This has been quite a journey, most definitely another adventure in my life. 4 years ago Rommel and I came to dance at the first US Tango Salon Competition in SF sanctioned by the Ministry of Culture of Buenos Aires. We did not train, we did not practice, I was not happy about it and definitely conflicted. I did not do my hair or wear anything extra ordinary, just black. There were maybe 20 or 25 couples. I think we came in 5th…. We then began to investigate further into this style, this genre. Each year I never thought I would do it again but Rommel kept his desire alive. He really wanted this journey and it turned out to be a great way to improve both of our dancing and both of our understanding of the dance form in a much deeper way. We took classes with many different teachers, all of whom we are most deeply thankful for their time and expertise, most influential being Maximiliano and Jesica who believed in us and pushed us in ways I did not think possible. But I wanted to also thank those teachers who worked with us in the last 4 years from the beginning of this journey: mi maestra, Graciela Gonzalez; Santiago Croce and Amy Lincoln; Los Totis Virginia y Christian Marquez; Brian Nguyen and Yuliana Basmajian; Andres Bravo y Carolina Jaurena; and Diego Ortega y Aldana for being so inspiring. There are also a handful of milongueros who we were honored to study with in Buenos Aires in 2012. I have been able to see how each of these teachers were perfect for us at the time. Each contributing to our foundation of relearning this dance.
I took my first Argentine Tango class as a proclaimed modern dancer and choreographer in 1998 and if then, you had told me I would be here now I would have probably laughed, there is no way I would have believed you.
Thank you Rommel Oramas for this tremendous journey and for these amazing experiences at the finals of the US Argentine Tango Salon Championships 2011 – 2014.
We came in 5th out of 16 couples in the finals. Here are the videos. AND YES, our many fans were astounded and shocked that we did not make the top 3. Several of the judges commented on how lovely our dancing was. We had a woman run up to us after and tell us how moved she was by our presence entering the floor and our dancing. Hey – maybe this is all about the fans and not about winning…. thanks everyone for your support!
(PS – same dress, same number #101, different hair and different earrings!!!)