2400  St Louis report

Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2004 14:22:35 -0500
From: Karen Whitesell <kglass@MO-NET.COM>
Subject: St Louis report

Dear Friends, just wanted to share a great experience in St Louis this past weekend.

The setting was Washington University, decorated profusely with all the flowering trees spring has to offer. Imagine 3.5 hours of nothing but =
Red Bud scenery to lure us to tango.

Shaun Sellers and Barrette Salazar put together a great workshop with Pablo Alonzo. Hats off to them for all their work. They covered all =
the details even cake and champagne for our ending class. Also thanks to Rick and Rachael for my housing, Rick's daughter gave up her bedroom =
even though it was prom weekend. Now that's Missouri hospitality.

Roxanne McKinney gave a spectacular performance with Pablo. I have never seen Roxanne so beautiful as she danced.

Pablo taught salon style tango, emphasizing technique, and always the close contact with the torso without hanging on to your partner. His =
words, "If you don't want your bodies touching, play tennis." He taught opening up for the giro and fancy patterns. He did teach one milonguero =
step, a walking sequence with change of rhythm. One ladies' adornment was taught with the eight count basic, a hook in behind after the =
forward step on #1. Yes, he taught the back step, even two or three back steps, but later stated the side step is used to first get you onto =
the dance floor.

The first milonga on Friday I asked Pablo to dance, and it definitely felt milonguero all the way. He held me so close and so tightly, there =
was no chance for mistake. I thought I was cared for so well, I thought I was in Buenos Aires again... The next day in class, he was =
explaining, "You never dance with someone you don't trust unless you hold them very tightly." Reality set in. They hadn't wanted to hold me =
so tightly, they were afraid of me. There's an oxymoron in there somewhere: The less you know about someone, the closer you get. Or, =
strangers dance a tighter tango.

This is the moral of the weekend for me: Teach beginners that closeness is confidence and firmness feels safe. That only after much experience =
can you loosen your embrace and trust your partner to do those crazy things.

Thanks to all the St Louis dancers, they were warm and welcoming. It was nice meeting old friends ad making new ones.

Missouri's tourist theme is "Where rivers run." I think Missouri is "where tango meets"

Karen
Mt Vernon, Missouri