Last night, or rather, this morning I went to the grand opening of the Milonga Feroz y Turquesa in Brentwood. It’s one of four new milongas opening this month. Last week, Milonga LAX opened at the Turner Center near the Los Angeles Airport. That one, hosted by Ilona Gilarsky and friends, has a wonderful floor, beautiful sound system and plenty of parking. It starts at 7 p.m. and ends at 11 p.m., which is great for those who want to dance on Sundays, but have work or other commitments early next morning (or, for hardcore all around dancers, it can be a precursor to salsa at the Hacienda Inn just down the road on Sepulveda Boulevard).
But the Feroz y Turquesa milonga is for those who like late hours and dancing, as it is at most milongas in Buenos Aires. It starts at 10 p.m. and ends at 5 a.m. I arrived last night, eh, I mean, this morning at 12:30 a.m., due to procrastination and work. I wondered as I was driving from the Valley over the hill on the 405 if I was going just a bit too late. Not so. A few people were leaving as I walked from a nearby parking lot to the entrance, but when I got to the milonga on the second floor of the building, the dance floor was packed. A few people had arrived as late as I did.
The dance floor is great–not slippery, not sticky–and the space for dancing is just perfect, about the same size as Milonga LAX’s floor. Hosts Hasan Seremet and Mary Fu opened the milonga with the goal of mixing their love of tango with their desire to showcase their products, Turquoise Shoes and Ferociously Handmade Bags, as well as promoting each month other vendors of dance and dance-related products.
There was a decent spread of snacks, including delicious carrot and red velvet cakes baked by Hasan. Parking is available in a lot next door or on the street. Music, which was fantastic, on the opening night was DJ’d by Jay Abling. There were many regulars there, as well as new faces for me, people who mostly dance in the Westside or further south.
I got home at 5 a.m. (there were still about 10 to 15 people remaining at the milonga when I left) and am wiped out today–all my plans of painting today are shot, but it was worth it to dance all morning long.
Now, I look forward tonight to our only other late night/early morning milonga in Los Angeles–El Encuentro at the Tango Room in Sherman Oaks.
Then I’ll be a good girl and take it easy next week- … then maybe not 🙂 .
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