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| Dualing Tangueros: Who will win? |
I had a dream last night. I dreamed that I was dancing near an experienced tango teacher, and although I did not look up, I could tell that all eyes were on him. He was swirling around, doing all sorts of cool moves. My job was mostly just to creep behind him and make sure that he didn't hurt my tanguera with high-flying boleos, ganchos or simply slam into my tanguera as he went forward and backwards in the space that all we lesser tangueros were humbly providing him.
This was my realization: Why should I be so meek, dancing just for one person, the woman in front of me? In my dream I reasoned that if my partner were sitting at the tables, she too would be watching his awesomeness. She would not notice me -- the guy who was taking subtle steps and moving to nuances in the music. She would not see how I had connected directly to my tanguera's heart and entire being. She would not see that I was dancing with my partner's soul, led to move only by the music rather than showing off what I just learned from a stage star.
I woke up and looked at the clock. It was 5 a.m. I remembered that even though it is Friday, I have the day off. So I went back to sleep. But I started dreaming again. I felt myself loosening my connection, as I considered my partner sitting there watching this great show going on next to me. I thought that this woman who had melted into my embrace with her eyes closed surely would be watching the great tanguero, just as every eye was on him now. She too would be amazed at that whirlwind giro with 12 different sacadas ending in a nice barrida. Surely, my partner would have swooned with how the tango star had led his partner to four salsa-like turns and ended with sentada.
My dream continued. I took action. Like dualing tangueros, I opened up and did things he couldn't. Using my knowledge as a percussionist, I was now dancing on the upbeat as she stayed in the downbeat, allowing her to make these great egg-beater turns and colgadas. She continued dancing on the pulse and I now was doing these truly amazing turns while dancing in a syncopated canyange rhythm. I was truly awesome. Finally like him. He backed off and now was protecting his partner from my moves. I was winning the dual! People were watching me, the former meek milonguero!
Then I woke up. It was April 1st. I was relieved. It is better to be a fool on the social dance floor in one's dreams than in real life.
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| When art becomes at its center a competition we all lose |
Happy April fools day everyone!
Photo credit: Tango Fire advertisement at top.
For dualing pigs: http://sean-ashby.blogspot.com/2010/06/dueling-banjos.html
“In my dream I reasoned that if my partner were sitting at the tables, she too would be watching his awesomeness. She would not notice me -- the guy who was taking subtle steps and moving to nuances in the music. She would not see how I had connected directly to my tanguera's heart and entire being. She would not see that I was dancing with my partner's soul, led to move only by the music rather than showing off what I just learned from a stage star.”
ReplyDeleteDefinitely April Fools on this one. A woman who is awakened to this subtlety and nuance would definitely be looking at you and noticing all these things or at least trying to find them. She might take a few seconds to watch the other guy but then she’d realize she’s already figured him out and there’s no need to look further.
Nice post. Thank you for this :D
Querida Joy... I am hoping that people will know me well enough that they will realize it's just April Fools Day! To be fair, sometimes even I am there watching just in horror waiting for an accident to happen, and for a chance to use what I learned in my first aide course + CPR. Or it's like a B movie that has some sort of perverse magnetism over me. Sure, great tango moves DO look good. The visual effect is wonderful -- but nonetheless, foolish on a social dance floor.
ReplyDeleteYes, agreed. But the art of an April Fools joke is tricking someone into thinking it's real, if only for a moment, which you did. There's an element of truth here, which is why it works. I know many women (and men) who get sucked into the flashy stuff and miss the hidden beauties. I think it's a constant struggle for all of us, no matter how far we think we've evolved (myself included). Men who think that's what women are looking for, for example, or who wonder whether to continue with the nuance if they know their partner is hoping for the obvious. I like the pictures you painted here. The dream makes me think of the internal struggle.
ReplyDeleteAbrazo...
Ah, well, the joke is one those who are seduced by the visual, all the while missing the magic. They might figure it out someday.
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@ Elizabeth: We are all praying for that day!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Joy In Motion--I think a lot of people do get sucked into the outer appearance of flashiness because they have not yet discovered the rich inner world of tango...or maybe they think one will lead to the other...
ReplyDeleteI'm sure zillions of followers have been seduced by superhero dancing only to be left empty after the tanda--I've been there too...I'm learning to be more choosy...
but Mark--what an interesting dream! (if it's real or just a story...) The ego is a funny thing, no?
@Christine: If I admitted that it truly happened, I would be a double-fool. :-) A while back, I decided to try to slowly learn all that I knew in open embrace in a closed embrace. That was actually an important goal. Certain things, a teacher told me, could not be done, and now that these "impossible" moves have to the most part happened, they are the movements that are the most pleasing and connected. (For example, in milonguero embrace walking left and right in a unison walking-pulse rhythm or with her on the pulse and I am using a traspie rhythm.) It has been a slow but wonderful process just to learn how to dance with the soul of another person. Opening the embrace is the sign of deciding to dance for the tables. And yes you are right -- dancing for the tables leaves one empty; dancing with and for the soul in front of us glows on forever.
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