Do you dance with your heart? The question might be simple, but the answer is more complicated than you think.
My mission with Tango Mentor is to get more people feel what dancing with your heart means. I mean, real dancing with your heart. Metaphorically and physically.
I am not talking here about feeling the music and entering in the state of flow – it is physically dancing with your heart.
Not long ago, one of my most dedicated students wrote me an interesting message where he shared his observation about the tango learning process.
“Why is there no structure? Beginners often get a pile of techniques and steps… knowledge which is unconnected in a logical way. It doesn’t follow a path of logical progression and more often it creates confusion and frustration…”, he concluded.
I could not agree with him more. If you start tango with a teacher who organizes his method well and you don’t change schools, you are blessed. No confusion for you in the beginning.
But, when you start dancing in milongas or international events you discover that often in tango there are opposite approaches side by side. They are not wrong – they are just different.
Why do they exist? This is the case because people are different and they expect different things from their dance. This is the reason why there is no structure. This is the reason why there are so many varieties that people are often confused and frustrated.
In my opinion, this is even the reason for most of the divides and tension in tango communities around the world.
I know, many will not agree with me and it’s their right to have a different view. I know they do so because they feel differently about their dance.
I am writing this article for those dancers who want to dance with their embrace. I dedicate this to the huggers.
1. Dancing with/for the heart
One of the best stories I learned from the book “The Meaning of Tango” by Christine Denniston could be condensed in one sentence:
You dance with your heart. Your legs are there just to prevent your heart from falling on the floor.
It sounds poetic, but it is also a condensed guide to learn how to dance.
Dancing with your heart is an approach mostly used by those dancers who cherish the embrace above all. They don’t care if their repertoire is poor or if they look terrible on the photos. What matters to them is if it feels good – for them and for their partners.
Yes, I am talking about the huggers.
Of course, the moves and musicality is also important, but not if they mean losing your embrace.
Hey, sorry to interrupt…
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Ivica
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2. Dancing with the feet
On the other hand, there are those dancers who follow the idea that dancers paint with their feet.
They will open the embrace, use their hands to lead and follow or even use force to do some steps. For them the movement is above all… the movement and musicality.
If you are one of those dancers you will notice that having a good embrace or having good connection is, in most cases, taught as a tool to help you lead/follow the steps.
This tango is often more physical and more attractive to watch. No wonder a big majority of beginners are enchanted by this way of dancing.
I have to add one more observation here. I have this feeling that those dancers who are more focused on the movement need more intensive music, melodies with more drama to feel emotion in the dance. On the other hand, the huggers could feel strong emotions even from the old guard tangos, which might feel dry in emotion.
I’ve done my part of spreading the huggers’ tango culture with writing this article. If you want us to have а better tango world, help me with sharing it with your friends on Facebook or any other way you communicate. Thank you for that!
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