At the end of the pandemic, maybe a new start?

[pianistamediano]

Well, well, well... Three international tango jet-setters here. Do you have the uniform? Leggings? Skirts? And Comme il Faut?

 

[Miradamiranda]

I guess this is addressed to me as I’m sure the others don’t sport those ..
.. none of the above. The reason I am able to go on and on till the milongas close down is that I don’t sport comme il faut’s. And in principle I’m traveling for work … with some extracurricular activity tagged on. Weighing heavily in favor of the extracurricular

 

[pianistamediano]

I guess this is addressed to me as I’m sure the others don’t sport those ..
.. none of the above. The reason I am able to go on and on till the milongas close down is that I don’t sport comme il faut’s. And in principle I’m traveling for work … with some extracurricular activity tagged on. Weighing heavily in favor of the extracurricular

Oh, well, one never assumes... For all I know, itwillhappen and Rabbit are connoisseurs of skirts, leggings, and have an extensive Comme il Faut collection.

 

[itwillhappen]

Oh, well, one never assumes... For all I know, itwillhappen and Rabbit are connoisseurs of skirts, leggings, and have an extensive Comme il Faut collection.

That's me in front of the lady in red at that event last year.
But sorry, I never show my Comme il Faut collection in public.

 

[itwillhappen]

Tango is a never-ending learning jouney and it’s good to keep challenging ourselves. We don’t have to pick just one narrow version of our preference and not go beyond that.

You can strive for your optimum in terms of absolute skills, or you can strive for your optimum in terms of skills in relation to the learning effort.
I think I've been pretty good at the latter so far.

 

[JournalInTime]

I like the learning effort – especially private coaching – as much as the milonga, so I have no problem pushing to maximize skills even when going from 98% to 99% is as much work as or more work than getting from 90% to 98% or from 75% to 90%. On some level, I'm after self-improvement as much as amusement – but then I'm one of those weirdos who finds it amusing to improve. I also like revising my writing for more hours than it took to write the draft.

 

[Miradamiranda]

Creating neural pathways.


My dancing doc/friend texted me this today.

 

[itwillhappen]

I like the learning effort – especially private coaching – as much as the milonga, so I have no problem pushing to maximize skills even when going from 98% to 99% is as much work as or more work than getting from 90% to 98% or from 75% to 90%. On some level, I'm after self-improvement as much as amusement – but then I'm one of those weirdos who finds it amusing to improve. I also like revising my writing for more hours than it took to write the draft.

Well, always moving by learning, maybe even through the corona pandemic, reliably prevents you from getting to rest.
I can see quite clearly if a woman stands on the floor in front of me and wants me to move her body sensitively for a tanda, to play with her a bit. And I behave the same way. Because that feels good to both of us. Why else?
All dance definitions, discussions, activities around it ultimately only serve as a distraction from what just is.

 

[Miradamiranda]

Because that feels good to both of us. Why else?
All dance definitions, discussions, activities around it ultimately only serve as a distraction from what just is.

hmmm… so the existence of a forum where we discuss the many rich, interesting, varied, sometimes funny sometimes serious topics around dancing is nothing but a distraction? I’m sure we’d all rather be dancing than discussing.
Of course we dance because it feels good. But, it comes across as off you want to shut down our conversation. I’m sure I’m not the only one in this room who has learned a few things and gained insight by reading and participating in distracting discussions. Wether someone wants to treat their tango journey as an ever-evolving challenge with all the fulfillment that comes from such a pursuit, or just wants to have a pleasant pass-time by being just good enough, that’s their own choice.

 

[JournalInTime]

We constantly come back to, "Why tango?" Each of us can answer only for ourselves. There are endless possible answers. Here are 10 (because people like 10s) that a significant number of people I know have given me over the years. Sorted in order of importance to me, personally:

1. To master a discipline purely for its own sake – to prove you can do it.​

2. To have an excuse to get out of the house and away from work – for the third place.​

3. For emotional health – to combat depression, anxiety, or what have you, or simply to play.​

4. To make likeminded friends, mainly other tango maniacs who understand your pastime.​

5. To keep the brain in shape – to keep learning and retain function.​

6. To keep the body in shape – to improve balance, flexibility, posture, etc.​

7. Out of love of tango music – it's composition, instruments, sound, textures, etc.​

8. To earn money performing, teaching, organizing, or whatever.​

9. Out of love of Argentine culture and tradition.​

10. To meet potential romantic partners.​

I'm on these forums mainly to aid #1 and #5, and for virtual #4. I work with a coach primarily for #1, #5, and the faint hope of #8 someday. I attend prácticas for #1 and #6. I go to the milonga for #2, #3, #4, and #7.

So, #1 shows up three times (unsurprisingly), #4 and #5 turn up two times each (they aren't #2 and #3 because not everything has equal time or weight), and #2, #3, #6, #7, and #8 appear once apiece. Just as important, #9 and #10 don't show up at all . . . I put them on the list because I wanted 10 items, but I have no fascination with Argentina and no interest in hookups.

This tells me that I'm on these forums because they align perfectly with my tango priorities, and that those priorities are mainly technical and intellectual, with a side order of social.

I left off many other possibilities (e.g., "To travel," "To collect shoes," and "To have a cool hobby I can brag about") that might matter a great deal to other people!

I doubt that anyone else here shares exactly my priorities – whether overall or as their specific reasons to post here, study tango, practice, or attend the milonga. I imagine that many people would add some of the many reasons I omitted, while cutting some of my list. Some wouldn't even understand why I treat talk, study, and practice as being as relevant as the milonga. All of which is fine!

No list and no sorting of the list is universally "right" or The One True Way. Having totally different lists or priorities doesn't mean two people can't be friends. I had a long conversion about tango yesterday with someone whose priorities were clearly "Love of Argentine culture and tradition," "Love of tango music," and "Travel for tango," and yet we understood each other and we're friends.

 

[itwillhappen]

Of course we dance because it feels good. But, it comes across as off you want to shut down our conversation. I’m sure I’m not the only one in this room who has learned a few things and gained insight by reading and participating in distracting discussions.

But no, that seems to me to be a misunderstanding. And it would also be contradictory, I wrote 23x more messages here than you.

I'm just saying that it's beneficial if you really calm down while dancing, i.e. don't think you have to be better than you are, and you don't think all the arguments here are essential.

For me personally, after the first six months the number of happy moments per time has remained more or less constant, although I dance much, much better now than I did then.

Wether someone wants to treat their tango journey as an ever-evolving challenge with all the fulfillment that comes from such a pursuit, or just wants to have a pleasant pass-time by being just good enough, that’s their own choice.

Of course.

 

[itwillhappen]

We constantly come back to, "Why tango?"

Then I ask different: "Why not line dance?"
A friend of mine does this, can keep his brain in shape with a long excel list of songs and choreographies, and can of cause keep the body in shape. You can also travel to events as far as Nashville, Tennessee if you like that. And for men, with a gender ratio of 5:1 here, it is also a paradise when looking for romantic partners or pickups w/o the high effort to learn tango.

Ok, you have to know whether tango music and Argentine culture are originally important to you, just think about how important it was before dancing tango.

In the end, one very unique point remains for me:

3. For emotional health – to combat depression, anxiety, or what have you, or simply to play.​

But one has to be able to really admit that themselves first.

 

[pianistamediano]

7. Out of love of tango music – it's composition, instruments, sound, textures, etc.

If I stop getting good dances, I will stop going to the milongas. But if I can no longer hear music, if I can no longer read sheet music, I will find little pleasure in continuing to exist.

I cannot help but smile as the opening notes of Milonguero Viejo resound in my soul. Claro de luna delivers me from the tyranny of the land, and grants me wings. Tigre Viejo is one of the Lieder ohne Worte of my heart. I smile wistfully, and can barely hold back my tears when Tristeza Marina is played.

... So yes, I am a bit of a music geek.

 

[JournalInTime]

Then I ask different: "Why not line dance?"

For me, the biggest reason why not that is that tango is improvised. I consider improvisation essential to what I called "keeping the brain in shape." It's also central to having a discipline to master, in my view, as the creativity and technique required to improvise advance one another up an unending ladder: better technique enables more creativity, which eventually hits a wall that demands improved technique, which allows more creativity, and so on. With due respect to pattern dances and choreographies, while they do demand technique, they're essentially memorization. I'm questing for extemporaneous innovation.

Aesthetics is another part of it: You don't have to be a diehard fan of Argentine culture to like tango music more than other dance music. You needn't like it much more, but if you like it even a tiny bit more, why not choose tango rather than fight to like music you like a tiny bit less?

The códigos surrounding dancefloor conduct are yet another facet. You don't have to care about their historical origins to appreciate that they make it easier for people to share a floor safely.

I agree that you can get all the rest – get out of the house, stay happy, make friends, keep in shape, etc. – from any dance. But those things being equal, the first three things I listed make tango better for me.

Oh, and we shouldn't forget the availability of lessons and teachers! I know nobody who does line dance. I guess it exists here, but it'd be in distant Nth place after pretty much all partner dances: kiz, Latin styles, samba, swing styles, tango, zouk, etc. We have lots of tango teachers, and while they're not quite as numerous as teachers of those other partner styles I listed, tango is friendliest to my age group (mid/late 50s).

Ok, you have to know whether tango music and Argentine culture are originally important to you, just think about how important it was before dancing tango.

Not at all before, barely after. As I said above, it's mainly that I slightly prefer Argentine tango music and appreciate the códigos related to conduct on the floor. Beyond that, I'm not sure I care . . . I have no plans to learn Spanish, read about Argentine culture and history, hang out at Argentine social clubs (we have them), go to Argentina, or whatever. In fact, looking at my tango plans, if I travel for tango, it's most likely to be to the rest of Canada or the U.S. (because they're close), and after that, to continental Europe, most likely France (because I can speak the language).

But one has to be able to really admit that themselves first.

I have no trouble admitting that I was a total nerd chained to a desk and working too many hours from home for 18 years before I started taking tango lessons, and that friends, family, and doctors – and later, my therapist – all told me to get out and have a social life for my emotional and mental health. That was my original motivation. Then I saw the intellectual challenge in tango and developed my obsession with technique and mastery.

 

[JournalInTime]

So yes, I am a bit of a music geek.

And I totally respect that!

I'm a bit of a technical geek . . . I can talk/write for hours about time and space, angles and vectors, forces and momentum; about visualizations, efficiency of movement, and practical tricks; and about ways to break down complex movements into movement particles, and to classify them based on their geometry, physics, and biomechanics. I work with a coach to correct errors on the level of <5° of angle or <2 cm of distance. I try to maintain good posture and a comfortable hug, and to pass through my center, collect, and point my toes in each step, at even the most informal milonga. I'm utterly, completely aware that this is hugely nerdy stuff that many dancers consider a waste of time – but it's a huge slice of the tango pie in my brain.

I suppose it's the difference between, "Yeah, I like my car. I prefer this model to that one, and this brand to that one," and, "I'm a total gearhead who does all his own work, has rebuilt 80% of his car, spends all his spare money on custom parts, and talks in terms of cc, bhp, rpm, torque, and turning radius as if everybody cares." Or, "Yeah, I like a drink. Here's my favorite brand," and, "I'm a home mixologist who has a library of cocktail guides, a 400-bottle bar, and enough tools to fill two crates, and who invents drinks based on new trends and what's in season."