http://www.commeilfaut.com.ar/historia.php
The salon is in Recoleta. A first hint.
You go into a backyard that looks like a part of Paris. The second hint.
It takes attention to find the entry and sign. Third hint.
You ring the bell and are greeted with attitude and a raised eyebrow. Si?
By now you get the picture - this is serious Tango shoe business and not just for anybody. Pero no.
Shoes are nowhere in sight but several sofas and mirrors. We are being sat on one of the posh sofas with the speed of light - not a second to breathe or take in the salon. Immediately being asked for color, style and material desired. Out come boxes upon boxes of the most exquisite, elegant, extravagant, shiny, sexy, seductive, feminine Tango shoes. No doubt this is THE SHOE PLACE.
I am reminded of the scene in Pretty Woman where the gorgeous Julia Roberts shops on Rodeo Drive (the shop where Richard Gere and his credit cards come along only that in our case Richard could unfortunately not make it) It has some 40 degrees outside - health warning is still orange - our feet are huge as they are swollen from the humidity all the walking the shop manager rolls her eyes slightly how can you come so late in the day we are about to close and it is imposible to try shoes in this weather "my Darling" - and we just have to try on these shoes....
A pair of black, white striped, signature tango shoes with a golden heel call my name - very high - and they do not fit 100%. My spine is screaming when I walk in them - yet dancing and walking in heels are two different kettle of fish. The design is stunning. Impossible to wear for me now as this pair signals every serious dancer: experienced, self confident bailarina. Well, not quite yet. Of course it is possible to have them tailor made and fitted exactly to my feet ... I have a week to think before I go back to Comme Il Faut. The shoes change weekly - Saturdays. The salon is in walking distance of my place. What great practicing ground for my newly designed principles around making all choices in my life from a new level of consciousness. VERY tempting. VERY good.
Of course it is strictly forbidden to take pictures inside of Comme Il Faut. Of course I took one and kept it. Kristin is in a world of her own. The amount of information she spills out onto the salon floor around soles, suede pads, extra padding, additional holes in the straps, shapes, widening, enhancing legs, steps, heels blending into the dance floor, color matching skintones, outfits, what type of Tango and Milonga requires what type of shoe - it feels like an explosion - she clearly is in her element. Beautiful to watch her joy over the perfect pair she finds.
I find myself happy just to share the experience and this feeling of complete certainty. No. Not my pair today. Completely holding my own even in ever luring shoe paradise. Freedom. Joy.
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| Kristin in love.... |
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| yes - very very very hot..... |
After Comme If Faut we head out to Palermo to pay a visit to Greta Flora - what a different experience - they have maybe 3 pairs my size - and the style is very different to CIF. We discover the clip on flowers - great idea - you turn a basic black Tango learning shoe into a fun expressive one by clipping on leather flowers - perfect. Immediately makes every shoe look like a Greta Flora design. Clever. I get a pair of clip ons - in Tango red - of course. Kristin explains that really serious and good dancers often wear the most worn shoes - you can tell by the location of the traces of wear and tear if the shoes belong to a good dancer. So of course I have to examine this and - indeed apparently I keep my ankles close together quite nicely - clear wear and tear in the right spot!Actually this light hearted fun experience I so needed after a horrible night in Palermo at the Club Villa Malcom experiencing true embarrassment on the dance floor on Friday. What did I do that after two really nicely danced, intuitively managed Tangos (oh that works well he says) ouf of the blue my partner feels he now he will turn into a teacher and needs to explain things to me. Why? What signals did I send to elicit that from him? I did not ask for this. No thank you - I do have a very good and lovely teacher whom I trust - I am here to enjoy myself. Of course now the magic is gone I am out of my body and into my head. Now it feels heavy instead of light. To top it all he now says - all the Germans do have problem with being too much in their head - where he is from is unclear - he most certainly is not Argentine I notice I do not care enough to ask.
I can feel my irritation turning into intolerance with my next partner and I decide to focus all my energy on this is the last dance with this partner. Cortina. (musical break between two tandas or rounds of Tango) Thank you universe. The bad breath (garlic and onion) offends me - why not use a mint if you know you will be physically so close to somebody and I am thinking of what I can say in a self honoring non offending way next time I run into the phenomenon of bad breath in Tango. Then I decide this was the first and last experience of that kind. That should do it. The next partner clearly has no feeling for rhythm and music. Worse than lecturing and smell. Way worse for me. True - so true I only have few steps in comparison to what is out there in Tango AND my body cringes when music and movement are disconnected so completely. And no this was not a style. My body cannot tolerate it. So - all this is also out there in the Tango world. It certainly clarified what I will not tolerate. So I embrace it as sharpening my focus on whom to pick to dance with. Good.
Still it took me a while to work through this I felt quite frustrated and thought maybe I just do not go to Milongas for a while. The good dancers will not ask me and I cannot expect them to really as they are there to have a great dancing experience on their own level themselves. Dancing with beginners I am afraid I will pick up dancing that will be very hard to correct later on. So, how does one progress then - I know I want the miles under my soles to improve. More classes as long as I still live in the cradle of Tango and Practicas and doing the homework. Good plan. No more Milonga until I have more technique - but then it is not about technique only... and Milongas can be so much fun and I can learn from watching and just absorbing it and ....
So I am back at the Pavilion in Glorieta at the Milonga on Saturday night I cannot help it. And in Kristin I have a new friend who is a Tango crazy so of course we go. For a while I keep my flip flops on to signal "no dancing with this chica tonight" there are some who would even dance barefoot so I am asked anyway. The shoes are not always a clear sign. A very strong looking man in his forties invites me to dance and I sense ok he is the right one to get back on the floor - I put on my shoes in the speed of light and off we go. Its ok.
I ask the universe to dance with empowered, experienced and sweet partners and I get asked by 5 different dancers I am not choosing yet. This is the next level of learning. So I go in with the intention to simply surrender and enjoy the perfect summer night and all the Tango has to offer and tonight I just want to be held for a while and this feels so lovely - I assume my partners will make me look beautiful according do where I am on my skill level and most of them do and this works well. I am just happy. As we are also close to the bario chino there is a Chinese fair and all sorts of distraction around the Pavilion tonight - while dancing I do not even notice it. Cuando bailas, bailas. When you dance you dance.
Then Emilio asks me to dance. At first I am taken aback - a challenge - Emilio must be in his 70s his face tells so many stories - bright, alert eyes smile at me knowingly - the surprise comes when he holds me in a very close embrace as his energy feels like that of a very young man. He loves the Tango clearly - then I sense his tremor - he has Parkinsons his hand moves uncontrollably along my back.
I am aware of my insecurity - how do I read his lead with this hand shaking so much I will not know what he wants me to dance. What to do with this? My back however stays really soft and somehow I do not mind this on a physical level. I am surprised. Then I breathe and remember all I know in my heart and just ease into the dance - it moves me emotionally - the sheer humanness of this moment and I tear up a little inspired by this man's humble courage.
All the shiny shoes and the fun glitz and glamour of the morning fade out at the other side of the Tango rainbow compared to this experience. Tu pasas muy lindo con la musica he says and indeed Emilio and I dance a whole tanda together and he is the best dancing partner I have all night. Que maravilloso. Be courageous and open, lean in to the unknown trusting it will be just fine and exactly what is needed in each moment while I hold my own, eyes closed, and we just dance and enjoy ourselves. Ah - back in Tango heaven. Of course, I might have those shoes fitted at Comme Il Faut next Saturday. And why not. It is about range.
Kristin and I chill and chat for a while after the Milonga and it finally starts to rain. I am completely happy and filled up when I get out of the taxi in Avenida Santa Fe and there she is - teenage Mum, deep black rings under her eyes, carrying her baby through the rain, the bare feet black with dirt, begging - when I spot her she runs after two men almost screaming at them to please help her. I have a challenging time managing my cringing body and heart as I witness her in her despair. I hand her what I have left which tonight is a not even the equivalent of a Euro and receive the sweetest blessing for happiness in my life in Spanish.
Argentina keeps moving me to tears in exactly those moments when I feel I could not be happier.
I ponder a little on arcs, this day and at what point happiness and sadness meet and what the quality of that space has brought to me lately.
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