and
the other couples. Usually it works out OK but at one
point he misjudged and his partner kicked mine. Sorry, but
a tango celebrity doesn't get a free pass to kick anybody.
Plus it's quite distracting to bounce around like that.

Other than that, I had a pretty good time. The weather
was good and San Diego is a beautiful city. I took the
time to wander around Balboa Park and downtown.
I could get used to that. 8^)