Once upon a time, in a hot South American city – let’s call it Buenos Aires, there was a ballerina. She was a very talented dancer and chose to pursue ballet professionally. But something happened; an injury, unhappiness, depression, countless other reasons, and she found herself dancing tango, almost by accident. She had several teachers, some excellent, some not so much. But this ballerina learned how to tango, more or less, and became quite good at that. She even started getting a name for herself.
Some time down the road, she met another dancer. He was a few years older than her, but not by much. He had been dancing tango for a long time, and even though she was pretty good, he could dance circles around her. He liked this little ballerina and offered to train her. When he saw the amazing potential this ballerina had, he asked her to be his dance partner. But this tango dancer had a major rule, you see. You never become involved with your partner. Ever. But rules are rules and people are people. It doesn’t matter how many rules you create or how many walls you put in place. Some feelings cannot and will not be denied.
I don’t know who fell in love with whom first. Perhaps it was her. A mentor, an amazing dancer, a really gorgeous man. Or maybe they fell in love at the same time. It doesn’t matter. The tango dancer fell for her but good and she adored the ground he walked on. He broke that rule for her. He didn’t just fall in love, he married her.
The two were unstoppable. To call them tango legends would be an understatement. Everyone wanted to be like them. When they danced, you saw power, you saw passion, you saw love, and you saw two people, who would do anything for one another.
But there are cracks in every perfect façade. There is no such thing as a perfect relationship and theirs was no exception. But a passionate couple, who is madly in love, can hate just as madly and just as passionately. Perhaps he cheated, or perhaps she, who is, it has to be said – a pretty difficult woman – became impossible to live with. When you’re in love, you don’t notice these things. But when things go wrong, all of a sudden that person’s faults are magnified tenfold.
Their dancing was unforgettable. Their fights were epic. After seven years, their marriage broke up. Their legendary dance partnership broke up along with the marriage. Both of them found other partners, both of them continued performing, both of them continued being legends in their own right. But the magic was gone.
One student was witness to most of it, if not all. He was more than just a student, almost family. He watched, he learned, and he swore not to repeat his mentors’ mistakes.
After their break-up, this couple did not speak to each other for a very long time. They did not dance together, they did not see each other. Suddenly, something changed last year. They started dancing together again. The tango world fainted. What? HOW?!
Let’s abandon Buenos Aires and shift to New York. There is another ballerina in this story – another talented dancer, who chose to pursue ballet professionally. But something happened; an injury, unhappiness, depression, countless other reasons, and she found herself dancing tango, almost by accident. She had several teachers, some excellent, some not so much. But this ballerina learned how to tango, more or less, and was getting pretty decent.
Last year, March 1st, to be exact, this ballerina went to this infamous couple’s first performance together after their break-up. She watched them dance, open mouthed, and fell in love with tango a little bit more that night.
Their students were also there, one in particular. He noticed this ballerina and asked her to dance. She reminded him a lot of that legendary tanguera performing that night; her height, body build, posture, hair color, and complete obsession with tango. He was a few years older than her, but not by much. He had been dancing tango for a long time, and even though she was pretty good, he could dance circles around her. He liked this girl and offered to train her. When he saw the amazing potential this ballerina had, he asked her to be his dance partner.
But he had one rule – a rule he never intended to break. He would never become involved with his dance partner; doesn’t matter how desirable. If you get involved, it ends badly. That’s how it worked out for his mentor, after all, and he, being an ambitious man himself, was not going to let feelings get in the way.
He did not realize that feelings do get in the way, whether you want them to, or not. And this ballerina – let’s call her Mademoiselle – fell in love with him. A mentor, an amazing dancer, a really gorgeous man, who listened to her, never judged her, and the two became increasingly close. All of a sudden, everything changed…
To be continued?
I’ve always worn 4″ heels, even in my “baby tanguera” days. I like to blame the fact that my feet are so idiotically arched from ballet that it makes it impossible dancing in shoes with a low heel. There is some truth here, because I really do find it difficult to walk in flats or low heels. Barbie freak, that’s me.
We had a performance last month, which, as I thought then, was probably our best one yet. An acquaintance recorded it on my camera and as I watched it over and over again, for the first time in my life, I was actually happy with my dancing. I floated home on a fluffy pink cloud that night, thinking that I was finally getting somewhere with this.
It’s been a while since I’ve shown my face at the milonga scene. Usually I go through stages, those being: Go Out Every Night or Avoid Milonga Like Plague.
