SHALL WE DANCE?

Wow! Today is not only fantastic, with a beautiful blue sky, but the temperature is so mild that if you didn’t know better you’d think spring was right around the corner! Art says it’s about 50º but in the sun it feels even warmer!

Yesterday we had an interesting experience. Corinna and Maurizio had asked us if we‘d like to go with them to their weekly tango lesson, and of course we said yes. We drove down to their house at seven, and Corinna apologized for having to eat such an early dinner! We laughed and told her that we still ate at the more American time of six p.m., and she was astounded! SIX o’clock!

We had a light dinner because of their impending “workout”…brodo with homemade tortellini, roasted radicchio, asparagus, cauliflower and some sort of meat with a salsa verde…a green sauce made with parsley, garlic, oil, anchovies and capers. Everything was delicious, and after dinner we drove into Perugia for the lesson.

Corinna had seen a flyer for these classes and thought it sounded like fun, so they signed up. Tonight would be the tenth of twelve lessons for the beginning class, and the series of twelve classes costs €120. The teacher is an American from Florida who now lives in Italy.

Corinna was afraid we’d be bored, but we assured her that it would be interesting….and it was. There were more men than women, so there was some periodic shuffling of partners. Elaine, the instructor, would tell the class about the new move, demonstrate it several times with her assistant, then allow the group to practice in place before moving around the floor.

One of things that Corinna mentioned was the lack of mirrors on the walls like a “normal” dance studio would have. As we watched the group practice a new move, we could tell that mirrors would be very helpful. I’m not sure what the building/room is used for during the day…it could be part of a university, or a church, or perhaps just a rented room.

The class didn’t begin until 9:30, and lasted until about 11:00. THIS is why the Italians take a nap in the afternoon! Corinna and Maurizio decided to leave just after eleven, but the rest of the class stayed to continue practicing.

As we walked back down to the car, Corinna asked it we’d like to go somewhere to have a drink. We drove through parts of Perugia that had gotten us into trouble, but Maurizio assured us that he was safe. We drove up to Porta Sole, near where Bob and Rosemary used to live, and amazingly found a spot to park.

We walked back down towards the Etruscan well to an Irish pub….one of several in Perugia. My son says that no matter where you go, there will ALWAYS be an Irish pub, and it seems he’s right. This one was filled with all sorts of Irish memorabilia, mostly relating to alcohol of course. One of the nice things about going into a pub now is that you don’t have the smoke to deal with as in the past.

Art and I ordered wine, but Corinna got a beer and Maurizio had a Guinness! Wow!
We had a few snacks with our drinks, and a few minutes later the rest of the dance class arrived en mass, so I guess this must be their regular routine.

We talked about the dance class, and also about the differences between Italian and English. With friends like Wendy and Corinna, it’s so easy to be able to ask language questions and get comprehensive answers. Corinna demonstrated several Italian tongue twisters….ones that had our heads spinning with all the rapidly rolled R’s! I have trouble with the rolled R’s in “Arrivederci”!

We promised Corinna that we’d mention the tango class to Mauro….perhaps he and his friends would be interested in organizing lesson in Marsciano, which would be great for everyone.