Tango Touch
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 …
Do you have what it takes to dance Tango? Hats off to the gentle, excellent, chivalrous, skillful, sexy men who do.
“This is about men who have taken the time to go through the humbling and scary challenge of learning to dance Tango. And whose Tango gives me huge inspiration and a feeling of oneness that lasts for days.” Guest blog, Mitra Martin. Brilliant.
Trans Tango?
Can Argentine Tango help in gender transitioning? About a year and a half ago a friend of mine disclosed that they were transitioning gender from male to female and invited my support. I suggested learning the follow role in Argentine Tango as a way of exploring gender dynamics and feminine sensitivities. This is our conversation after … Read more
The Body is Boss
How to keep your thinking out of your dancing. “We practice technique to get to know our own bodies. And then we take what we know of ourselves, our movements and musicality onto the dance floor to join up with our partner.” Carolina Bonaventura, milonguera y profesora. Me first? Who knew? Sure, there was always … Read more
Take a Breath
Yikes! The first time I was encouraged to breathe in a tango embrace, I froze. What is it about breathing that makes one feel so vulnerable? There is something intensely personal and vulnerable about the rise and fall of one’s breath. Ancient traditions define this primal motion as the drawing in and releasing of Spirit. … Read more
Salve for the Raw Ego.
10 years after this was originally posted I learned this lesson: Dance is play. Have fun. ego rub #1 The sign over the garbage can at the entrance reads: “DEPOSIT EGO HERE.” Missed that. When will introductory classes stop feeling like introductory classes? How many years will I be dancing before I can walk away … Read more
Dancing in the Dark.
We ought to dance with rapture that we are alive, and in the flesh, and part of the living incarnate cosmos. D. H. Lawrence.* The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not extinguished it. Gospel of John* This little light of mine. I’m going to let it shine. Traditional* …..A friend recently … Read more
$20 for a Hug?
Is $20 good value for a street-legal hug? It’s hard to keep track of the street value of differing commodities these days, in large part because the neighbourhood has changed. There was a time when you could buy almost anything on almost any street corner, from drugs to sex to pieces from your neighbour’s bike. … Read more
Should I break the mirror?
Just off one of those humiliating videotapings which due to some masochistic tendency, I feel compelled to subject myself from time to time. This is my desperate search for perspective and consolation …. “The two distinguishing elements of the Tango are sensuality and elegance.” Carlos Gavito. – “Ah, therein lies the rub.” Shakespeare. – … … Read more
Dancing With a Child’s Mind
The inspiration for this blog is a brilliant post from www.DailyOm.com “Learning to Follow” (included below in full), that encourages us to approach and inhabit everything we do, including dancing Tango, with a child’s mind. “(Children) live their lives fully immersed in the present moment, seeing everything with the open-mindedness born of unknowing. This enables … Read more