Entrega

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”   -Friedrich Nietzsche

Yes, you, my tall skinny actor friend, I shall restart my use of pseudonyms from now on ;), this is a continuation of my thoughts on this topic that encapsulates this dance that we've chosen to torture ourselves with.

This topic came up twice tonight, once at the 5pm meetup and yet again at the 9pm meetup by two different sets of people. What is this elusive 'entrega'? How can I entrega when I'm trying to be musical, to have my own axis, to not be heavy! ¡Maldito sea! es imposible!

IMHO, I guess entraga is this, it is me telling you to move to the right, but giving no indication of HOW far to move. It is me telling you one thing, but indicating something else with my body language. It is me...almost being confused, and how about you? It is you telling me one thing, leading me to believe one thing, yet in your heart, preserving your own truth of the matter. Confusing? Yeah, intangible things are kinda hard to explain. Tango is very hard to explain, it's unlocking your own version of it and sharing it with others that makes it so enjoyable.

Non entrega is me fighting a pully system at age 8 up a snowy hill and getting painfully tangled in my skis. Non entrega is me shifting my weight without your invitation to. Non entrega is us in our everyday existence among strangers, fearful of all the bad things that might happen to us, so we run away, we hide behind our defences.

Maybe that's why this dance is so personal, so magnetic, because for once we are allowed and expected to entrega to someone else besides our own willpower, conscience, brain.

In the sledgehammer manner, if you do not want to entrega to someone, then don't, find someone else you would like to entrega to. I know one person in this world that I would do this to. Perhaps no one else ever. Who knows?

http://www.tangoandchaos.org/chapt_3search/19entrega.htm

"So maybe one way to describe entrega is that it is an "informed passion" about tango. Tango music is "art"—but good art isn’t always easily accessible. It often takes some effort to really feel the message hidden inside. By learning the meanings of the lyrics, and also a bit about the basic structure of the Golden Age tangos, we can begin to develop the emotional foundation that’s necessary to express the music on the dance floor. Without this informed passion, we can’t really connect with the music or with our partners. Without this connection, tango is only a superficial cartoon."

As always, tango and chaos, my bible of tango. This is quite a beautiful summary, beyond worrying about the basic steps, being able to dance a feeling is the epitome of it all. THIS. THIS, ALL THIS!