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6/11/2005

We visited Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, the Silk Market and the Summer Palace today. It was really hot and the sun was brutal. The crowd was too big. By the end of day everyone was totally exhausted.

The highlight of the day was that I went a milonga (tango party) hosted at Jorge’s home. I called Felicia after arriving in Beijing and she informed me of this event. She was the organizer of Beijing tango. I met her tow years when I was here. Two tango teachers Jamie and Shorey from Seattle and Portland were here conducting workshops. They’ll be going to Dalian on 6/20 and it was nice to meet them beforehand. Finding the place was a challenge. The directions I got from Felicia perhaps made perfect sense to locals but made no sense to me. I had to make a few phone calls before finding the place. It was already 10. To my surprise most of the people were expatriates. There were more Chinese two years ago than now. I think this is a problem for tango in China: not too many Chinese were interested. Another thing both Jamie and I agree was that Chinese tango is in a desperate need for local residence teachers who can systematically and consistently teach students. I believe this is the reason for the success in Taipei where Daniel and Stacy did a great job there.

Dance level was low as expected. But I really enjoyed dancing with Shorey. Dancing with her was the dancing I would have done anywhere in the States. It was really good to feel this way on the other side of the big pond.

posted by Unknown @ 4:51 PM