The tango pandemic around the world was unfortunately stopped by another – deadlier pandemic. With tango, people lose their old life – with the corona virus some of us unfortunately lose life literally.
Who knows how the world will look like after the end of this situation? One thing I am sure about – we, the tango people, will be among the first who will rush the dance floors and dance out what we have missed all these months.
[Tweet “Nothing beats human interaction – Simon Sinek”]
Many of us miss tango so much that they invent all kinds of things to keep it alive. Virtual milongas. Online festivals and who knows what.
Nice try! But let’s not fool ourselves – it’s a poor substitute for the real thing.
The point of this article is to explain what it is that we miss and why internet can’t help.
1. Closeness
Tango was born to make people get closer. It was meant to help those lonely emigrants find comfort from their everyday sufferings in the embrace of a stranger. And it did get them closer. In a spectacular way. Many of them, as we know from our own experience, were forever captured in the unbreakable embrace of this dance.
And there is a reason why – it heals that eternal loneliness. Like a drug, it numbs the aches of life and lifts up the spirit. We are social beings. Warm blodded creatures that thrive only when we feel connected. It’s not only important to be connected – even more, it’s important in what way we are connected. Tango breaks the distance and gives us an opportunity to connect, even for a 10 minutes tanda.
The form you have selected does not exist.
Back in the day, during the first tango “pandemic” in the first half of the XX century tango had bad public reputation. Doing tango was a revolutionary act. An act of rebellion against the order. The close embrace was so unacceptable by the moralists, that it was considered a public scandal.
2. Virtual is not a solution
Nothing beats human interaction. Internet is a great tool. I strongly believe in teaching online, but what internet can’t give you is that feeling when you embrace a human being and dance in a coordinated way.
“If social media and online relationships are so real, then why do over 30.000 bloggers and online experts gather in Vegas every year for a live event called Blogworld? Why not host it online? Because nothing can or will ever replace a face to face meeting and handshake.” – Simon Sinek, “Leaders Eat Last”.
You can watch him talk about it in this video
In fact almost everything that virtual communication is offering us is considered unnecessary in tango. Sometimes even impolite. For example, one would avoid dancing with someone that speaks during the dance. The magic is not in the words – the dancing is much deeper and much more powerful mode of communication. It has many folds bigger bandwidth than spoken language.
Seeing someone live online can be little better than just spoken word, but it’s still not the same. The touch is that ingredient that holds the secret. That thing that makes chemical explosions in our bodies. That makes our heart beat faster and stronger. The magic of the human touch.
3. Tango lives at milongas
Oh, how many times I told my students and I want everyone to start their learning process with this idea. Tango is not something you watch on TV or on Youtube. It’s not “Dancing with the stars”. It’s not a competition with judges. Tango is not something you do on stage. Tango dancers are not passive spectators – they are protagonists – they want to create the action.
Social tango dancers also don’t care much if somebody sees what they do – the only thing that matters is their partner. Of course, we all like to be admired by others who see us dancing, but, that is not the primary point.
The point of social tango is fulfilled in milongas. Human interaction. Glances, embrace. Human touch. Communication.
Then, you might ask, what can I do now, in self-isolation? No milongas. No possibility to dance with anyone. There are many things you can do. Play some music and dance with an imagined partner. Close your eyes and feel – it will give you ideas about musicality. It will also give you some feeling of connection – an imagined partner is still a partner for your brain.
Leave a Reply