Food & Drink: Discovery

Best Entertainment at a Restaurant

A A A Comments By Roger Downey Wednesday, Oct 15 2003

TIA UPLAND

The night and the music.

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Every day of the week, some corner of soggy Seattle is suffused with the sultry strains of tango. Sunday afternoons see a "tango tea" at La Garua in the Maple Leaf neighborhood, offering classes for absolute beginners along with "dancing, socializing, and refreshments" for the more experienced; Monday is milonga night at the U District's Wilsonian Ballroom, featuring the rawer, more energetic music that spawned the tango proper (or improper) at the beginning of the 20th century. Every night there's a class, a dance, a get-together, but the climax of the tango week these days falls on Tuesday, when the dance floor at Mr. Lucky in darkest Uptown fills up with the stars of the local TANGO UNDERGROUND.

After the closure of Fernando's Hideaway this year, the tango scene badly needed a venue open to the nonperforming publicnot just to ensure against incestuous hobbyhood, but because tango needs food and drink and voyeurs to fuel it. If you've only seen exhibition tango, you'll be surprised at how solemn its practitioners are; here social dancing verges on ritual, and ritual is no laughing matter. You'll also be surprised at the variety of ages and physical types among the dancer-performers. Unlike many other ballroom forms, tango allowsno, demands dignity, but rewards the effort by rendering even pudgy or gangling performers sexy in direct proportion to their skill and concentration: The cooler you are, the hotter you look.Roger Downey Mr. Lucky Lounge & Grill: 315 First Ave. N., 206-282-1960.

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