Skip to main content

Mirrors

If we could dance with ourselves. If. That would be good, because then you'd know how you're initiating movements, how you feel, how you embrace. I mean, people have been very lousy at describing you to yourself right? After all, it passes through their judgement, their comparison filter, their physicality, their thoughts before arriving back again to you.

But I guess just as we can never see our own image, in the same manner, can we never really know how we are like when we are dancing. How we are reacting to someone else. This is where the good teachers differ from the not so good teachers, because they are able to accurately explain your issues and more importantly, what to do as a result of that.

This weekend I grasped a palm in my hand, and I could feel his heartbeat. That is what's amazing about this dance, the stillness and calm that occurs allows for a connection that we just don't get in life often, save between you and your loved ones. We connect on that level with a stranger, whom we do not share speech, culture, nationality, background with, and yet are able to find common ground in an embrace reserved for those nearest and dearest. In the process, able to discover things about ourselves and everything about them. How they react to a setback, how they express themselves, how they treat you as a person, how they treat others around you. Are they self-absorbed? Generous? Caring? Protective? Body language says a lot about us on an innate level, and none more so then when you have to take this body language and translate it into an action.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Recap 2019

Well well well, here we come again to the end of another Tango year in 2019. Granted, this year was a lot more muted for me, just one Tango Prelims Championship, one Fame Tango Weekend extravaganza, one Tango marathon (shit, just one?!). This years tango centered very much around home, no crazy travels (thanks to change in job), no multi-country tango events (thanks to no budget + no time), a smattering of lessons. But internally, centeredness, duende. Next year, Taipei Tango Weekend, Singapore Tango Marathon + Lisbon for food, travels and Tango. Where is my tango this year? 10 years since that fateful day running to Michigan Union in shorts and t-shirt with flipflops, hair wet from a swim on a balmy end of September day, 3 to 4 weeks into the new semester. Not knowing this would kickstart one of my greatest passions in this life. The one that brings me into the world of friendships, arguments, travels and meetings. All sorts of people, friends, acquaintances, annoyances. The ...

Taking classes as a lead

Tangoblitz wrapping up this weekend with Alejandra Hobart and Adrian Veredice, good sessions, always refreshing to see the level that professionals get up to. Notes, notes, notes! Parallel vs Cross Systems The L shaped lead-linear - Leader leads on dual track system (to the left and to the right of him) -Follower crosses across this track using a back step, side step and a cross over front ocho-forming L shapes zig-zagging back and forth -Leader strides forward on the beat while follower is on a 1+, 2 beat-option to twist the hip into a front boleo for the follower, leader must change weight with every 1-2 step -Leader starts on right foot and follower on left foot   which is the foot further away-Mirror start=parallel system-sacada happens to the cross over track (guy left, girl right) -Variation is to have leader start on left foot and follower on left foot-non-mirror=cross system-sacada happens on the parallel track (guy right, girl right) The L shaped lead-circu...

Simple

After the countless videos, watching the performances by passing Tango teachers, performances by stage Tango dancers, sitting and absorbing Milongas, the one couple that sticks in my mind has to be T and his fiance who met through Tango in Argentina. Their seamless blending, the fact that she didn't even need to be wearing shoes and their swapping of roles. Even though I was exposed to this early on the clueless beginnings of Tango, you could already appreciate the intimacy between the two. In hindsight after a bit more experience, it becomes even clearer that, that would be the ultimate Tango experience. It's like staring at something without the tools to understand it, then later when you come back with the tools in hand, it hits you, "ah hah!" that's what it is! It's like being told, "this will be useful in life later, trust me", and staring at math sets that have no correlation with your life, until later when you're facing a job assessme...