Sunday, March 9, 2008

Tango with some passion.

Close your eyes. You are standing on a wooden floor. You feel it through the soles of your shoes. Stand upright and slightly on your toes. Lean forward slightly and slowly. Make sure you close your eyes. The music starts. Tango. Tense your shoulderblades. Raise your right hand and feel the tension in your arm. Now, place your left hand on the manly shoulder in front of you. Your right palm firmly against his. True connection. You feel his every impulse to move. Do nothing before you feel it. Lean forward slightly. Again close your eyes. He sways you from side to side to shift your weight, to improve connection and to find your balance together. When you have the weight on your right foot, he firmly moves you backwards, with the music.
You make the cross with your legs. He stops to let you move closer as you draw the ocho-sign - a beautiful, sensual figure of eight - with your body around him. Nothing is in time with the music, but in time with his impulses to move you with his leads. He leads you firmly through the old music of Argentina with a sense of soul and passion that only a native could feel in his body. It's a cultural heritage. He will put his foot next to yours to stop you moving. When there is an impulse, you can do nothing but to follow, obey the move. As you look up at him, your faces are closer together than before, and the movements and the music intensifies. Focus. Concentrate, and feel it. Together you create something where time and space does not exist.

I experienced this today with a pro dancer in tango class. He was from Chile and I can honestly say time stood still. I felt, for the first time, like I was really dancing. Oh wow. Oh wow. No undertones, someone said... Hmmm. Not so sure.

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