Thursday night, Lujos at El Beso

The moment I walk in I see Alberto and Paulina Dassieu on the floor: so good to see them again. I catch up with Alberto a bit later, a big abrazo with all that wild hair. & an invitation to visit a milonga with them on Saturday, but with all the noise I can't make out where.

There's something of a competitive edge to El Beso: it's the place where everyone wants to be seen at their best. But watching Alberto and Paulina dancing on a crowded floor, rather than giving a demonstration, is very instructive. Alberto dances slowly, and I see the extent to which the dance is upper body movement following the surging phrases of the music, moving into whatever space is open to him. I can't see the feet, and from here it looks as if the feet simply follow the movements of the upper body, rather than to lead it. It occurs to me that this won't be too obvious in ordinary video; it needs 3D to show clearly what is going on, as 3D seems to emphasise the physicality of dance. Watching video of a milonga on a small screen doesn't give the feel of the body movement in the tango I see here.