It is obvious that we dance tango for many different reasons. Tango allows the masculine and feminine roles to be played. I had the privilege and the pleasure of dancing with Trini many times, so I know what she is talking about. I think that we described different milongas. I for one, described the milongas in my neigborhood of Villa Urquiza. Some of the milongas Downtown certainly have a different dynamic. I searched my records because I remembered that I had written a note about; "The reason I dance tango" This note was written many years ago. THE REASON I DANCE TANGO Dance is one of the most primitive forms of art. It expresses our life experiences and our personality in movements of our body. Tango Argentino facilitates our emotional, social and physical integration.
It increases self-esteem, improves relationships, broadens the possibilities of movement, favors introspection and it is effective in managing stress and depression. Its music is a mixture of melancholy, emotional altitude, transcendental expression, anxiety, anger and frustration, it wraps you as it floats in the air with a beauty that moves the heart and shakes the soul. Its lyrics are poems, the brush of a painter leaving on the canvas images of the city, the neighborhood, the street where you grew up, played, loved, and suffered. Mother, friends, lovers, cafes, cabarets, horse races, triumphs, failures, frustrations, peace and turmoil are the matter from which they are made. Tango does not require any preconception, you have a different experience with each partner, you learn more about yourself through the transient association with the other dancers. It refers to two human beings, wrapped by a music full of passion. Two entities that are introspected but fused in one. One could say that the dancing couple is a creature with two heads, four arms, four legs and only one heart. The invitation to dance is an invisible connection , a silent dialog of eyes and gestures. I meet my partner on the dancing floor, stand in front of her. I offer my left hand and receive her right with a smile; place my right hand around her back, I bend slightly my knees and take a deep breath as I stretch my chest upwards. I cradle her in my arms for a moment as I feel the changes of weight of her body...I concentrate in the beat, let the music invade my body and my heart and start dancing my emotions, my joys, my sadness, my hopes and my frustrations. I feel free, I feel my life, I float in the air and glide away. When the music stops I hold her in my arms for a few extra moments, I contemplate her dreamy eyes full with gratitude, I smile and then walk her back to her seat. SERGIO _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l