Such a lovely little weekly event to have the option of attending with no need to commit! On Sunday I went to an address that had been given to me by some tangueros at Tango Cool, Villa Malcolm (a Friday night milonga I'm growing to like lots!) I was told that it was someones apartment and they '...have a class and eat and dance' - it all sounded interesting and different. The people I was chatting to were also fun, so I made a plan to go...
The apartment was on Bolivar in San Telmo and it was beautiful! The stone black and white floor to the right was clear of the furniture that had been pushed to the side. There were two couples dancing, one was a friend of mine. It was a large space for dancing, large for someones apartment at least - around 4 x 10 metres. The lighting was soft and relaxing with a honey orange glow and the music coming from the basic sound system was lovely. I imagined what it must be like to be a tourist walking in San Telmo, hearing the music spill onto the street from the balcony above. Who'd have thought I'd be in the apartment where the sound was resinating from! To the left of the same room was the open plan kitchen with a table in the centre. Around four people were sat chatting. Most of the company did not speak English which gave me a great opportunity to practise my Spanish in a relaxed natural environment.
Prior to my arrival the owner of the apartment, Bettina, gave a tango class which has a fee attached. She does this every week. If you arrive after the class it's just a 'free for all' friendly occasion.
As I looked around the room I noticed that the apartment was, indeed, one of the nicest I'd been in, in Buenos Aires. There were a multitude of sculptures in the room - different sizes, styles and materials. I noticed a few naked figures, some very 'risque' work, a couple of jugs on a mantlepiece caught my eye. The handles were nude ladies posing, there were some very sweet looking other pieces that I wouldn't know how to describe so check out the pictures! 
My favourite thing was a paper mache lamp that had been painted to resemble two large tango dancers. It was so lovely and when Bettina told me she had made all the sculptures I begged her to teach me how to make a paper mache lamp for myself.
I put my shoes on and danced around the room... There were breaks between dancing but no real tandas or codigos to respect - just easy going dancing and socialising. More people arrived and the energy in the room became even happier and chattier! I was so pleased to be around such a friendly tango bunch as there's lots of exclusivity out there. Slowly I am finding my way and once you've found the settings that suit you, the tango experience in BA becomes much more bearable - actually blissful!
Later on food was ordered and wine was drunk. I really couldn't believe how lovely this environment was and the only incentive for the owner (other than the class earnings beforehand) was the joy of hosting somewhere for people to dance and socialise. It really has inspired me to re think my carpet obsession. If I ever own I'd like to recreate this same sort of setting once a week / month for local friendly tangueros to swan in at their own leisure!
I called it a night there at 1am but ended up scurrying off to another tango club at 3am which was a rather average experience in comparison.
I intend to return every week to Bolivar and have promised to make cheesecake for the group soon!
