(continued from previous Part 1) Tango360T 2011 CONFERENCE THEMES >From Wikipedia: An academic conference is a conference for researchers (not always academics) to present and discuss their work.
For 2011, the Tango360T conference will have four main themes: - "Tango as an Academic Pursuit" - Can one expect to soon see Argentine Tango as an undergraduate degree program at the University level in the United States? What progress is being made? What would such a program look like? Can we develop a consensus on what to include? What to discard? Are there existing historical models of a "street art" becoming "academically respectable"? Is such respectability even desirable? - "Tango as a Spiritual Practice" - Many people already view their tango involvement as containing many elements of a spiritual practice - but, uniquely among mainstream spiritual traditions, a spiritual practice for those in couple relationships of varying duration. How can individuals, tango partners, and tango communities best advance the tantalizing promise of tango as a powerful arena for individual and collective spiritual development? What spiritual practices are available and practical within the domain of tango that would let one maximize its "spiritual development potential"? - "Tango as a Commercial Enterprise" - What's it like in the trenches of the USA (and world) tango economy? Can someone make a living as a full-time tango teacher/organizer? What about the "nonprofit model" of tango? How can we all best foster the growth of local communities which can become the bedrock of the emergent tango culture? What's the best way to cooperate with other aspiring professionals in what often appears to be a fiercely competitive environment? What are the success stories, and the cautionary tales, and what can we learn from each? - "Tango: the Shadow Side" - For all the pleasure that many of us draw from tango, why are so many tango aficionados so unhappy so much of the time? Does tango make you meaner and less compassionate, or the opposite - or both? Is tango actually a fantastic tool for exploring and coming to grips with the shadow side within each of us, whether or not we see such a quest in spiritual terms? What level of responsibility for their "shadow side" would it be useful to expect of ourselves and our fellow tango aficionados? DOES THIS SOUND LIKE FUN TO YOU? - If you are a tango lover who would jump at the chance to participate in explorations of these themes, - If you are a current or aspiring "tango professional" who would want to contribute your experiences to the discussions in a formal way as a presenter, - If your current work in tango could truly benefit from discussing these themes with some VERY experienced veterans of the tango scene - If you don't feel you have anything to contribute on these themes (except your interest and curiosity), but would really like to meet and dance with those who do, .we hope you'll consider joining us in exploring this exciting new direction in tango! PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSALS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Full details are available on our website at www.danceoftheheart.com under the "Tango360(tm) Link from the main page. PRESENTERS NEED NOT BE PHYSICALLY PRESENT TO PARTICIPATE. Our venue includes high-speed internet access and video projection facilities sufficient to allow for effective remote presentations using Skype or similar video-chat technologies. (Of course , we'd love for you to be here - it would be hard to dance with you by video chat ;) ;)) While the goal of the event is to promote face-to-face contact, discussion, and ongoing networking around topics of shared interest, we expect to publish at least partial proceedings of the conference in some form. Deadline for submissions is June 1. Some slots for each theme are already filled. We will select from among those proposals submitted to fill the remaining presentation slots. We'll let you know as early as we can if your theme is too similar to one already submitted and accepted, in case you wish to submit an alternate proposal. We'd love to work with you to refine your ideas in advance of your presentation, as time and resources allow. Our upcoming Facebook page and website page will be announced on our own website at www.danceoftheheart.com - please visit us there for more details! Abrazos, Brian Dunn Dance of the Heart www.danceoftheheart.com "Building a Better World, One Tango at a Time" _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l