Within all the busyness and distractions of flare and finesse that attract attention – the dance that everyone recognizes as the Tango – there is a dance that no one can see, a secret sheltered by the couple.
It is as close as your partner’s cheek, as soft as her breath, as delicate as a whisper of approval, as comforting as a close embrace.
This is the dance within the dance.
It is felt, not seen. It is spoken in silence. It moves secondarily to the rhythm of the music and primarily to the synchronized beating of hearts. It is the conversation between dancers, communicated not with words but with an attitude of gentleness, by subtle shifts in posture, a tender touch, a reassuring smile, a soft gaze.
How do we nurture this conversation? How do we attune to this dance of connection and intimacy?
With every step, every pause there the invitation to fine tune the emotional connection and to play with the sensuality: a slight shift or adjustment in the embrace, a touch of cheek to cheek, a squeeze of the hand, an affirming comment, lingering on the pauses between the steps.
All of this communicates to me that my partner is enjoying the dance, that I have earned her trust as lead and that she is treasuring this heart connection. This is the juice for me. This is payback. This is the energetic charge that encourages me to invest myself in the dance.
This is the reason I dance.
I once asked someone to dance with me who I know love to dance but was afraid to dance because she doesn’t know the steps. She keeps looking down as we dance so I asked her to look up and just feel the movement of my body. She did and we both dance beautifully till the music stop.