A review by leucocrystal
Two By Two: Tango, Two Step, and the L.A. Night by Eve Babitz

4.0

"Since I began dancing, what I really wanted to be was good enough that if Patrick Swayze asked me to do a waltz or a cha-cha, I would be able to." (Oh Eve, Dirty Dancing is still my favorite, too.) I'm sure I have a bit of bias toward liking this one, as a (mostly former) dancer, but discovering that this book even existed, let alone reading it, was a real delight for me. There's already so little writing of substance on dance at all, let alone the world of learning it as a social activity. I also had no idea that Eve continued to go out dancing even after her accident - she's so reclusive these days, I couldn't have imagined it - but just knowing that makes me happy. She describes many of the different styles - and the social worlds and classes that accompany them, within LA - with her usual breezy and wonderfully approachable style.