Check out my recent tango blog on the e-mag, The Good Men Project. http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/transforming-through-tango-gmp/#sthash.WFEI6O8F

With my hand extended
I invite you, my partner,

for the briefest of moments,

to nurture with me

this delicate warmth.

It is easy to become mesmerized by the glitz and glamour and technicality of tango.
But the older I get, the more intrigued I become with the basics …

How do I nurture an appreciation for the magic and mystery of tango?
(even when I am screwing up the steps or dancing with my least favourite partner)

Answer: Breathe in the WONDER.

How competent are you?   Unconscious Incompetence: We don’t know what we don’t know.  Blissful ignorance. It is unconscious incompetence that allows the first-time follow  to perform complex dance maneuvers without awareness of what he/she is doing or why. (see previous blog). He/she just blindly follows her partner and her instincts. Oh, that this could last. … Read more

MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
Question: Do you have to be psychic to dance tango?

Answer: No, but it helps.

Here are a few of the magical mysteries that I experience in tango. Let’s explore.

Exploring the calesita and volcada. (A tip of the hat to Vera and Daniel, Edmonton Dance instructors at Casa Tango.) Vera: “Remember guys, no violence here.” Really? No violence? How rough can things get? This is a dance class, after all. Vera’s caution is simply about the lead. Last class the boleo, this class the … Read more

“Remember, no violence here, guys.”Tuesday evening class at Casa Tango with Daniel and Vera Calcines. No violence? In a dance class? What is Vera thinking? I am just off reading a true story about a young female journalist from Calgary who had been kidnapped in Somalia and held hostage for 429 days. Now that was … Read more

The first time I was encouraged to breathe in a tango embrace and then invited to breathe in unison with my partner, my gut reaction was: Yikes! What is it about breathing in an embrace that makes one feel so vulnerable? Certainly, it intensifies the chest-to-chest connection. Depending on one’s comfort level with close embraces, … Read more

(3 minute read. This blog is part two of a post from about a decade ago. Still relevant and fascinating.) Session #2 with Jean-Sebastien, Studio Ten. Tango is communication. Learning tango is like learning a language. The only difference is that with each tango lesson, I seem to have to relearn the alphabet. Case in … Read more