Why do I bother writing about dancing?
Why not just get out on the floor and start boogeying?
Of course, this is what works for most people so don’t let me keep you from a good time.
Maybe it is my religious background, but I have always been a little shy about a good time for good time’s sake (sic: the devil’s playground). I have always felt the need to dig underneath and explore what the good time was all about before committing myself to it fully, (a regular party-pooper).
I have adopted the same approach to tango. Even more so, precisely because it is SUCH A GOOD TIME. The nagging question has always been, “What is going on here?”
The Tango embodies the most intense confluence of pleasure, sensuality, physicality, and relational dynamics you are going to come across on the dance floor. Strangely, I come away from a night of dancing not with any feeling of romantic attachment, as one might expect, but rather the sense of having been awakened and nurtured at a soul level.
How does this happen?
For me, there is something intrinsically spiritual in co-creating a dance. The Spirit of the Dance is visceral and energizes and synchronizes our movements to create something of beauty and meaning. The attunement, sense of presence and attentiveness to oneself, another and the music that are required to sculpt a dance form the essence of sacred encounter. I am lifted out of myself and drawn into a shared consciousness with my partner, the music and the other dancers. I come away feeling spiritually charged and refreshed.
Not always of course – sometimes it feels downright arduous or dirgeful – but the ethereal experiences are frequent enough and all the more vivid in contrast.
And so I write so that I don’t miss what is going on, or forget, or take it for granted or show up for the next dance unprepared.