Two to Tango

At a contra dance this weekend, I heard there were Argentine Tango lessons on Monday nights in Moscow. I was excited because I’ve never learned any of this dance. Anyhow, I was talking to a history grad student during the break at the contra dance, and when he mentioned he had done ballroom dancing in college, I told him about the class, thinking he might be interested. Had I seen him hopping around the dance floor (there is no hopping in contra dance) I might have refrained. I asked him to dance later that evening and only then started to discover some of his oddities. He bowed and said he was honored to dance with me. At the end, he reconfirmed the tango class time and said, “So it’s a date.”

What was I to say? I strategized about how I might get around this date I had gotten myself into. My plan was to mention a boyfried, another guy, lots of guys, something to let him believe I wasn’t single, so there wouldn’t be another accidental date. So I went to the dance class despite my fears about this odd duck I would be meeting.

I found my partner/date at the class in elf shoes. Long pointy ones that curl up at the toe. Apparently, these were the only leather-soled shoes he had because he’s into re-enacting medieval/renaissance scenes. The tango class itself was excellent, except that my partner stared at me all night whether or not we were dancing. He cleverly hung around while I stalled after the class to accompany me to my car. I got out of exchanging email addresses and going out for coffee, but then he asked if he could recite something from Romeo and Juliet. I didn’t know how to respond, and before I knew it, he had launched into the scene. Leaning closer, he got to, “O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!” at which point he prompted me to say yes. I was afraid of what would come next, so I hopped into my car, said “See you next week!” and drove away, leaving him standing there to recite the rest of the scene to my retreating car. I had not executed my prepared strategy; all I managed to do was run away. Sigh. How do I get myself into these situations?

If only it took one to tango.