I had been dozing in and out throughout the night, awakening myself with bursts of excitement. Finally, I was in the airspace above Argentina shortly before 5AM. I looked out of my window to a sea of lights against the dark sky, and gradually I began to realize I was back in Argentina, the place my heart loved! After going through customs and baggage claim I was excited and relieved to see Antonio and Valeria were waiting for me. During the ride to Buenos Aires I was surprised to see so how bad the traffic was so early in the morning, it was like Atlanta traffic but moved much quicker. when we finally reached the city there was a stillness as it was the time right before people were starting to leave for work. Antonio dropped us off at Valeria’s and Valeria and I went to sleep for a couple of hours. I later spent the day with Valeria shopping for final touches for the competition and I got my Facturas!! I loved the ones with Dulce de leche and crème. Valeria got me a bag and I ate them all as I had been waiting all year for just a taste! After shopping, we went back to Valeria’s apartment and she fixed me a lovely pasta and a salad. When we finished lunch we went to check into our hotel rooms at the Sheraton, and I was off to rehearsal at En Sueno. Susanna was waiting for me with a huge cup of her amazing Coffee and gave me the biggest hug. Sebastian was there rehearsing with his sister Sylvina who would be competing for the first time, and you could see her excitement and wonder as she prepared. Finally, it was time to rehearse, I hadn’t seen Antonio in 2 months but we picked up right where we left off dancing. After a few adjustments, I felt ready for the next day!
Later that night Antonio and I went to dinner and a Tango show at Gala Tango. We enjoyed the evening but had to leave early because I had a 5am hair and makeup call, and Antonio was preparing to dance over 200 times in the next 2 days! When I got to my room I had so much excitement and it was difficult to wind down. The next morning at 4AM I was glad we left the show early as I woke up groggy needing a lot of coffee. I felt an infusion of energy from the hair and makeup people who even at that time of morning had bright smiles and radiated cheerfulness. Antonio made sure everyone working with me understood the look we were trying to create. Ligeia came through to say hello as she just returning from competing in an Argentine tango competition, and gave me and Antonio hugs and kisses before going upstairs.
As I was getting dressed my zipper was stuck Valeria and her family worked with me to helped me to fix it. We all jumped up and down once it was repaired, I truly appreciated their help! As we went down to the ballroom together I wasn't as nervous as I usually am, for the first time ever my nerves were under control. This was a very special competition as it was the 10th anniversary of the South American open. The South American open was the competition that helped to establish ballroom dance in Argentina which made competing for this year extra special. There was a display in the lobby of the ballroom showing important moments and performances from years past. It was wonderful to see the different dancers and how the influence of the competition helped to brighten the lively flavors of life and joy in Argentina.
As we I was so excited to everyone else as they arrived Sebastian, Sylvina, Celeste, Stella, Costanza Estela, Christian, Enrique, and Nestor. I was humbled by how much everyone remembered me and how much love people had for me. Cecilia was back in her position of managing everyone during their heats to make sure they were in the right place at the right time. I made friends with the new students from Colavita studios, Mara, Mabel, and Angeles.
After some warm-up time, I was ready to dance!! This time when I took the floor it took a few heats to get my momentum going, but I felt myself improving throughout the day. Probably my favorite heat of the entire competition was getting to Rock out in the East Coast Swing to You Shook me All night long by AC/DC. There was a moment of spontaneity where Antonio and I just jumped up and down to the music, and I couldn’t contain my laughter. This also felt like a mini-tribute to Andrew Smart as he loves that song! I was receiving compliments from everywhere as people were telling me they could see improvements in my dancing. Last year Mario and Maxi counseled me to keep my arm extended and to look regal from the time I stepped on the dance floor until the time I left. This became my signature and caused people to remember me.
That evening session was the Formations competition with group performances, and at the end of the evening Celeste, Antonio Sebastian performed a beautiful number choreographed by Sebastian celebrating the triumph of Celeste’s battle with cancer. Celeste drew everyone into her beautiful soul and graceful movements. This dance was performed in a way that made everyone who saw the dance appreciate the beauty of life, and value how amazing it is to have friends you can lean on in any circumstance. As the evening wound down and I went to my room I didn’t even realize I had fallen asleep until I awakened several hours later.
The next day was smooth and I got to sleep in as my hair and make-up appointment was not until 9AM. I felt like I would do well on the Smooth day and I was right!! It became like my greatest dancing experience ever as I easily got into the rhythms and was more relaxed. The best compliment I received was from someone telling me Antonio and I looked like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers on the dance floor! Wow! Antonio had talked about me having a softer Tango Face this time around, but when I took the floor for Tango for the first time I got requests for my infamous Tango Face, and even Sebastian yelled out “make the face!!” What could I do? I couldn’t let down my fans, and I was happy that people remembered me. Gerri from Halo Dance was gracious enough to let me rent her beautiful yellow gown again, and I received several compliments on my dress.
Antonio and I went to a dinner at the top of the hotel on the 24th floor. There were huge windows where you could look out and see a panoramic view of the city, and as we looked out there were still elements of twilight that flickered in the distance. At the dinner, I received a commemorative 10th anniversary medal and acknowledgment from Anna as she noticed my improvement over the past year! I had poured my heart into the entire weekend so to receive this medal meant so much to me. I couldn’t help but wear it proudly throughout the evening.
The evening session began with the Parade of Nations where people march behind the flag bearers for their countries. I had the honor of marching with the United States, but as I feel so closely knit to my dancing family that I also marched with Argentina to support Sebastian and Colavita Studios and Venezuela to support Antonio. Antonio carried the Venezuelan Flag and was the only dancer from that country. So Sebastian and I marched with him to show our support. That evening there were performances that were only beautiful but had elements of fun. Maria Nikolishina and Nikolai Voronovich did an energetic life-giving Jive and a romantic breathtaking Rumba.
Likewise Antonia Skobina and Denys Drozdyuk performed an entrancing Paso Doble among other dances.
When the awards came all of Antonio’s students and the students from Colavita Studios made an impressive showing with top honors Valeria Celano won top South American Dancer for the 3rd year in a row!! Mabel won the best newcomer, Estela 1st place in the multi-dance, Christiane and Stella won 5th place in the World Challenge Bronze Rhythm closed. Ligeia and Sebastian won first place in their division, Enrique and Celeste 5th world challenge bronze Rhythm, Sebastian received the 4th place for best Teacher, and I was so proud for Antonio winning 2nd Place Best Teacher a well-deserved honor. I am someone who until April 13, 2015 had never even taken a Salsa class, today I have competed in two competitions in Argentina, and am preparing for my 5th showcase. Antonio is a friend whose patience and leadership qualities continue to help me be a better person, and shows me through the lens of dance how to express my true self. As I look around I am in the company of so many beautiful dancers who in one way or another have been inspired by Antonio. I thought about the many lives that have been changed because Antonio dared to dream, and desires to bring out the best in everyone in every area of life.
In keeping with the theme of the evening Anna Smart won the Hall of Fame award as she and Andrew through the competition helped build Ballroom Dancing in Argentina to what it is today. I was so excited to see her win, especially since she has shown me and everyone at the competition so much encouragement and love.
After the ceremony there was the after party. I am always amazed at how familiar Argentinians are with American Line Dances Antonio and I helped lead the Wobble and Cupid Shuffle. Antonio and I also introduced the Samba line dance Daza Dance style! I later danced Bachata with a gentleman from Chile, and I was able to keep up having only the Bachata line dance that we do at Daza as a reference.
I learned some new moves on the dance floor and experienced Bachata in a totally different way. The next day Antonio and Valeria took me sightseeing. We went to a Garden in Recoleta with a huge architectural flower as a centerpiece, and by moving around you could get different views. We attended a Street market so many different types of crafts by hand intricate pieces of jewelry to leather work to things for children. We drank some fresh squeezed Orange juice which was hand squeezed the best I had ever tasted. We then went to the Japanese Garden with so much beauty and serenity it felt like some place I would go to rest my mind. It was extremely busy, besides the Monday crowd there was anime convention going on. You could see intricate cosplay costumes with White platinum hair eyes so blue they glowed. People were covered space armor from little children to adults.
Later that evening was Sebastian’s party at En Sueno, an informal celebration of every person’s accomplishments. It is always deeply moving as Antonio and Sebastian talked about all of their students and I was so moved by encouraging words from Sebastian, and beautiful words Antonio spoke on my behalf.
The next day Sebastian and Antonio took me to a place where local Argentinians would go for dinner, I enjoyed a Milinesa with onions, queso, and oregano. You could taste that the food was prepared with so much love as I experienced joy with every bite. Antonio and I then went to Valeria’s home and waited for her to come from work. When she arrived we had tea and enjoyed talking and relaxing together before they took me to the airport.
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My plane for the US left Argentina surrounded by the same sea of lights that were present when I arrived. When I reached the airspace in the US the sky was encircled by the light of the horizon that continued to get brighter with the first rays of dawn. Just like the newness of morning I have an enlightened perspective and am ready to take on new challenges as they present themselves.
By: Kamaria George (09/10/2017)
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