by Kirby Lindsay, posted 6 November 2013
On Sunday, November 10th, author and instructor Gabriela Condrea will bring her new ‘Tango Speed DatingTM’ event to Fremont, and The Barrel Thief (formerly Wine Tea Chocolate.) Singles, aged 35 – 50, can gather for games (the fun kind, not the head kind) while meeting and mingling, in a light and lively atmosphere.
‘Not A Dance Class’
“It’s not a dance class,” Condrea stated firmly. “I’m taking dance out of the dance studio,” she explained, “There is a perception that you have to go to a dance studio to dance.”
“I teach Tango,” Condrea explained, “my teaching style is game based. I got this from my teacher in Argentina.” Under Rodolfo Dinzel, Condrea learned about making dance interesting, and easy, by having students participate in games. It happens that the games often involve the partners having to connect – mirroring, leading, hand-to-hand. While she has no theater experience, she’s had students tell the games come from that world, like in improvisation, but they work well for learning tango as well.
For Tango Speed Dating, she’s plans to begin with non-verbal games. Speed Dating often presents a real challenge for those who find small talk, or talking about themselves, difficult. Condrea hopes her participants, “can open up in new ways.” One game – “I’ll have people dance back-to-back,” she described, “you don’t see the person supporting you,” – could give people a new insight on their partner.
A Place ‘To Intersect’
Condrea, also single, knows of the need for more fun, interesting places for Seattle singles to meet. “We don’t have that many places where we coincide,” she observed, “it’s tough to figure out where to intersect.”
‘Tango Speed Dating’ provides that place for people to greet and gather, in person. Condrea has done the on-line dating thing, and has learned that meeting on-line is very different from meeting in person. “People have a vision of themselves that is different,” she explained, from the way they are experienced by others.
“It does take effort to date,” she acknowledged, but with festive and interesting activities like Tango Speed Dating – or Condrea’s other gathering, the Tango Happy Hour – attendees can simply socialize.
Tango Speed Dating also allows singles to meet people that may not spark interest on-screen, or in a small-talk situation. “I wonder if people will broaden the kind of people they are looking at,” Condrea mused about Tango Speed Dating, “a lot of people have trouble pairing up,” she noted, and she hopes these gatherings offer new ideas and opportunities.
“One dance game is not the way to know if someone is right for you,” Condrea admitted, “but it can open up the possibilities.”
Go For The Nod
The first Tango Speed Dating took place at Ampersand Lounge in Belltown, with a slightly younger crowd. “It was interesting to watch people get into the games,” Condrea observed. As to whether matches were made, Condrea won’t be involved in that aspect. For this speed dating outing, she wants the participants to take the lead – and decide whether to exchange information, or not, when the evening closes.
“There is an element in Tango,” Condrea explained, “the cabeceo, a nod with the head. More than that, you engage with the eyes… It can encourage an ask to dance.” For women, it means making a man aware of interest, and for men, it gives them a chance to choose, and prepare to ask. “When guys do that, they are more prepared to dance with me too, and I know they want to dance with me.”
Originally from Moldova, Condrea immigrated to Seattle at age 6. She became an 8th grade teacher and a volunteer in South America. On a trip in Argentina, she attended a Social Tango, “and I felt like it fit. I loved it!” She became an avid dancer and instructor, and has returned frequently to Argentina to improve her skills.
Condrea described herself as independent, and the tango insists that she find a partner – and trust them to lead her. “It’s something I can’t do on my own,” she acknowledged, and she thinks that might be part of the challenge, and the appeal. It is a theme in the book she wrote, ‘When 1 + 1 = 1’, and one she hopes to help others explore at Tango Speed Dating.
Registration continues for the November 10th Tango Speed Dating at The Barrel Thief, with more gatherings planned for more age groups including another here in Fremont in January 2014. For those who want to participate, without the Speed Dating component, check out her ‘Tango Happy Hour’ Tuesdays at 5p at Amber.
See new ways a traditional dance like the tango can open opportunities to meet and greet, ways that e-mail and texting don’t allow.
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