Shopping in New York?

I needed to get out of the burbs for a few hours, so I planned a Saturday morning of shopping and tango in NYC. Shopping meant: West Elm, City Bakery, Paragon Sports, and the Union Square Greenmarket. Tango: meant the morning practica at Dance Manhattan.

Once I got downtown, I stopped at Pain Quotidien, two doors from the 18th Avenue subway. (Last year when I took a tango class on Saturday mornings, I always went to this same spot, either for an apple muffin to go, or a bowl of steel-cut oats and fruit at the communal table. The woman behind the counter still remembered me. ) Next-- West Elm. As I walked, I noticed a line across the street, women mainly, waiting for a David Yurman sale, "30-60% off original prices". At West Elm, I selected two placemats and paid $3.47. Out of curiosity, I went to the David Yurman sale. There were at least 40 people in the sales area, compared to four or five at West Elm. The least expensive items were "specially priced merchandise", $250-$500. To purchase anything else would have required a small loan.

In the next block, I wandered into Books of Wonder, a fabulous children's bookstore. I happen to be re-reading Charlotte's Web, and noticed a copy in their "old and rare" collection. The book contained an inlaid bookplate signed by the illustrator, Garth Williams. The price: $2500. Another purchase I did not make. I crossed the street to City Bakery to buy their "Baker's Muffins" which are worth the trip into Manhattan even if you do nothing else. They're huge yeast muffins with cinnamon, raisins and apples @$4 each. Yum!

I walked another block to Paragon Sports to use a 20% off coupon I got at the Banff Film Festival. I was not successful there, and that was fine given that the sales tax in NYC would have eaten a significant part of the coupon. I looped through the greenmarket, bought Cameo apples, and admired all the cherry blossom branches (too inconvenient on the bus). On to tango.

At tango, the "shopping" is of a different nature. It's rarely comfortable to be a woman walking into a practica or milonga when you don't know any of the male dancers. Often, and especially in New York, guys want to have a sense of your ability before they ask you to dance. Even though I used to take classes at Dance Manhattan, it's been nearly a year since I went to the practice sessions. I recognized a few faces, all occupied. The best option was to take a seat and wait to be invited on to the dance floor. (Grrrr......no women's lib in tango!)

I wish I could say that my experience at the practica was pleasant and inspiring. But, it was not. The first dancer (whom I had met one other time) began to rub my back and neck while we danced, murmuring "why did we ever get out of bed this morning?" I played along, and we danced two sets together. He was clearly popular, with women circling him throughout the morning. The next guy walked away from me after one song saying that he "had to find someone else to practice with." (It is extremely rude to leave a partner before the tanda or set of songs is over.) Did I already say that egos can get very big on the tango floor? Who expects perfect connection after thirty seconds of dancing? The following partner was ok, though stepped on my toe. I accepted another dance with the back rubber, and kept up my "vamp" tango. At least he was a good dancer. The session wasn't exactly turning out how I had hoped, so during a break I packed up, blew a kiss, and returned home for a cup of tea and a baker's muffin that was worth the bus fare.

http://www.thecitybakery.com/

Tango

On Saturday I tried a new milonga. I had attempted to reach this venue once before, after Hurricane Irene. Roads were closed, and the detours led to more closed roads. After an hour and four phone conversations trying to get directions, I headed back home and stopped in at another friend's birthday party. This time, I wisely planned to meet other dancers at their home, and then ride in the back seat of their car.

With a GPS, the driver found the destination easily. Without a GPS, it would be nearly impossible. The building is in Sugar Loaf, NY, down a dirt road and not visible from the main street. It's a beautiful community/cultural center with artwork on the walls, and one side entirely windows. I was warmly welcomed by the host, and hugged by a dancer I haven't seen in two years. That night there were guest instructors, a well-known female instructor from NJ, Carolina Juarena, and a world champion from Columbia, Carlos Paredes. Now, to the heart of this post.

During the lesson, Carlos emphasized that the leader (usually male) needs to look at the woman (the follower), and make a connection with her. The leader's goal is to be sure the follower is comfortable during the dance. And if there is a mistake, it is not anyone's fault. Try again, keep dancing, have fun. And yet... many leaders do not seem to follow this practice and it seems a shame. I had one dance that night that turned out to be unnecessarily stressful as I attempted to follow leads into tricky steps with a man I did not know while dancing in close embrace. Many tango dancers would blame the leader in this situation, with the argument that if he leads correctly, I will be able to follow. True enough. But why even create a situation where the dance is ruined?

A possible answer may be the marked contrast between the way professionals dance vs. the "average" non-professional dancers (most of us!). In Argentina, my instructor regularly reminded his students that professional stunts belonged on the stage, not on a social dance floor. Maybe it's too difficult to resist the fantasy of looking as good as the pro's.

http://www.carolinadancer.com/
 

Merry Christmas

In the locker room at the Y this morning, another woman and I chatted about how we had to take down our Christmas trees today. She informed me that for many people, January 6, or Three Kings Day, marks the true end of the holiday season. She briefly summarized the story of the kings, and concluded with the warning that it was simply bad luck to take down the tree before the twelve days of Christmas passed. For me, last weekend was filled with holiday activities and there was no time during the week between work and dance, so I planned for today. However, with a day filled with sunshine and the warmth of 60 degrees, my tree remains standing, and still decorated. Sigh.

This holiday marked the return of two past traditions: dinner at Union Square Cafe in NYC, and attending The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center. My kids and I managed to time our dinner at Union Square to coincide with an absolute downpour. We planned an easy walk from the Chelsea Market to the restaurant. However, that idea changed when by 5pm, it was pouring. Umbrellas offered no protection from rain coming down sideways, and after two blocks we were soaked! We were lucky to get a cab! I will say that the dinner was worth it, but I won't rush back. Service was as good as ever, the restaurant as beautiful as ever, and the food very good, though somewhat drab on the plates.

My son declined a ticket to the ballet, so it was just "the girls." Of all the Christmas activities, The Nutcracker is arguably the most splendid. The music for this ballet was written by Pyotr Tschaikovsky, and adapted from E.T.A. Hoffman's story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Tschaikovsky wrote three ballet scores: Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. The first full-length, two act version of the ballet was presented by the San Francisco Ballet in 1944. (The first time I saw The Nutcracker was, in fact, in San Francisco at the Opera House!) George Balanchine's version premiered in NY in February, 1954. Ten years later, the NYC Ballet moved to its present location and redesigned the ballet. From 1964 till now-- almost a 50 year tradition of The Nutcracker during the holiday season! Jen and I loved every minute of the performance from the "growing" Christmas tree, the battle with the Mouse King, the ribbon dancers, Mother Ginger, and my favorite, the pas de deux between the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince.

By the way-- After the ballet, we ate at Nick and Toni's Cafe on 67th Street. (Same owners as the fancy Nick and Toni's in East Hampton.) Salads, soups, pizza, and full dinners. Since it was late, we had pizza, salad and roasted local vegetables. All wonderful. Beware though- my beer was $9!
http://www.nickandtoniscafe.com/

Sweet Medialuna

On alternate mornings in Buenos Aires, I would stop at the bakery next to my apartment and purchase "dos medialuna" for seis pesos (less than $1.50). The medialuna are shaped like a croissant. However, the outside is soft and brushed with a sweet glaze. While the inside is airy, the dough is sweeter and heavier than a French croissant. I ate the medialuna with Patagonia Wild Berry Jam that I bought at the local Disco supermercado.

I'll confess- I brought a few medialuna home with me. One I ate on the plane when we landed at 6:00am in Houston. Another I gave to a friend who is an avid bread baker. Secretly I hoped he could duplicate them here in New Jersey. I kept the last one on reserve in my freezer, and ate it this morning with the wild berry jam. Is it reason enough to return to Buenos Aires for fresh medialuna?

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/12224/medialunas-recipe-needed-argentina-breakfast-roll

Tango School

According to friends, the Escuela Argentina de Tango is the place to take tango classes. So, after barely 24 hours in Buenos Aires, I went with mi amiga Susanna to attend two classes with her favorite instructor, Jorge Firpo. Mind you, this is after an early morning run, walking for a couple of hours, and a full lunch at La Posada de 1820. The "executive menu" offers a mid-day special, generally between the hours of 13h y 16h. (1:00-4:00 pm). This particular restaurant serves three courses for 34 pesos, or under $10. Soup, main dish, dessert. Mineral water or wine are extra, and nearly the same price.   laposadade1820.com.ar/

The first class on salon style tango started at 5:30pm and was 90 minutes long. The second class which started promptly at 7pm was Vals- Giros y Contragiros. A "giro" is the term used for a molinete. The classes were well attended, with a balance of men and women. (An aside- one of the guys in the class who knew Susan from last summer, began to talk to me in Spanish. When I said, "No habla espanol", he replied in English that he thought I was Argentine!) By 8:30 after both classes ended, my feet and legs were about to go on strike. There was no way that I would have energy for a milonga! Instead, we went for wine, a snack, and conversation.

On YouTube, there are many videos of Jorge Firpo. Here's one of Jorge dancing a vals at the school. I think the man standing against the mirror in the black shirt is Roberto, someone who was in my class, too!

 

Throughout my stay in BsAs, I took one or two classes on most days. Along with the classes with Jorge Firpo, I especially liked the women's technique classes with Aurora Lubiz. Being in the class of women and working together in pairs or groups to practice balance and adornments was probably more beneficial than the mixed classes. Hopefully, I can find a similar class in NJ or NY, since it's a bit far to get to BsAs every Saturday at 11:30am in order to take one of Aurora's technique classes!
tangopulse.net/interviews/aurora_lubiz.php