1508 Tango Trance
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 00:19:09 -0800
From: Dan Boccia <redfox@ALASKA.NET>
Subject: Tango Trance
The tango trance.
Seek it, and it will elude you.
Talk about it in too much detail.
and it will haunt you evily.
Live for it, and you will die many deaths
Treasure it, but don't hold onto it.
Dance with love and freedom.
and it will embrace you.
Be vulnerable, and feel it's power.
Dan Boccia
Anchorage, AK
www.tangotrance.com <https://www.tangotrance.com/>
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 21:47:07 +0900
From: astrid <astrid@RUBY.PLALA.OR.JP>
Subject: Re: Tango Trance
> The tango trance.
>
> Seek it, and it will elude you.
> Talk about it in too much detail.
> and it will haunt you evily.
> Live for it, and you will die many deaths
>
> Treasure it, but don't hold onto it.
> Dance with love and freedom.
> and it will embrace you.
> Be vulnerable, and feel it's power.
>
> Dan Boccia
Wow, Dan, this makes you the Khalil Gibran of the tango world. Khalil lives
in Alaska now...
Reminds me of a 20th century German author describing dancers in Iceland,
one of the most Northern places of Europe, who never talk during their slow
dance, have a far way, solemn look in their eye, turned inward and
concentrated totally on experiencing this feeling of each other in silence,
and the whole dance hall has kind of a half dark, mystical atmosphere, with
the Northern light shining through the windows. (it was not tango that they
were dancing)
A question to Sergio: What I have described to tango-l as my experience of
the Argentine men's way of "dormirla" (put her to sleep) is pretty much the
same thing as what we are talking about now under the name of
"transcendence". "Dormirla" leads me to close my eyes, or anyway, keep my
eyes half closed, so I did not see any colours flashing by or any other of
the psychedelic stuff people report, but it certainly puts me into a state
of utter oblivion, surrender and trust. What the man does, I suppose, is
lead with total awareness of the woman's body and give himself totally to
the woman, which makes their borders melt and their energies flow into each
other. But the interesting thing is: in Argentina this is one of the
"milonga codes" for the ideal scenario, this is what the man should be doing
all the time, if he can. Right, Sergio ?
I assume this would pass for "talking about what happens in that state" in
BsAs. It is not such a well kept secret as it might seem, it is just called
by another name, I think.
Astrid
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 08:38:17 -0500
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: Tango Trance
I agree with Astrid comments about Dan's comments echoing Khalil Gibran for tango:
From Dan's website The Tango Trance <https://www.tangotrance.com/>
"The state of being so completely immersed in the music and profoundly
connected with your partner that
movement flows from within the partnership uninhibited by conscious
thought."
I do not create the dance, it creates itself through me.
>The tango trance.
>
>Seek it, and it will elude you.
>Talk about it in too much detail.
>and it will haunt you evily.
>Live for it, and you will die many deaths
>
>Treasure it, but don't hold onto it.
>Dance with love and freedom.
>and it will embrace you.
>Be vulnerable, and feel it's power.
>
>Dan Boccia
In a more prosaic way, I offer some further observations
In Search of the Perfect Tango (aka Tango Trance)
I must confess that I have been seduced by the magic of a perfect tango
(or was it a vals?). The music and my partner resonated in my heart and
soul, and mine in hers, as we moved effortlessly around the room. The
floor was crowded, but it was just us two and the music. We were aware of
others just enough to avoid collisions with the couples in front of us who
insisted on beginning their every move with an eight-count basic with a
dreaded back step against the line of dance. The feeling was sublime and
unexpected; it was a golden paradise, the promise of heaven. Then sadly
the music ended, our eternity of three minutes was over.
Since then, too often have I searched for the promise of a perfect tango.
Too hard have I worked on perfecting my craft, at pushing my partner to
work with me to perfect her craft, at understanding the music, at deciding
what music is best.
And many times have I found the magic of a sublime tango--a golden
paradise that opens with the promise of heaven, a
creation of true art with another. But I must confess that these times
seem to have little to do with the effort that I put into the craft of
dancing, and more to do with forgetting everything I learned and dancing
from my heart and soul while touching the heart and soul of another.
What then is the search for the perfect tango in obsessive practice? For
me, it has largely been an activity that fills the needs of the ego rather
than nourishing my heart and soul--perfecting the craft and ignoring the
art. Too often have I obsessed and searched for the perfect tango--never
fully realizing that it is always at hand.
https://www.tejastango.com/perfect_tango.html
With best regards,
Steve
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 07:34:57 -0700
From: Jonathan Thornton <jnt@NOYAU.COM>
Subject: The Tao of Tango [was Tango Trance]
> The tango trance.
>
> Seek it, and it will elude you.
> Talk about it in too much detail.
> and it will haunt you evily.
> Live for it, and you will die many deaths
>
> Treasure it, but don't hold onto it.
> Dance with love and freedom.
> and it will embrace you.
> Be vulnerable, and feel it's power.
>
> Dan Boccia
Dan,
Lovely. If you are saying that it can't be got by speaking, that
no amount of conceptualizing will takes us there I agree. I understand the
appeals of silence, but gently and with warm regard disagree with you if
you are saying that we shouldn't speak of this at all. In support of my
activity I quote from the opening of the Tao Te Ching:
A Translation by Stan Rosenthal
1. THE EMBODIMENT OF TAO
Even the finest teaching is not the Tao itself.
Even the finest name is insufficient to define it.
Without words, the Tao can be experienced,
and without a name, it can be known.
Though words or names are not required
to live one's life this way,
to describe it, words and names are used,
that we might better clarify
the way of which we speak,
without confusing it with other ways
in which an individual might choose to live.
Through knowledge, intellectual thought and words,
the manifestations of the Tao are known,
but without such intellectual intent
we might experience the Tao itself.
Both knowledge and experience are real,
but reality has many forms,
which seem to cause complexity.
By using the means appropriate,
we extend ourselves beyond
the barriers of such complexity,
and so experience the Tao.
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 10:10:48 -0600
From: Brian Dunn <Brian@DANCEOFTHEHEART.COM>
Subject: Re: Tango Trance
Dan B. wrote:
>>>>
The tango trance.
Seek it, and it will elude you.
Talk about it in too much detail.
and it will haunt you evily.
Live for it, and you will die many deaths
Treasure it, but don't hold onto it.
Dance with love and freedom.
and it will embrace you.
Be vulnerable, and feel it's power.
Dan Boccia
Anchorage, AK
www.tangotrance.com <https://www.tangotrance.com/>
<<<<
Ah, grasshopper (or should I say, redfox?) ;>
>>> Seek it, and it will elude you.
This may be true for many. Depends on the seeker's seeking style, in my
experience...opportunities abound for spinning one's wheels, to be sure.
For those who are sincerely curious, the history of spiritual practice (as
opposed to the blood-soaked history of spiritual dogma) has lots of
information about the traps and how to avoid them. Roger Walsh's "Essential
Spirituality" is a great cross-cultural study of practices.
One distinction I've found useful: "Seekers" are looking for a path, and
their problem is to choose the right one for them. "Pilgrims" have found
their path, and their problem is how to stay on it and keep moving forward.
In any case, the destination is the same for everyone - transcendence,
nirvana, heaven - although there are an infinite number of paths. I guess
my path involves this transcend-through-imnmersion aspect of tango.
>>> Talk about it in too much detail.
and it will haunt you evily.
Hmmm... if ALL one does is talk about it, one might say one's "pilgrim
style" is out of balance. Kind of like writing e-mails about dancing...;>
>>> Live for it, and you will die many deaths
Absolutely - up to one per song, for advanced practitioners ;> Just dress
rehearsals, you know? I think it was Raul Bravo who said, "Tango is about
death".
>>> Treasure it, but don't hold onto it.
That's the great thing about tango as a spiritual path - the song ALWAYS
ends. Nothing to hold onto...except each other, wide-eyed, with the
startled look of those awakening from a deep dream...
>>>
Dance with love and freedom.
and it will embrace you.
Be vulnerable, and feel it's power.
That's what gets many of us started, isn't it? This experience ALSO comes
to amny of those who are not looking for it, because of what tango is.
Transcendent states can happen anywhere, anytime, to anybody, but we
interpret the experience according to the framework we've developed for
ourselves up to that point. I think many people are very likely to have
these states in tango, but they won't necessarily choose tango as a path as
a result.
May your path be filled with trances,
Brian Dunn
Dance of the Heart
Boulder, Colorado USA
1(303)938-0716
https://www.danceoftheheart.com
==============================
"...after that tango, we are no longer strangers..."
--- Robert Heinlein, "The Number of the Beast"
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 16:43:26 -0800
From: Dan Boccia <redfox@ALASKA.NET>
Subject: Re: Tango Trance
Friends -
The tango trances I've experienced happened in the complete absence of words. It is truly a non-verbal communication of profound proportions. Thus, I choose not to write too much about it, and when I do write about it, I tend to shy away from lengthy descriptions and a normal way of writing.
I was surprised at the volume of personal and list-based responses to my little late-nite improv. Many imply that a response would be appreciated. However, I'm not going to respond further. It's not something that I care to analyze much. I hope nobody is offended, it's just a personal thing.
I think the quiet ones understand it best - they have more time to listen, and to feel.
Dan
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 09:18:33 -0400
From: Chan Park <Chan.K.Park@NASA.GOV>
Subject: Tango Trance
Dan Boccia <redfox@ALASKA.NET> writes:
"The tango trances I've experienced happened in the complete absence of words. It is truly a non-verbal communication of profound proportions. =
Thus, I choose not to write too much about it, and when I do write about it, I tend to shy away from lengthy descriptions and a normal way of writin=
g."
I'd would like to second to Dan's experience by adding the following:
"No, I can't explain the dance to you; if I could say it--I wouldn't have to dance it!"
-Isadora Duncan
More on this subject, please visit https://tangozen.com/experience.html.
Chan
Chan K. Park
Office of Patent Counsel, Code 503
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771
Phone: 301-286-2426
Fax: 301-286-9502
Chan.K.Park@nasa.gov
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 09:52:06 -0700
From: Huck Kennedy <huck@ENSMTP1.EAS.ASU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Tango Trance
Dan Boccia writes:
> I think the quiet ones understand it best - they have
> more time to listen, and to feel.
I presume by "quiet ones" you're referring
to only when people are actually dancing, Dan,
and not their demeanor in general. Because otherwise,
I would find this a very amusing self-description of
yours! :-)
Huck, "Dan? Yeah, he's that quiet guy with the red
hair over there in the corner by himself.
He's shy, you really have to draw him out."
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 13:02:54 -0700
From: Bob Gulliver <bob_gulliver999@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Tango Trance, Trancendent Tango
Hi List,
First we have from Sergio an interesting and moving
account of an experience which (according to Sergio
and Nito Garcia) may happen every few years, then
we read that with the appriopriate skill level and the
right spritual connections, trancendent tangos are
a dime a dozen.
With these recent discussions of tango trance and the
connections to Zen, Christianity, Tantra, masculine
and feminine aspects, etc., I'm suprised that no one
has mentioned the obvious and profound connections
between tango and crop circles (which have been in the
news recently here in Northern California).
Anyone who has experience both a trancendent tango and
the powerful vibrations that emmanate from lying in
the
middle of a crop circle will have no doubts of the
existence of some super-intelligent beings who are
trying to tell us something.
A personal note - since I am of a scientific and
sceptical nature, I recently attempted one of the
most daring and revealing experiments ever undertaken
by man - to dance a tango in the middle of a crop
circle. Unfortunately my ghetto blaster failed -
neither my Yanni tape nor my Enya CD would play.
Apparently humans aren't ready for such a direct
experience of alien consciousness, and if the failure
of my boombox isn't scientific proof of an alien
intelligence, I don't know what is.
Incidentally, regarding the dispute between the
traditionalists and the innovationists about the
choice of music for tango - once you've danced a few
tangos to New Age stuff you'll see that it's the
only way to go.
Happy Tangos,
Bob
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 20:37:20 -0700
From: luda_r1 <luda_r1@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Tango trance
Stephen wrote:
"And many times have I found the magic of a sublime
tango--a golden
paradise that opens with the promise of heaven, a
creation of true art with another. But I must confess
that these times
seem to have little to do with the effort that I put
into the craft of
dancing, and more to do with forgetting everything I
learned and dancing
from my heart and soul while touching the heart and
soul of another."
One (of two) such experiences happened to me with a
man I knew for quite a while and danced with a lot at
milongas, classes, practicas. We would experiment with
all kinds of crazy steps, laugh a lot, and have a good
time. But no connection. Really. We were chums. He
would complain a lot about not being able to remember
patterns, and I would always harp on how much it
really didn't matter. Anyway. I found out he was
leaving the area for good one day. That week we met at
a milonga, by accident. We did not dance all evening.
Strangely. Then when the Cumparsita was played, we
looked at each other across the room, and we both
stood up at the same time. He knew it was one of my
favorites. The room fell away. We just walked toward
each other and embraced. He danced wonderful patterns,
flawlessly. Never a word was spoken. It was one of the
most incredible moments of my life...maybe even
transcendent. I don't know what made it so different
from the many times I danced with him before. But
there it was. That time.
Luda
=====
