Dancing tango is easy if you can cut
yourself a break and just be yourself. Being you is hard. It shouldn’t be but
that’s the way it is in the world we live in, a place of great expectations of
who we should be, presented with all kinds of wonderful pictures, in text, jpg, mp3 and mp4 format, and reinforced by our
so-called educators and role models.
We come to tango unaware that it is an illusion.
What we see is not what is actually happening.
New followers probably anticipate because they are trying to be a woman they saw whose lovely legs in sparkling high-heeled shoes flailed
around like beautiful whips that somehow conveyed a sense of power. It’s kind
of the same for new leaders. They desire to be the hand that controls the whip but
succeed only in torturing their partners with their clumsy efforts.
You are not those people. You have much to learn but you won't learn a thing if try to be someone else other than the beginner that you are.
The reality of what we see when we witness tango is that two dancers have connected physically, mentally and emotionally, and are communicating through body language to spontaneously choreograph a song.
People who are comfortable in their
own skin react naturally to the events the world throws at them. The outcome is
not always pleasant but they’ve learned that trying to respond to the forces at
work in the universe as someone who they are not is like trying to swim against
the current.
No matter what the skill level of a
partner, chemistry is always a possibility. Of the people you encounter in this
dance, with only a small percentage of them will you experience this unique wave of physical, mental
and emotional energy. When it happens, you are not going to want to miss it……but
you might if you’re not being yourself. This is not the time for that crazy
triple volcada/leg wrap/gancho/boleo. Slow down, feel the music but don't let it carry you away. Stay in control and find your balance as part of a couple.
Something about your partner has caused a chemical reaction
inside you and now is the time for you to act naturally so that you can enjoy
the moment, surf that wave as it washes through the place and time in the
universe that you occupy. You are more than just height, weight and a confusion of thoughts. Now is the time to be you or else the physical transformation that should
occur will go awry and you will simply be knocked over by the ripple in the tide.
Chemistry is one of tango’s greatest gifts to its participants.
It is a visible phenomenon. I often see it in the teaching couples conducting
workshops. They’re not together because of some logical decision to maximize
their earning potential. They’re together because something happened when they
touched. When they dance there is fire.
You can make a flame like that, too.
Maybe not so big or not so bright but it will burn just as hot and feel just as
good as it does to them if you’ll just give yourself a chance to relax and be
yourself.
Hey, check out this book about witches and zombies that dance tango:
