1050 Escape from reality
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 16:55:07 +0000
From: Daisy Gardiner <tawny_port@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Escape from reality
Hey guys,
I never met Arthur. I wouldn't know him if I tripped on him. But I think
he's taking an awful bashing here. He shared his feelings openly. I think
perhaps that his words may have been misunderstood by some. Que se yo?
But, whether we have understood or not, I don't think he deserves this
public thrashing. We're all different, and we dance for our own reasons.
Tango enriches our lives. It gives us a special means of expression. Can
we leave the personal attacks for somewhere off this list?
Daisy
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 00:06:35 -0800
From: "Larry E. Carroll" <larrydla@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Escape from reality
I'm with Daisy on this. When someone says they feel a certain way about
tango, I think it's wrong to attack them. Everyone is entitled to their
feelings.
Also, personal attacks discourage people from contributing to TANGO-L -
an especially undesirable result since TANGO-L contributions have
decreased in the last few months.
I'm not sure if Arturo was writing ironically or not. Personally, I
sometimes need to escape from some of the more depressing aspects of life
for a time, and I can think of no healthier way to do that than by
dancing.
Michael wrote "I do not feel you can escape from life through tango." It
apparently works that way for you, Michael, & probably lots of other
people, but I CAN escape; I CAN lose the tension or anger from an
especially bad day.
Maybe it's just because I've had more practice at escaping! But I think
it's also because when I dance I forget about everything but my partner
and the music and the people around me. I live in the moment; past &
future don't exist.
Another difference between myself & some other people is that I've never
considered tango music AS A WHOLE to be melancholic. A few pieces sound
sad, a lot more sound happy, most are neither to me - they strike me
purely as beautiful sounds.
Now some of the lyrics express sadness. But others express anger &
jealousy, which are quite different from melancholy. And many of them
celebrate life, or experiences, or people the writer knew.
Part of this also is the band & they way it plays. D'Arienzo always
makes me happy, Pugliese energizes me, Canaro often puts me a very
lyrical or even romantic mood.
The bottom line is that any statement that goes "Tango is
one-single-thing-or-other" is almost automatically wrong. Tango music, &
tango dancing, is very rich & complex, & hard to summarize in any simple
way.
Larry de Los Angeles
https://larrydla.home.att.net
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Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 18:23:17 -0500
From: Simona G <simona_tango@YAHOO.CA>
Subject: Tango: escape from reality or reality switch or one single reality?
Dear all,
I'm very new to tango and this is my first posting on your list, although I spent some delightful hours brousing through your message exchanges (thanks to all). There is one thread in particular that caught my attention: it was called "Tango Argentino-Escape from Real Life". It's farely old (Feb. 2003), so I apologize in advance for bringing an old topic back up.
The starting point of the thread was a message from Arthur Greenberg where he compared tango to an escape from (very materialistic) "real life" hassles. Various postings then expressed the opinion that escaping from "real life" is not what tango is all about.
The reason this thread interested my is that I'm trying myself to understand why and how tango has such a strong impact on my life lately, I'm trying to understand the roots of this enchantment.
Of course it has to do with the incredible combination of intensity and control, of unhibited emotional release within the safety of the tango boundaries, and probably most importantly, with the physical and emotional synchronism between the two dancers.
But I must admit that I can relate to this idea of "escape" from reality in the following way: on the very rare occasions that I had the chance to dance with experienced leaders (as opposed to the clumsy but so charmingly motivated fellow beginners) the enchantment of the dance was such that everything around - the room, the people and the everyday hassles - completely faded away. So, yes, in a way, it felt like an escape.
So, then I'm wondering wether this was an "escape from reality" and why this is so far away from tango essence. Maybe it's because it's not as much an escape, but more like a "reality switch", as the tango enchantment is indeed no less real then the everyday hassles.
And then again, it's maybe not even a "reality switch" between two separate realities, but an interweaving of them all into one single reality: the beauty and intensity of tango should find their way back into everyday life. But then, this should go both ways: should the everyday hassels really find their way back into the tango? If we don't lock them out, can we still focuss on the moment?
Or maybe it's not the everyday life as such that should find its way into the tango, but the emotional traces that life leaves behind, be it sadness, joy, melancholy, or enthousiasm. Is this what Carolin Iotti explained in her message (sorry for not speaking Spanish and thanks, Frank, for the translation)?
And maybe this is what you, who have been here so long before me, mean by saying that "tango IS life"?
Regards,
Simona
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 13:17:14 -0500
From: Michael B Ditkoff <tangomaniac@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Re: Tango: escape from reality or reality switch or one single reality?
Simona:
I do not feel that tango is an escape. You bring yourself onto the dance
floor. If you're an angry person, you will dance angry. If you are
unwilling (or unable) to relax off the dance floor, you will bring
stiffness onto the dance floor. Some people think that they can turn a
behavioral switch and become somebody completely different the moment
their feet touch the floor. I don't buy it. If it was true, there would
be better dancers.
Some people have spatial issues. I don't understand why they want to
dance tango. They want to get close but something holds them back from
getting too close because of personal issues.
I don't know you so I can't possibly begin and tell you why tango
attracts you. For myself, tango has filled a void in my life. I have been
touched by women who gave me their hearts, their soul, their presence and
most important THEIR ACCEPTANCE of me. I hope I've been able to
reciprocate their affection with tenderness, kindness, and courtesy on
the floor.
I can only guess, Simona, that tango is giving something you want or
need, that you find missing in your life.
Tango is NOT for everyone. In the movie "The Tango Lesson," Sally Potter
asks Pablo Veron "How did you choose the Tango?" Pablo replies "I did not
choose the tango. The tango chose me." Simona, the tango chose YOU and
you are responding in kind.
Michael Ditkoff
Washington, DC
Recovering from the second all night milonga at the Washington DC Tango
Marathon.
On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 18:23:17 -0500 Simona G <simona_tango@YAHOO.CA>
writes:
>
The reason this thread interested my is that I'm trying myself to >
understand why and how tango has such a strong impact on my life >
lately, I'm trying to understand the roots of this enchantment.
>
>
> But I must admit that I can relate to this idea of "escape" from >
reality in the following way: on the very rare occasions that I had > the
chance to dance with experienced leaders (as opposed to the > clumsy but
so charmingly motivated fellow beginners) the enchantment > of the dance
was such that everything around - the room, the people > and the everyday
hassles - completely faded away. So, yes, in a way, > it felt like an
escape.
>
