Cultural Event

Attending the milonga at the Mercury Café was an extremely unique and eye-opening experience, and helped my understanding of tango come full-circle. The milonga environment was very cozy and inviting, and everyone seemed very happy to be there and open to dancing with a variety of people. For a while I just sat and watched couples dance and observed the movement around the room. I was amazed to see the unique style and movement present in each different couples dance. I was most interested in watching the followers (particularly since that is my role) and seeing the different ornamentations that they used that we haven’t yet learned. Many of the couples seemed so at ease on the dance floor, and some women even closed their eyes while moving around the room. Other couples seemed tentative, sticking to certain steps and moving more slowly around the room. I wasn’t planning on dancing with anyone but I ended up dancing milonga with a man. This was quite difficult because he dances with more complex attention to rhythm and we haven’t work as much on milonga steps as traditional tango. I got pretty nervous and dropped quite a few steps but it was a good first experience and my partner was very patient and encouraging. I really enjoyed the experience and would love to go to another milonga once I build up the courage and skill to do so as well as cabaceo someone.