Tango Requirement: "Get a Pair* . . ."



". . . of dance shoes."

A fight is going on in the streets outside of the milonga.  And you might as well join in because the fight is about you.
 

Freedom of expression has always been something one must fight for.  The fight has changed over the years, but this great feeling of the freedom of expression through dancing is something that has been prohibited and punished over the years and still is today in certain countries.  Dancing still is prohibited by certain groups or families in every country on the globe.  Generally speaking, there is mostly a feeling that we have the freedom to dance and it is here to stay.  But history has a way of repeating itself.  Some will say there is no longer anything to fight for!  This is simply not true.  Even if it were true, when there is nothing to fight for, the value of any kind of freedom dwindles over time.  Then the fight becomes necessary all over again.

The Fight Within
If you are reading this blog post, it is probably because you fought for your right to dance.  Man or woman, you still have had to fight.  Perhaps you faced fear or ridicule, even your own self-conscious fear of looking stupid. Perhaps, you had to disregard what friends and family would say. Men, in my opinion, have to be even more willing to fight.  Several women at work wondered if I was gay simply because I liked to dance; so questions about sexual orientation is exactly what so many men do not want to have to explain.  So some might ask themselves, "Why dance if I have unnecessary battles to fight?"  The answer is simple:  Dancing is the epicenter of being human. 

If your  particular culture or family has blinded you to this fact, then that is all the more reason to fight for your own Freedom of Expression.  Dance allows you to be present in your own body better than exercise, deep breathing, meditation, tai chi or yoga.  But these other practices will make you a better dancer because we "incorporate" or embody each of these in dance.

Get a pair of these.

Many people refuse to even try to dance and express this part of their humanity. The "two-left-feet" argument is often just one of many voices which have closed the door on this wonderful freedom to express one's very humanity. Like a cat who feels more comfortable in its cage, the door may be open to freedom, but too many of us (especially men) are afraid to come out of the cage. Freedom must be fought for.

As for me: "Give me the liberty to dance, or give me death."

And now specifically for my fellow men:  Join the fight within: "Get a pair!"

Photo credit of dancers in street.
Photo credit of dance shoes.

*English as a second language readers:
Recently the majority of my readers are not native English speakers (thanks to a new influx of Russian readers).  So let me explain a little about a play on words I have used with the phrase "get a pair."   Here is a great resource for English words and phrases not in the dictionary:  The online Urban Dictionary.   "Get a pair," is now used even for women, but it referred at first to men needing to "get a pair" of testicles--meaning, "Be a man!"  So don't tell your grandmother to be more assertive and "go get a pair."  It's street language!  Anyway, in this blog post, I am referring to getting a pair of dance shoes, not testicles.  :-)  However, for men both pairs are very good to have for dancing well.