Well, a partial playlist anyway...she's got other good playlists...she always shares after she DJ's at various events...
What if tango was like that?
Last night I went out for tango, and something beautiful happened.
First of all, you need to understand that I don't dance so much as I used to.
Not because I don't like it.
My focus is on playing with my son when I am not working, and he is too young to join me at a night out.
But yesterday I felt this need to dance.
I was working all day long listening to tango music in parallel, and both my body and my mind was telling me it's time.
I kissed my son and wife goodnight and went to the TanGoLisboa weekend.
As usual, I didn't start dancing right away.
I gave myself time to absorb the music and the environment.
When I danced my first tanda, I was not in the mood for the usual conversation.
You know "where do you come from?", "how many days are you staying here?"
I simply asked:
-What do you like most about tango?
Silence.
She took a while to respond.
Who asks this kind of questions, right?
-Connection, she said.
We danced one more song.
-You didn't ask me "Connection with whom?", she said at the end.
I asked.
-With myself.
-Why?
-It is my active meditation.
-Why do you need it?
-It helps me grow.
Now I was intrigued.
What if I kept doing that all night long?
What would I discover?
The next woman I danced with, simply said:
-I love to meet complete strangers, from anywhere in the world, and know that I have a language to communicate with them.
Beautiful, I thought.
I received many answers that night.
-Because tango shakes my soul, another one told me.
And then, it happened:
–To stay alive, she said.
I won't share more about this conversation, it is too personal.
But it led to one of the deepest, most emotional tandas of my life.
Why?
Because I saw the soul of that person, and the healing power of tango.
-If you want to improve in tango, I said to myself, focus on using your dance to heal, to give joy.
When you put that as an intention, all answers become easier.
I watched this old tanguera sitting, almost all night long.
At one moment a man looked at her, she smiled, ready to dance.
He walked closer to her, and and then he simply continued walking to dance with a woman a few steps behind her.
The old lady, who was already on the move, continued by grabbing a glass of water, to cover her misunderstanding.
I saw her face turn sad.
It was not her age that made me take the following step, nor pitty.
She had the calmness that only people that have lived a full life have.
It was this simple realization, of the power of a simple embrace.
I went closeby, I looked at her.
She looked at me, and then looked down again.
I kept my gaze.
She looked again.
And then looked down again.
Then she looked for a third time, full of disbelief.
I finally had time to smile back and move my head pointing to the dance floor.
A huge smile appeared at her face.
You might ask how the tanda went, if we danced beautifully.
To this I would say that it was a true joy, and that you are asking the wrong question.
We shared a moment, as humans, no matter our age difference, ethnicity, beliefs… and that's what matters.
I left this tanda happier, and I hope she did the same.
What if we all danced to spread joy and to heal?
How would a milonga look like in that case?
That's a milonga I wouldn't miss for the world.
That night I saw people that are passing through hard divorces smiling.
I saw a woman who is about to lose a person she loves and hasn't even had the chance to see yet, or touch its hand, to dance and let go.
I saw people… connecting with people.
Finding healing moments.
And I said to myself again:
-What if we were all dancing to heal and be healed?
-What if?
You need to know that my vision is to help tangueros and tangueras create meaningful moments in tango and moments of personal transformation.
For that reason, the last three months I work 10-12 hours per day, to help tanguer@s find free accommodation so they can afford going to more festivals and marathons to dance, find maestros they love so they can progress faster, find festivals they love so they can experience tango.
To do that, it is important to understand why people dance in the first place, and what can be done to improve everyone's experience.
And I could use your help.
Can you share why you dance in the comments below? I want to know, it matters. Not just for you. Your answer might help many other people. Plus, I want to see YOU. Sharing your why, is where true connection starts. I shared my answer below.
P.S. If you feel more people should join this conversation, please share, the social media buttons should be somewhere around the text.
