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Tango Confessions by Tanguera Escondida

April 13, 2013

SF Loves Tango is thrilled to introduce Tanguera Escondida, our new guest writer. “Tango Confessions by Tanguera Escondida” will be a regular series at SF Loves Tango. Tanguera Escondida (TE) shares her stories, with honesty and a wry sense of humor, the joys and frustrations of dancing Tango in the Bay Area.  TE frequents all the usual bay area milongas as well as attends classes, for this reason she would like to remain anonymous.  The first installment is a story about dancing at Cellspace, one of the longest running, and most popular milongas in the Bay Area.

 

The Cellspace Native

Cell Space. Photo by Yuriy Dyviv
Dancers glow red at Cellspace. The “Cellspace Native” is NOT in this photo.  Photo by Yuriy Dybskiy

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Cellspace for many months now. I love the hip, young crowd. The lighting. The high-ceiling, and artsy feel of the place. I hate the craggy, pock-marked dance floor. The tandas that sound like French whispering, or blues, or some strange soundtrack for a sci-fi movie. The dancers that glance off each other like ping pong balls. But something, something, keeps drawing me back.

Cellspace is a breeding ground for a certain type of dancer.  This type of dancer I’ll call a: “Cellspace Native”, who rarely ventures from their home turf. These dancers often have no concept of counter-clockwise rotation, or watching out for other people, or using eye contact to enter the dance floor. Some of them don’t even have a concept of tango. All rules are thrown out with abandon. They fly, willy-nilly, through the dance floor, leading their traditionalist partners through a complex menage of moves, from boleos to volcadas, while they try to follow with a wide-eyed, frightened expressions.

Recently, I danced with a Cellspace native. He was a very pleasant fellow, a blues dancer as many of them are.

“Why haven’t I seen you around?” He asked.

“I usually go to 1924, or Verdi, or Danzhouse, or El Arrabal.”

Dancers at Cell Space. Photos by Yuriy Dybskiy
Multi-color dancing at Cell Space. Sorry, the “Cell Space Native” is not in this photo either.  Photo by Yuriy Dybskiy

“No wonder, he said, staring at me like I was a crazy tango cretin, “I never go to those.”

AND NOW I CAN SEE WHY.

He grabbed me and put me in a harsh open-embrace, and proceeded to race like a deranged horse around the dance floor, slamming into people, throwing my legs around, bent over like a hunchback, swaying shoulder-first like the blues dancer he was. I was breathing hard, trying my hardest to keep up, using every ounce of my concentration to not fall flat on my face. Acrobatic tango, anyone? Tango, blues fusion anyone? Or maybe we should just call it “bowling ball tango”.

After the tanda, I could barely breathe. The Cellspace Native looked at me with his big brown eyes and said, “Are you okay? Was that too crazy for you?” I started at him panting, “No…”, I said. “I’m just not used to this form of…um…dancing.”

“Well, cool”, he said, “Have fun tonight.”

Luckily, I only danced with one other Cellspace Native all night, a doughy, shoulder-leader who was pleasant and sweet. The other, traditionally-trained, lovely dancers embraced me closely with kindness and warmth while avoiding body-slamming me into others. I was able to close my eyes and relax into the music and focus on the dance, whether it was to whispering French, or blues, or weird, wobby sci-fi tones. I was able to breath deeply, and truly enjoy my time on the dance floor.

I can’t say I dislike the Cellspace Natives. They add a little creativity to my routine, a bend from the “norm” that I am used to, a mental challenge, some spice to my dancing. I just wish they could add some organization to the dance floor, maybe move in a counterclockwise motion, maybe watch carefully not to slam into other people. Then, just maybe, I could get rid of the “hate” part of my love/hate relationship with Cellspace.

 

SF Loves Tango would love to hear your point of view on this topic. Have you had similar experiences at Cellspace?  What do you think would improve the dancing experience for everyone?

 

Disclaimer:The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of SF Loves Tango. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them.

Filed Under: Guest Post Tagged With: Argentine Tango, Bay Area Tango, cellspace tango, Milonga, SF Tango, Tango dancing, Tango San Francisco, Tanguera Escondida

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🍁 Brought to you by @tanguera_e, @jesram_sf, and Adolfo C.
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✨TANGO THIS SATURDAY Oct 28✨ 𝕆𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝟛 for Tango Aficionados in SF Bay Area… 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐚, October Edition at @thebeatberk in Berkeley!! Longest running All-nighter in the North America since 2000~ Share your warmest embrace with out of towners and welcome new dancers from @stanfordtango and @berkeleytangoclub ~

Hosted by @tangonnection and @ayano.yoneda.tango
9:00p - 10:00p Special Chacarera Class with guest teacher Helene Eriksen
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🍁The last weekend of October is quickly approac 🍁The last weekend of October is quickly approaching and it’s popping!🥳 

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🎵ABOUT DJ DAN🎵
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On October 10th, 1902, one of the greatest bandone On October 10th, 1902, one of the greatest bandoneon virtuoso was born in La Boca, PEDRO LAURENZ (10/10/1902-7/7/1972). His birthday was celebrated at @el_valenciano1153 with an interactive lecture by @ayano.yoneda.tango so many of us got to know what makes his music special, how he became who he was, and the stories of his career told by his rivals and colleagues. Of course, the usual Tuesday night social dancing at El V was only complete when plenty of Laurenz’ music were danced to throughout the night!

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Starting with pre-Milonga class this Thursday Aug 10 at @milongamalevaje, Friday Aug 11 at Milonga Genesis (hosted by @tangosabor) and two weekends of Intensive Tango Workshops at Monte Cristo Social Club (event link in bio👆)!
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They first blew us away with Saturday Tango Nightclub joining forces with The Dome's house band, Orquesta Tipica Domo, including a special guest artist Aude Bresson.👏 Then they kept the adventures going with a Sunday afternoon Live Music Practica for Dancers! 🎶❣️🎵🎹

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☝️Links in bio!
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