854  Physical and spiritual connection

Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2002 19:30:00 -0500
From: Sergio <cachafaz@ADELPHIA.NET>
Subject: Physical and spiritual connection

People dance for different reasons, some do it for celebration of special
religious or non religious events, some do it as a profession, others for
fun and entertainment.

Tango could be danced for all the above reasons but it is also danced for
feeling and concentration in the music and in each other's partner.

It has a physical connection that is more or less rapidly learned. This
connection requires a solid frame, it could be an open or a closed embrace.
Both arms, hands and the chest are important elements in this contact or
connection between the two bodies. There is an awareness of each-other and
where the respective feet and weights are located.
These elements are basic. It is difficult to dance unless they are mastered.

The other aspect of connection is spiritual and it is there where great part
of the pleasure this dance produces is located.

This connection commences with the stare and nodding at the time of the
invitation to dance, it continues during the walk towards each other to get
close enough to be able to establish physical contact. There is some waiting
for the other couples to start moving and to start feeling the music. Then
the man offers his receptive left hand, the way she deposits hers on his,
the type of embrace suggested and accepted. The intense concentration on
each other transmitted through their bodies.
He feels the music and proposes some moves, she is attentive to follow. The
bodies and souls are communicating, there are no other worries or thoughts.
They, the music and the dance. There is awareness of the heart pulse, the
respiration, the pleasure, relaxation or tension. The music has its
beginning, it mid part, its adagios (slow moments), its fast impetus, then
the preparation for the ending and finally the ending. Both navigate the
floor as one and in communion with all the other dancers. The music stops,
they hold the embrace for a few instants and then separate.

Some people learned to dance but they never developed Spiritual connection
either with the music or with their partners.
They acquire great technique, lead and follow intricate steps and figures
but their dance has no feeling or soul.
They dance tango the same way as they dance any other dance. They never
learned the difference.
These type of dancer is very frequently found in instructors and organizers
of milongas.
As you dance with them you get the feeling that they are worrying about the
coffee machine running out of water, or the bills that have to be paid the
following day. They follow any move with ease and precision, tango technique
has no secrets for them...but they are spiritually absent.

I do not know you but when this happens to me I feel betrayed. The same as
if I was making love to a woman that is thinking in somebody else...then I
wonder if it is that she does not like dancing with me...(I respect that),
perhaps this is her way to let me know but then she looks again to be
invited and eventually she dances with other dancers only in body but not
in spirit.
Amen! May you all find soul presence in your tangos. :)

I think that spiritual connection and musicality are related, we try to
develop both at the same time during the teaching- learning process.
Frequently one is consequence of the other.

Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 18:37:28 +0000
From: Brian Taylor <briantaylor990@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: spiritual connection

I think that there is a cultural factor involved here.
Argentineans even when dancing very simple steps seem to be connected to
their partner, the music and the rest of the dancers.

The "cold" dancers as described by Sergio seem to be more prevalent outside
of Argentina.

Instructors, that organize the local Milongas have great expertise when it
comes to teaching tango technique but are totally disconnected from the
intense feeling of the music and frequently have poor spiritual connection
with their partners.

The 'coldest' dancers in my opinion are "some of" the female leaders. They
seem to be cold while leading other women but frequently they are even worse
when dancing as followers with a man. They go through the motions as
described by Astrid but without any feeling.

When it comes to different styles, most non-Argentinean dancers seem to do
better with milonguero than with either salon or (the worst) Nuevo Tango.

The paradoxical element is that despite of their instructors some gifted
dancers move with great musical interpretation and connection to their
partners and the rest of the dancers.

The discussion of this subject will certainly cause a lot of self
examination and re-evaluation of one's purpose and achievements when dancing
tango.

Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 19:11:08 -0800
From: Marisa Holmes <mariholmes@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: spiritual connection

--- Brian Taylor <briantaylor990@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:

> The 'coldest' dancers in my opinion are "some of"
> the female leaders. They
> seem to be cold while leading other women but
> frequently they are even worse
> when dancing as followers with a man. They go
> through the motions as
> described by Astrid but without any feeling.

Oh yes, those unsexed weirdos, who have, as we heard a
little while ago on the list, destroyed themselves as
followers by doing something so awful as to behave as
humans with volition. There is no surer way to become
impossible to lead - and way too scary for any man to
want to dance with. Of course, passionate real men
can tell instantly, just by looking at a pair of
people in the ronda, what they are feeling, how their
partners feel to them, and whether they have achieved
spiritual connection or not.

When I ran a little survey on the occupations of
tangueras a while ago, I asked the respondents to tell
me whether they led or not. One of the most
interesting patterns in the responses was the number
of women who volunteered that they had been led by
other women - and who praised the courtesy,
musicality, and connectedness of those leaders. They
must not be those "some of" Brian is concerned about.

Marisa

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Date: Sat, 16 Nov 2002 18:31:45 -0500
From: "Sa, Na-W, Na-C, Na-E, Misc" <tangomaniac@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Re: Physical and spiritual connection

Sergio wrote about physical and spiritual connection. I agree with him. I
feel that before
you can embrace someone else, you have to embrace yourself. While I will
go into
detail in my next article in the "La Voz del Tango" magazine, I'll state
here that you
have to be comfortable with yourself first. You have to learn to accept
yourself -- before
anybody will accept you. I remember so well the night a woman told me
she enjoyed milonga with me. I thought I was terrible and told her it was
impossible for her to enjoy our dance -- because I didn't enjoy it
because I
wasn't good. She couldn't possibly convince me it was enjoyable --
because
of my own insecurities.

As David said on the PBS special "I'm taking Tango Lessons" that was on
Channel 13 New York, "Your body doesn't know how to lie."

Thanks to years of yoga I was able to start feeling warmth from dancing
tango.
The women didn't suddenly become warm towards me. They were always
warm towards me. I just couldn't feel it.

Michael
Washington, DC

On Mon, 11 Nov 2002 19:30:00 -0500 Sergio <cachafaz@ADELPHIA.NET> writes:

>
> The other aspect of connection is spiritual and it is there where >

great part

> of the pleasure this dance produces is located.
>

Some people learned to dance but they never developed Spiritual
connection> either with the music or with their partners. > They acquire

great technique, lead and follow intricate steps and > figures

> but their dance has no feeling or soul.