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STELLA 2 times since 2002
A Little Chinese Girl Goes Dancing
in Holland
I had first heard about tango dancing
in Holland in 1999 from Mayumi. She told me that all the best dancers
in Europe go on the first week-end of the month to dance at this place
near Amsterdam. So for several years I had the idea germinating in my
mind that I should try to find an excuse to visit Amsterdam. I tried
to find a conference in Amsterdam that would coincide with a visit to
give me a reason to go there, but nothing appeared.
Then in May, 2002, I went to visit my sister in NYC. It so happened
that Eric Jeurissen was teaching in NYC at the same time. I was very
curious to meet him and signed up for two classes he was teaching. I
wanted to take some privates with him also, but was told he would only
teach couples. The only guy I knew there at the time was Angel Garcia-Clemente,
a great, friendly teacher and friend and so I asked him, but he was
understandably too busy. Anyway, Angel knew of my interest in studying
with Eric and so when we went to a milonga he pointed Eric out to me.
I was surprised at Eric’s appearance, which was so casual and
not my concept of famous tango teacher at all. Instead of the slicked
down hair and suave appearance, he had bright purplish reddish hair
standing straight up. It looked like the comb of a rooster. He was dancing
with a lady named Rebecca Shulman who I had also heard a lot about.
Her appearance also surprised me as she had on a tattered old sweater
and baggy pants, no make up whatsoever, and looked like she had just
come from cleaning her house. I found them both very interesting and
I said to Angel I would really like to dance with Eric. Angel laughed
and said, well ask him, he is really friendly. So I mustered up my courage
and went and introduced myself. Then I asked Eric if I could have the
pleasure of just one dance. He laughed and after that one dance he joked
and asked if he could have the pleasure of one dance. I knew then that
he was quite a charmer.
The last day of my visit was also the day I was taking classes from
Eric. So I brought all my luggage to the dance studio in Manhattan with
me. After the last class I mentioned to Eric how much I had heard about
Nijmegen ( I didn’t even know at that time his milonga was called
“El Corte”) and that I had been wanting to go for several
years. He said “Well, you should come to the New Year’s
milonga” and then he started telling me about it. It sounded really
good, but I didn’t have any plans to go to Holland for New Year’s.
Remember that it was just May at that time. Then he said “You
can only buy the ticket from me in person and you have to pay cash.
No one else can sell you the ticket and you can’t sell it to anyone
else. I have some tickets with me now. They will sell out soon.”
That meant I had to decide there and then whether or not to buy the
ticket. I thought for about 5 minutes. The conditions that Eric mentioned
seemed pretty restrictive. I was really undecided. But then, for some
reason, I overcame my normally very cautious approach and took the plunge.
I bought the ticket for 30 euros and thereby changed my life.
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For
the rest of the year I thought, well if I don’t go, I just lose
a few dollars, it isn’t that much money. But somehow it wasn’t
the money. It was as if I had already made a commitment to Eric. I somehow
had this psychic link and framework, that now I really should make the
pilgrimage to Nijmegen. I went to the website mentioned on the ticket
and read about “El Corte.” I read the ticket which said I
should bring groceries to the milonga and thought “What a strange
milonga – you need to bring your own food.” All of these things
pointed to the fact that I was going to undergo a very different and new
experience.
I announced to my family that I would not be spending New Year’s
with them, but would be travelling to Holland. It was a way of psyching
myself up as much as it was preparing them. I pored over plane schedules
and prices. And then finally, I was in Amsterdam, totally lost, going
from one windy canal bridge to another. I took the train from there to
Nijmegen, the oldest city in Holland. It was actually easy. The hotel
was lovely. I started meeting other tangueros right away and we all went
shopping for groceries together. We had to hurry because the markets closed
at 5 p.m. that day.
The milonga didn’t start until 10 p.m. but at 9:30 I was already
in the lobby with dozens of other tangueros. We were so anxious to get
there that we arrived too early and had to stand in the cold in our light
tango clothes until the doors opened.
And then I was dazed. I am not going to describe the building in detail,
because it will spoil the surprise and delight for those who haven’t
yet visited. But suffice it to say, that Eric and his friends had thought
of every detail. The building was artistic, spacious, warm and comfortable.
There were all kinds of tiny surprises in every corner. There were places
to sleep, eat, put your coat, drink at the bar, socialize, rest your eyes,
bathe your feet and of course to dance, to dance to your heart’s
content, past time, past eternity, into the music of eternal damnation,
if you wanted. The music didn’t stop for over two days and nights.
I met many wonderful people and yes, like so many others, this became
my psychic home. For days after dancing there, I would wake up at midnight
and my feet would say to me, it’s time to go dancing now.
So yes, go to Nijmegen when you can, dance, and you will find your heart
there.
Stella
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CHRISTIAN rotterdam netherlands