What happens on the dancefloor…
Artist: Chagall, “Au-dessus de la ville”, 1924
A recent discovery, and a must read: an amazing post by Johanna, and her thoughts on the perfect leader:
(Taken almost verbatim from the comment I left on her post) This happened to me recently, for the first time. The best way I could describe this man’s embrace, is that he made me feel as if his frame was personally made for me (just like a shoe could be custom-made to fit perfectly on my foot). He adjusted himself to my body, which in turn, allowed me to adjust to his more easily. Not only did he feel great to me, but he changed himself, so I could feel great to him.
It was the same with the dance. Tango after tango after vals after vals, I felt like there was a constant blanket of music wrapping around me, adjusting and readjusting to my body, and my dancing. And beginner though I am, it allowed me to follow perfectly. I have never followed so well, as with this man who molded himself to me — who “followed” me.
He also did something very nice: after a dramatic pivot and boleo, he held me in a pause, wrapping his arm around me more tightly, and swaying me from side to side. I felt so well cared-for… And due to the slightly increased pressure of his arm around me, I could feel my own ribcage expanding within the embrace, as I breathed deeply to collect my wits about me.
Another interesting thing was that he never broke the embrace, even after the song ended. He continued hugging me — an “active” hugging, alive, full of intent and meaning — without a word, until the music started again, and we would lift off to the moon on another amazing tango. Each tanda was like a single, 12-minute dance. Has this ever happened to anyone?
He also shoe-shined my leg, and I admit, the first couple of times he did it, his ankle slowly swooshing up and down my limb, soft leather brushing ever so slightly against my bare skin, it felt incredible. I got shivers down my spine, and I had to keep myself from purring…
That is, until he did it for the sixth time in a row.
Ew.
Yeah, it’s a very thin line between purr and growl. But shivers is a good thing :-)
Johanna
6 October 2007 at 5:37 pm
codes and rules and codigos and rulos(?)…I always thought the lustrada was never ever ever done by the leader…purely a follower embellishment….just because it could be considered rude for a man to shine his shoe on a woman’s leg…when it is pure chilvary for a woman to shine her shoe on a man’s leg…(using “shine her shoe” figuratively here of course…)…
But, not to minimize your experience…sounds like a great night…
Alex
7 October 2007 at 10:09 am
When you feel that you are someone’s whole world, even for just a few minutes, there’s nothing else that can compare. I would let the little “shoe shining” thing go (for now, at least)…it sounds like he was really present in the dance (not on auto-pilot) and really into you!
Thank you for leading us to Johanna’s post. The backlog of good tango writing that I need to discover is incredible!
tangobaby
8 October 2007 at 1:10 pm