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L. had season tickets to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts and invited me to see Forever Tango's matinee performance with her.

Forever Tango is no Dancing with the Stars; it's the real thing. The troupe performed several variations of Argentinian tango to classical music played by a full orchestra. Unlike ballroom tango, the Argentinian variety is marked by speed, daring lifts and intricate foot sequences full of flicks and kicks. It was breathtaking to watch. The full house was on its feet several times during the show. I smiled when I overheard a twentysomething guy behind us say, "wow, that was really cool!"



I'm glad L. invited me; I've been in love with dance since I was a little girl. At four, I was part of a kiddie dance group in a children's tv show; I was always part of dance performances at school, studied ballet up to my early teens and was a cheerleader in high school. As an adult I took ballroom lessons, mainly latin dance. I got up to intermediate level and D. even bought us private dance lessons as my birthday gift a few years ago. Dance, like cooking and writing, has always been a part of my artistic expression.



I also enjoyed visiting the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts for the first time. It doesn't have the charm of the older neoclassic theaters around Los Angeles, but the main hall was bright and airy and the theater itself was intimate yet comfortable.



After the show, L. and I headed down the block to Romano's Macaroni Grill for dinner. The dining room was nice enough but the wait for a table was much longer than we were told. Service was harried and careless, with our server actually spilling quite a bit of iced water on me.



That and the predictable Italian chain quality of our food -- a lasagna, chicken canneloni and chicken parmesan trio for L., grilled pork chops with balsamic glaze and mushroom risotto for me -- made for a poor follow up to Forever Tango.