New Years in Buenos Aires
Just like Christmas, the city shuts down almost completely starting the evening before the New Year, until the night after New Years day. I JUST got invited to a pretty nice little house party in Palermo, and I’m going to get some wine and dessert before the stores close at 6 pm. Perhaps afterwards we’ll head to La Viruta, which is a bit of a mess if you’re expecting quality dancing, since it’s 20 percent tango danced poorly, and the rest party music.
Looking at the New Year, I feel like it’s an arbitrary date, excepting that it relates to the earth’s position relative to the sun, and other people care about it. Still, it’s a fine time to reflect, and connect. This trip has served to remind me of how large the world is, and how interconnected at the same time.
One idea that comes to mind is something I learned from Dan and Lara from Biznik, a Burning Man concept of collaboration over competition. The dance community thrives when we work together, and often suffers when there’s infighting, particularly in places where dance culture isn’t fully integrated and there’s not real critical mass. If a dance shuts down, some people simply leave the scene or get less involved, since it’s not worth it and there aren’t a lot of options. It’s up to us to decide what matters to us and why, and what we can do about.
My New Year’s resolution is to fully express my love of dance and dancers, and spend my available time bringing what I can to the Seattle scene, and hopefully beyond. Here’s to seeing everyone growing together, and elevating the consciousness of our surroundings through dance!
Tags: Buenos Aires, Resolutions, Tango
January 7th, 2009 at 3:01 am
Salute! Well said.
LY (StL)
January 7th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Woot! You just made the first comment on this blog