In January, I mentioned that my word for 2024 was “collaboration” for tango. I would like to return to that thought. Have you been able to find a deeper level of collaborating with your partner when you dance? If yes, that is wonderful!! If not, what can we do to further that goal?
Collaborate with your partner!
Take the moment at the beginning of each dance to calibrate to your partner. Create your embrace together to find an optimal starting point where both dancers feel comfortable. Can you feel your partner’s breathing and/or heartbeat? Tune it to them!
Listen to the flavor of the song: how does it make you feel? The same person will feel different when dancing to different songs. Let the opening bars of the song suggest how you would like to move to it and use that intuitive tune-in to begin moving. The emotional feel of the moment counts much more than being on the beat or showing your partner all the moves you learned this week.
Be present on all levels. Breathe. Then dance.
Collaborate with the entire dance floor!
This dance involves a community. Everyone out on the dance floor should be tuning into all the people around them. Find the flow of the room, the flow of the music. Feel the unity involved in dancing together. Remember to share the dance space with everyone. Be respectful of other dancers’ rights; this is not just about you.
I just got home from Balkanalia. Many Balkan folk dances involve holding hands, linking bodies together and coordinating with the entire room of dancers, singers, and musicians. Everyone gets in the same groove and the dance flows through the space like a trance.
I acknowledge that it may be easier to all dance together attached to all the other dancers physically, but. . . Can we try to find the same level of togetherness and community on our tango dance floor as well? I think so.
Create community!
Welcome new dancers. Dance with new dancers. Dance with struggling dancers. Smile at people. Volunteer at events. Help clean up. Give people rides home. Invite coworkers and new friends to come try tango at a friendly venue. Make all the venues feel more welcoming. What can YOU do to send everyone home with a smile on their face?
I had three hours of sleep last night between the end of singing, dancing together and listening to amazingly talented musicians and singers and getting up to drive someone to the airport who needed a ride before going back to camp to help clean up. Other people were up even earlier to get the New York contingent to the airport by 5 am. I am exhausted, humming tunes under my breath, feeling incredibly happy, and hoping to bring some of that into my other dance community. See you in class or on the dance floor!