Smoke gets in your eyes

Do you remember how romantic it was, dancing Tango on an empty dance floor to The Platters?*

*This was back in 2011, before Irene lost 15 pounds and before Man Yung gained 15 pounds!

We usually dance Tango to Tango music in Milongas...but sometimes, in small doses, we have had a wonderful time dancing Tango at unexpected times in unexpected places to unexpected music.

"Remember when we first started dancing Tango?  There was no milonga one night so we went to the local Chinese restaurant which was hosting a ballroom social.  It was quite interesting watching all the Chinese ballroom dancers fudge their steps and running back into the same corner of the dance floor to start their step sequences all over again!  And yes, don't forget the Face Dancing!"

"I remember that, they were very funny!  But wasn't it great when they played Rod Stewart's 'Have I Told You Lately' at the end of night?  We danced just the few steps of Tango we knew to the song.  Even though we couldn't dance well at that time, it was magic. The whole world slipped away and it felt like it was only us on the dance floor."

"How about that time in Montreal at the brunch buffet at the Fairmount Queen Elizabeth?  There was a singer with a guitar, singing Spanish songs to a crowd too busy eating to care. We asked him in Spanish to play a Tango, and he smiled and played 'Sur' for us.  We danced on the carpet in our street shoes."

"There was that time at the cinema...we were there before the movie started.  I think we were watching "Before Sunset".  There was no-one in the cinema yet, and there was music playing.  I don't remember what song they were playing, but we liked it, and we got up to dance on the empty space just in front of the screen."

"That was a lovely moment.  I also liked sneaking into the big hall with the wooden floor at Trinity College just before your "Marx" class.  You'd play some music on your phone and we would practice steps trying not to make any noise so that we wouldn't get kicked out!"

We have danced in deserted gazebos in parks all around town.  We have danced on a flurry covered porch, and in the snow right next to a bus stop.  We have danced in the airport next to the gate, waiting for our flight.  We have danced to Mayumi Itsuwa, Eva Cassidy, Carole King, even the Beatles.  We have danced before breakfast, during lunch break, and we have even stopped to dance while eating dinner.  Even when we are asleep, we sometimes dream we are embracing each other to the music, moving with our eyes closed.

All it takes is a knowing look into each other's eyes, a shared smile, and a loving embrace - we can take our romance with us wherever we go, just because of Tango.

It happens to be Chinese Valentine's Day as well as Western Valentine's Day today.  There are at least three Valentine's milongas going on tonight in Toronto, but we didn't go to any of them, we stayed home and cooked a delicious home-made seafood dinner.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!