Interlude: I don't get a class with Myriam Pincen

Myriam Pincen, who used to dance with Ricardo Vidort, (watch them here) and who was often his dance assistant, is advertised to give a class at Salon Canning before the afternoon milonga. I arrive early. While waiting outside I notice this tree growing out of someone's front window: perhaps there's a courtyard inside. It has forced its way through the metal grill, and just kept on growing, creating shade over the pavement. I guess the owner is satisfied that no one is going to break in through that window.



I wander off for a coffee, passing a petshop window, where there are a black and a white rabbit, and three tiny siamese kittens neatly curled up asleep together. I find a little restaurant and order a coffee, watching the traffic pollution billow up in the sunshine outside. No sweet breezes today. The white tiles on the walls have comments written on them with felt-tip pens. 'If you want a taste of nirvana, eat at Quique's for a week.' All in different hands, one with a crude drawing of three fat people, others with elaborate decorations, all commenting on how good the food is at Quique's. Above it all, high up on the ceiling, a quote: 'No time is more precious than the present', attributed to Goethe. Goethe? I lived just off a busy London road for years and never found a cafe with a quote from Goethe.

Sadly, Myriam Pincen isn't giving the class. She has two other classes a week advertised: they too are canceled. I leave, disappointed. December isn't a good month for classes: everyone is winding down for Christmas. She has a great reputation as a teacher, but I don't think she's traveled a lot.