Hell Freezes Over

So I get a call from OwnerGuy yesterday afternoon.  JoNY tried to come back to work but was still feeling lousy so she was sent home.  He told me Z offered to take the lesson and he said he’d even work with us or we could just cancel the lesson.  I opted for cancelling. I decided that because everyone feels different and, this close to Showcase, I was just concerned that it would mess me up a bit to try and do the routines with another partner.  I know where JoNY and I get stuck and Z would be able to make those parts work but it doesn’t mean that I’d be able to make it work with JoNY.

If she’s back next week, then maybe we can find time to squeeze in a make up lesson.  If not, then it is what it is.  I can’t control how she feels so there is no point in stressing over it. I mean we’ve been working together for about 7 months and she’s had to learn all nine routines and I’ve had to learn the parts that OwnerGuy changed.  That probably sounds like a long time but it really isn’t if you break it down by hours.  And we’ve never danced together at an event like Showcase  I know it isn’t a comp but it can still be exhausting and nerve wracking.  This may sound a little cliche but I think we win just by being there.

Certainly I have goals and I want to do well but it is kind of sinking in that this was not an easy path to start over with a new partner who had to jump a level rather quickly and learn to dance nine routines together and have them at a point where a Showcase is a viable option.  Guess I’m trying to give us some credit but I kind of suck at that.  So if we have a couple of rough heats, that is to be expected.  Its part of the process.  Yeah, I’m totally out of the freak out place.  For some reason, I’m in some zen place concerning this Showcase.

But now back to the party.  It was also the Showcase rehearsal party so everyone doing a solo got a last chance to practice on the floor with an audience.  We had a shortage of men for some reason.  Tex was out on business but his wife showed up and Z’s other student had plans so there weren’t a lot of options so I was kept quite busy.

It is interesting to watch the solos.  It just gives me another level of appreciation for what the pros go through.  It is tough to mix the talent to make the routine flow and look effortless along with the performing style to give it some life.  And I’m certainly not claiming I’ve got that mix but it is just what I observe when watching.  Yeah, now I’m a dance critic.  I will say that I give a lot of credit to anyone who is willing to get out on stage and do a solo routine.  (Just to be clear, I say solo but it is still a couple thing it is just that they are the only couple on the floor).  I think we belong to some strange weird sub cult of the dancing cult which is strange enough to begin with.

So I got asked several times if I was going to be doing one.  I had to tell everyone that, no, I was only going to be participating in heats this year.  There is one couple who danced at a different studio and now comes to ours for parties because they moved who were there to do a routine.  I’ve only met them at the various Showcases but they asked if I was going to do a routine and then wanted to make sure I was going to be at Showcase.  Maybe I was missed at the last one.

Now, I’ve gone all this way without getting to the big news of the night and the reason for the title.  They played a Tango.  They usually only play one Tango per party and very few people dance.  Tango is one of those dances I don’t normally do socially because I know my routine but I don’t remember a lot of other Tango steps.  So I’m sitting out and I see Z making an approach.  I hear her say to someone that she’s risking her life and then she asks me to Tango.

So, for the first time in forever, we danced together.  At one point, she says to me that the whole studio must be confused right now.  I suspect it may have only been the few people who knew our history.  Lots of new people who only saw me dance with Kid T.  They may be aware that I danced with Z in the past but not the circumstances of why we stopped.  But I know I saw my Cha-Cha partner applauding.  Not for the quality of the dance but just for the sign that the permafrost between us is has melted a bit.  Maybe a lot.  But certainly not at all what I was expecting.  Not complaining though.