I like to listen to podcasts and video podcasts while I do my fiber arts (for those of you who don't know me personally, I spin, knit, dye fiber and hope to leave to weave someday). Usually, I don't watch the Kammebornia podcast because it is in Swedish, and I still need to watch my knitting to some degree; so reading subtitles is not what I usually choose to do.
However, I decided to watch it today, and they were talking about a sweater that had a mistake on one sleeve. She decided to keep the mistake, even though it was visible. What she said made me think about tango, so I will share it for you to think about:
“I wanted to keep the crooked one. I too feel crooked sometimes, I can relate to it in some way. We all have scars here and there, both visible and invisible. I wanted to hold onto the thoughts about that the imperfections make us perfect. Maybe the imperfections heal us. And it is important to show this, show ourselves vulnerable. And I think it is beautiful the way it is.”
I have never had a perfect dance, but I have had lovely, memorable tangos for 22 years. I didn't throw them out because they had mistakes in them. They were not less wonderful for not being perfect. I think this is why I teach technique and quality of movement, right from the first day of a class. It doesn't matter if you learn a move, but it matters whether you are present or not, putting yourself into the poetry of the dance and the music. A perfect stitch is not a wearable sweater. One perfect move is not a danceable tango. Go for imperfection with soul.