I had a revelation last night and it came from my first night in Intermediate Tango class. We practiced walking, forward and back, turns and movement with each other without using our arms. There was no tango embrace not even the practice hold, we had only to rely on our core and support each other without tipping over (or dropping) the other person. Pressed chest to chest you had to match the force you gave with the force your partner was giving to you; you couldn't lean on them, they weren't there to support you, not really that was up to you; but, they were there to guide you and help you execute the move.
I realized three things last night:
1. My core is pretty weak.
2. I relay to much on my hands instead of trusting myself and my body to do and give what it instinctively knows
3. and lastly, I realized this one class represents so much of life (at least my own).
Life itself is a push and pull, in our daily lives we give to others and want (or at least hope) to receive the same in return. We push against the things we don't want but we also push ourselves towards those that we do. We give ourselves fully when it's something that resonates with us and we protect ourselves when people are trying to put their 'stuff', their energy onto us. Throughtout all of this however do this with faith. Faith in ourselves, faith in those that we follow and faith that we won't fall. Much like our practice we had to have faith that we could work together, to come to a mutual agreement, to complete the process only using our own strength and body weight. I always imagined the embrace was the most important part, the way you express your intention and your passion to your partner; but now I realize that's just the icing. If you can do all of that without holding your partner you've entered a whole new realm, a whole new dimension of trust and connection that is even more powerful.
Tango is so much more than just a dance. It's a language, it's an expression, it's an outlet and a meditation as my favorite teacher Stefan says. I'm reminded every time I step into class that I'm not just here to learn a new dance move, but I'm here to be apart of something and I'm here to grow spiritually, emotionally and as a person. A person who can tango and express herself in whole different light.
Ocho Cortado here I come!! Clear the dance floor. :-)
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