An audio version of this post is available for paid subscribers here. Note: This newsletter alternates weekly between new pieces and writings from the archives. This piece is adapted from some of the latter, first published in , in my book Our Tango World. From β, I lived in Buenos Aires and spent most of my time dancing, studying, teaching and writing about Argentine tango.
I spent many Monday nights practising with my dance partner, Aron, at a tango event called El Motivo , which he came to with his girlfriend. This is adapted from something written after one of those nights.
A note for civilians: Argentine tango is usually danced in sets of four songs. Each set is called a tanda. The evening dance event is known as a milonga. As always, if you enjoy this and are not yet subscribed, I hope you will do so.
As usual, tonight, he danced many tandas with meβmost of the tandas with meβat this informal milonga , where we regularly practise, glancing over from time to time, looking for his girlfriend to check that she was enjoying herself out on the floor, before turning back to me so we could continue to work on our figures. Last night, several times, in gaps between sets, I sought her out and sat with her, enjoying her calm, reassuring presence.
We sat together as the final set of the evening began to play. You can find a few more videos of us online; some are here.
