Escape from Michigan

Ok.. back home. The tiny A2 anniversary festival behind us.
Attendance was low.. 150-200-ish. I haven't heard any official numbers, though.

We stayed outside AA in Whitmore Lake, 20 minutes north. All the hotels in the area, even in Whitmore Lake, were sold out Fri-Sat because of the Penn State-Michigan football game.

Weather was pretty nice.. mid 70's to low 80's during the peaks and 60's at night. Not a single cloud on the sky any of the days we were there.

Ok.. dancing.. a lot less people came for this than I had expected. A handful of good dancers, only. There was a pretty distinct outer lane at all the milongas but there were about a half a dozen leaders that zig-zagged and when they saw a gap rushed for it, or danced half on the outer lane and half on the inner lane effectively blocking both as they slowly moved along doing their pirouettes and boleos and ganchos. Bastards.

Cabeceo was practically non-existent, again. There were 3-4 followers I had really wanted to dance with, all of which I knew looked at me when I was dancing, and I knew they saw me looking at them when they were dancing whilst I sat, but at no time did they look toward me when we were both seated - even if practically next to each other (particularly at the small all-night-venue). And I, of course, do not verbally ask a stranger to dance, no matter how badly I want to dance with them. I asked some ladies in NYC this past Spring but only after they were recommended and named by Robin Thomas. If cabeceo doesn't work we won't be dancing.. unless of course she comes to ask me. That happened to me once, that a follow I had wanted to dance with did come ask me verbally... not sure if she knew what cabeceo was, but the two tandas we danced didn't end up being all that great.

So with the exception of 3 follows I danced exclusively with follows I knew personally from previous festivals, etc. From Philly, DC, AA. Sort of sucks, except dancing with Ms.Spain never sucks.
Ms.Spain and I left early from each of the milongas, which is something I almost never do, and we didn't even end up going to the practica the last night. But we were both tired, sore, and had to get up at 3:45 AM the next morning, so not attending the practica was quite justified.

I'm DJ'ng this Friday and after that on the 13th of October, a week before the Tangofest in PDX. I probably won't be dancing at all between those two times.

Ta.