Here we go again.
In May 2020, I wrote why I wouldn't go to a milong anytime soon. It took me about two months to reverse my position but truth to be told, I hardly had a chance to go back to dancing before the second (and third, and fourth...) waves of Covid lockdowns ended it.
This summer feels eerily similar. I can eat out, go shopping if I must, meet with friends, and people are dancing. A brief respite in between periods of oppressive tightening of our civic freedoms, or, if you prefer, between deathly waves of viral oppression. And just like last year, I am not dancing.
For as long as the last lockdowns lasted, I danced weekly in private with a friend. And just as the rules were relaxed, I stopped. It's like the end of winter when your body is so drained you can barely enjoy the spring sunshine.
I suspect that the birth of a son has played a role. There is currently no hole in my emotional life that tango should plug. I miss my friends, though. Perhaps I'll end up like some of the other old-timers who come to milongas merely to hang out.
I write this in part to explain the little sabbatical I took from this digital garden of mine. Not having danced and not having seen any worthwhile new tango recordings, I couldn't make myself write "tandas of the week" and whatnot just to fill the space. Better to reboot, and start anew.
Having been double-jabbed and expecting a green light from my Covid Pass app next week, I expect that the reboot shall come. Unless, of course, we are confined to our homes for another winter season.
With those encouraging words, I'd like to end this with a tanda I was recently able to complete once Tango Bardo recorded the fourth video in a series with the singer Osvaldo Peredo. I've grown to appreciate their collaboration more and more. I hope you, too, will enjoy it.