1504  Is the partner trascended?

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 14:48:51 -0400
From: Sergio <cachafaz@ADELPHIA.NET>
Subject: Is the partner trascended?

We were in a tango cruise about three years ago. That first night the
milonga was outside on the Lido Deck.
It was windy, a fine rain was coming down, the boat was shaking from one
side to the other.

I saw a beautiful tall oriental girl across the deck, my stare met her dark
eyes, I nodded, she accepted.
We met in the center of the dancing area. I placed my right hand on her back
and offered my left one which she accepted with a smile.
We started to dance, our bodies had a perfect match, we had perfect
equilibrium, I could feel her heart beating fast.
The sound of the waves and the voices disappeared, the rain and the wind
stopped, the ship ceased to roll. The floor vanished from under our feet, we
seemed to be floating in the air as we danced in harmony with ourselves and
the universe.
The music stopped, we separated with regret... as I walked her back to her
side of the deck I lost my equilibrium as the ship was shaking, I heard the
wind howling and the rain wet my face.

I told my friend, ask that girl to dance and afterwards tell me what
happens. You will see! . He went dancing with her and when he came back I
asked - Did you noticed anything special ? - No, he said. -

Her boyfriend was one of the tango instructors on board an excellent dancer
who was part of the tango show with her.
I had similar experiences of variable intensity each time I danced with her.
I was mesmerized because that had happened to me only once a few years
before and I did not understand its meaning.

I went to the bar where I sat with a good friend of mine, Nito Garcia (a
well known old milonguero and Salon style tango instructor) , I told him
what had happened - he said - " This happens very rarely, once every 4 or 5
years, it has to be with the right person under the right circumstances...
Once you experience that you never forget - his eyes became glassy as he
continued - I still remember the first time that happened to me. -

I was walking with the crowd to see the after dinner show, it was the last
day of the trip, when I noticed the Oriental girl close by, she came closer
and said - when we dance together something happens, does it not? - Ah! you
noticed too? - I said - Of course! she replied.
- I added - Does that happen to you when you dance with your boy friend? She
said - no never so far.

I never saw her again, being Argentinean I understood that she was in a
sacred relationship with which I could not interfere. (I would have liked
to) :))
I still remember the sensation of those sweet tangos.

May all of you have similar experiences.

Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 23:03:32 -0700
From: Jonathan Thornton <jnt@NOYAU.COM>
Subject: Re: Is the partner trascended?

> I went to the bar where I sat with a good friend of mine, Nito Garcia (a
> well known old milonguero and Salon style tango instructor) , I told him
> what had happened - he said - " This happens very rarely, once every 4 or 5
> years, it has to be with the right person under the right circumstances...
> Once you experience that you never forget - his eyes became glassy as he
> continued - I still remember the first time that happened to me. -

Sergio,
I will admit that when I read the figure of "once every 4 or 5
years" my heart sank and I was in a slump for much of the day. Your
response to my post has cheered me though. Just to know others do know
what I'm talking about. I've had in the past some private emails from a
few others who have experienced and valued the moments of transcendence.
I am a very introverted individual. Reading Rick McGarrey's
reports on the milonga's and milonguero's of BsAs is rather daunting to me
because I realized that it would be extremely unlikely I could spend the
amount of time that the good dancers do in social situations. It's much
more my nature to spend evenings alone in my apartment with my music, my
piles of books, my writing and researching on the net. Oh, it's good for
me to get out, but I need long stretches alone thinking and contemplating.
The first time I experienced the transcendent dance I had been
dancing maybe 2 years, and was not very good. However something emerged
and I danced "way over my head". This led to an assumption that has
resulted in deep disappointment for me. I thought that as soon as I
improved I'd be dancing like that all the time! I thought that was what
dancing tango was like. When I improved only to find hardly any partners
who danced that way with me I was very discouraged.
I first heard the phrase "tango trance" from Daniel Trenner. Like
you he was observing that in BsAs some people seem to spend most of the
night dancing in trance. I have some issues with the word trance, but I
intuited what he meant. I also knew that the importance of taking care of
my partner, having a good embrace, and a smooth easy lead was that those
provide the necessary support to her being able to let go and enter the
trance.
I've taken classes in a number of movement disciplines and read in
a number of areas of study trying to get a better understanding of these
flowing moments of transcendence. Because I'm not very well suited to
being a social dancer by temperment, it just doesn't meet my needs very
well, the thing that has kept me coming back is the rare connections that
lead to that heightened communication and awareness. My discussions on
this list for the most part are in the pursuit of learning how to create
conditions that will foster those experiences. I really want to be dancing
like that once a week, not once every 4 years! I am slowly building up a
possibilities drawn from many disciplines.

> I noticed in Argentina that many couples seem to be in some sort of trance
> while dancing but when the music stops they go about their life as if
> nothing had happened and I have never heard anyone talking about these type
> of experience.

What tantalizes me is that this may have been going on for a long
time in the milongas but no one is commenting on that. Maybe there are
already those who dance this on a weekly basis? Does anyone have any
information that might shed more light?

transcendent wishes,
Jonathan Thornton