Do you dance?

I love dance. And you dance? As a child, like almost all my friends, I wanted to be a dancer. But my parents didn't see fit to take their middle daughter's wishes seriously and didn't even bother to sign me up for an academy. They were different times. However, I still stuck to my guns and performed for my grandmother in the living room. I danced to him sevillian either classic dance, whatever fit, and she applauded me and revered me. What good memories! Then I discovered the town festivals, with their verbenas. I was always in the front row, with the rest of the kids, giving everything. And if my father was around, he would dance with me. He was the one who taught me two-step, the cumbia or the bolero. I hugged him, climbed into his shoes and showed me the steps. Years later, father and daughter were the most at family weddings. After the obligatory wedding waltz, we entered the dance floor and did not leave it, happy and sweaty, until the orchestra kicked us out Then came University and many nights of partying and, at least for me, dancing was the protagonist of many of them. In the 90s, I fought with my best friends over the gogoteras of the nightclubs. Our interpretations, one summer in León, of Madonna's song “Vogue” were legendary.

And so the years have passed and I continue dancing to the music on the news. I dance at home, at parties, at the supermarket, in the car, at the beach bar... However, until three summers ago, I never took one dance class. I always moved by pure instinct. One day, a friend, knowing of my penchant for moving my skeleton, told me about a dance festival of all the world. From a place where you start dancing at nine in the morning and finish at dawn, where you dance as a couple or in a circle, where you are seduced by the latin rhythms, he Rock And Roll, the African sounds waves dances of Israel, where I learned to rock with a mazurka and fly down the track with a polka, where everyone who goes loves dance, where many races and nationalities coexist and many languages are spoken but dance is the universal language and where children, adolescents, young people and the elderly dance together. And I went and I was happy. Well, and I still am every summer because for me it is already an unavoidable event.

But in these three years, I also discovered another dance that drives me crazy. He tango. It appeared in my life by chance and I started playing it almost like a game. I didn't have any tango culture. I neither listened to him nor followed him. It must have been one of the few dances I had never attended. And now I believe there is no other like it. It is a dance that moves you, to which you surrender in such a way that you forget about the world. It is a dance inward, in which the connectedn with the music and with your partner it is absolute. In which the man and the woman walk in a hug such that they move like a single dancer. A dance that I dance with my eyes closed.

I also enjoy choosing the dresses and the shoes What I will wear for each dance. It has nothing to do with the outfit and the footwear that makes you feel comfortable for a Rock And RollFor example, what you would wear if you danced samba.

For the circle dances, like the Israelis waves greek, I always wear long skirts or dresses combined with flat shoes (sandals or sporty French shoes). In the dances of Cape Verde or Samba, I wear baggy pants or shorts and a tank top and many times I dance barefoot. For a swing or a lindy hop I usually opt for jeans and a t-shirt but, fundamentally, some sneakers. It is thrown away a lot. And where I take the most care of my wardrobe, also because right now it is what I dance the most, is tango.

For the hug dance I like the dresses with midi length (below the knee), that mark the size and that have some flight either line. In tango, the woman does many turns and it is very feminine when the girl's skirt dances with her. That the fabric and the drop of the dress accompany the movement. I also like that they have neckline and leave your arms bare. I almost always wear clothes The old Iriarte. Lauren Vidal and the Fée Maraboutée They usually have many models that adapt to my demands. Here I show you photos with some of them.

As for the shoesI also wear them from the store. These are my first tango shoes. They are from the brand c.doux.

Now they are no longer green. They are so old and worn that I have dyed them black. But they are still very comfortable for dancing and they don't have much of a heel. Heels kill me. In summer I also usually wear some sandals of Janet & Janet tortora color and golden glitter and a month ago, in San Sebastián, I acquired my first tango shoes as such. They are from the Regina brand, nude in color, heel tall and bracelet in the ankle. Really flexible and very comfortable. Maybe too high. What do you think?

I have to confess one thing. My partner, Martín Almirón, is Argentine and teaches tango classes. Don't think that I have an advantage because of it. He has taught me all my tango, although I have been polishing it milonga to milonga, but our biggest fights as a couple were also due to dancing. Send noses! He corrects me every position, each movement and aims for perfect execution. Thank you. He does it for my dancing. But I don't think about whether my back is positioned correctly, if my arm achieves the right angle or if the toe of my foot points where it should. I listen to the music, close my eyes and fly.

I am 46 years old and I am a dancer because I cannot conceive life without dancing. It is something that makes me happy and that I am aware, more and more, that this is the case. But I know that, at this point, I'm never going to make a living from it and, even if I could, I wouldn't want to. And I wouldn't like it because I approach the dance from the passion, the spontaneity and the fun. Explodes communication which is established between the music and my body that I completely disinhibit myself when I dance and I feel free and full. Put barriers to that expression and provide it with refined techniques to achieve excellence I'm not interested. Today, it would be like trying to put doors in the countryside.

Some people, when they sign up for dance classes, begin to demand themselves, to want as many Steps improvement compete and to measure himself with his companions and to catalog the different levels of the academys and their students. They dance and execute movements learned by heart and predetermined choreographies. And they don't enjoy it. Or so it seems. I advocate, however, improvisation, fun and putting your heart into what you are doing. I don't want steps, no pressure, no fights, no lessons. All of this understood in a generic sense. Of course I take classes and I need some theory. But then I take everything to my land and make it mine, let it come out natural. I want to close my eyes, I want to smile or laugh out loud or cry, I want to sweat, I want to be exhausted and full, I want to continue being aware of the moments in which I am being happy.

Although I repeat, I must also become aware of my body and learn certain movements. How not?

Well, and do you dare? Dancing makes you feel better, it is a great cardiovascular exercise and it benefits your joints, it loses weight, it improves your body posture and your mood, it raises your self-esteem, it enhances your social relationships, it invites you to groom yourself and want to look better (and that point of flirtation is always healthy), stimulates your brain and makes you smarter, releases stress and is ageless. Sounds good, right? Well, free your body and your mind and sign up for an academy. Take that step.

If you want to get closer to the tango, stop by Plaza Trascorrales any summer Friday, starting at 8:30 p.m. There, a bunch of fans get together and dance until our feet and the neighbors can't bear it. Live a milonga as if you were in Buenos Aires. It will like you.

You can also swing or lindy hop dance at Café Per Sé, on Fridays from 9:30 p.m. There are free classes. You just have to consume something. But now the teacher is on vacation and will not resume classes until September.

It won't be for lack of opportunities. Do you dance?

Before saying goodbye until the next installment, I wanted to thank a person who helps us a lot with the blog and all the publications on the page. Is called Belen Suarez, is interior designer and furniture restorer, and he has a lot of taste and more disposition. To carry out each photo session, we have to locate exteriors or interiors, choose the dresses and shoes, take them to the chosen place and take a lot of photos until we find the one we like. You have to think about framing, backgrounds and how to arrange the products so that they look their best. That takes a lot of time and work and more energy. But you have more than enough, Belén. You're sweet. So that you can get to know her, I'm posting a photo of her. Of course, dancing.

Tags: academy, dance, The old Iriarte, milonga, Oviedo, passion, tango, Trascorrales, dresses, shoes

8 responses to “Do you dance?”

1. Yolanda García Fano via Facebook June 24, 2015

Sandra, I loved reading you. With how enthusiastic you look about dancing, you want to sign up for the academy now. And the shoes that were green are amazing. Everything great. Very cool report.

2. Martha June 24, 2015

Wow, Sandra, beautiful!!!! I couldn't agree more and reflect more on your words. A huge kiss!!!

either Elantiguoiriarte June 25, 2015

Thanks Martha. I know that there are many people who approach dance from our perspective and who understand it as a way of feeling life and not as a discipline. All the best. I love that you read me and that you liked the entry.

3. María Fernández López through Facebook June 28, 2015

4. Wonderful Sandra, the passion you transmit! You are a woman full of life!

5. María Fernández López through Facebook June 28, 2015

6. That's how you are perfect

7. Luis Diez through Facebook August 4, 2015

8. As always, Excellent Sandra! Yes, it almost made me want to start dancing (it went away right away), the clumsy ones are what we have, we are more of a bar guy...

9. Ioana August 7, 2015

Hi Sandra how are you? I have come back to read you on the recommendation of Luis and I have to tell you that you convey a lot. I also love dancing, it is a subject that I have to sign up for dance classes with my partner as soon as we can... but that is, as you say... to be happy and enjoy. I would love to meet you and even attending a dance festival wouldn't be bad... is anyone else signing up, Luis...? Because Rose, I think, is delighted…Well, delighted to read you. A hug!

10. Sunday August 13, 2015

11. Inspirational text. It made me remember. Unlike you, when I was little, dancing was something foreign to me, something against which my stubborn shyness had the battle lost and well lost. It was later when, perhaps because sometimes we relax and allow ourselves to be surprised, I dared to take my first steps. Then I understood. Out of any reason or complex, my body needed to move and express itself and it was able to convince my mind. And it was still much later when I also came across that sort of festival “dance madness” that you describe so well in this post… And my mind, surrendered to the evidence, never stopped dancing!!! Thank you and congratulations for this truly loaded business of yours!!!