Those who danced tango in Munich in the mid-90s can certainly remember Metin Yazir’s Tango exercise evenings at the German-Turkish meeting center in Hermann-Lingg-Street. I too was there regularly.
One evening, just taking a break from dancing, cooling myself with a fresh wheat beer and watching the people, a tall, elegant, pretty attractive blonde came into the ballroom and sat down two tables away from me on the other side of the narrow corridor leading to the Dance floor.
I waited for her to drop her things and order something to drink. She noticed that I was looking at her, returned my gaze, perhaps a little mockingly amused, but not unfriendly. She appealed to me. So I went to her and asked her to dance.
We danced one tanda, maybe even two…
About a week later, Metin organized an afternoon milonga in the “Möwe” – “Seagull,” a restaurant that has long been gone. There was announced a little show with dancers of “Tango Passion”, who happened to have a guest appearance in Munich, at that time.
Of course, I also went to this milonga and met there again the same tall, blonde tango dancer – Annette.
We started talking, a bit longer than the first time, and the whole thing ended with me drawing and explaining my artistic ideas on beer mats and napkins.
She listened patiently, with signs of polite interest, we danced more than one Tanda together and exchanged our phone numbers.
Later she told me she had not really understood what I had been explaining her, about fragile, translucent sculptures…
Later she told me that she had not really understood what I had been explaining, about fragile, translucent sculptures, sculptures with breaking points, and so on and so fort… but, somehow, I probably had not left the worst impression.
We then met more often at different milongas, attended courses together with Metin and Gustavo Naveira (organised by Metin).
But it still us took half a year to become a couple and another two years to get married.
Of course, Metin’s practicas and milongas are always well-remembered, and if anyone asks us today how we met, we usually say, “It´s Metin’s fault.”
It´s Metin´s fault! It happened during a practica…
P.S. If you are curious to now what I did tell Annette about my art, you can see it here without beer mats and napkins on my artist´s website
http://www.atelier-wolfgangsandt.de/en/home.html
