It was the first class of Advance course at our tango school. We were introduced to a new teaching duet, Sanja and Peter. I could tell from early on that I would like them. Sanja was a young lady petite, full of energy, giving her all to teach us something while offering lots of entertainment bits to loosen us up. Peter was her counterpart: tall by all standards, an air of coolness about him, not bothering to speak unless necessary. We discussed the dissociation of the upper part of the body to the waist and legs. The teachers instructed us to work with our partner. One partner would plant her feet in the ground firmly, while having a soft, fluid upper body, especially the back and shoulders, while keeping the core (belly) strong; the other partner would give a push to her shoulder. As we were doing this exercise with Barbara, my impression was that she got it easily. My impression also was that I got it. I was not new to physical movement practices and my tai ji and kung fu experience would surely be helpful. Sanja approached and asked us to show her how we did the exercise. I planted my feet in the ground and Barbara pushed my right shoulder. I waved my back.
»No, no, wait. Let me try it with you,« Sanja said. So I took the posture again and let her push my shoulder. »Soft, Blaž, like a young tree in the wind. Don't fight it. OK, again,« she instructed. I was confused. »Peter, come here, you have to see this,« Sanja called her partner over. Upon Peter's arrival, she pushed me again. »You see what he does? He gives the same pressure back and moves like the guy from that movie... what's it called...,« Sanja exclaimed. »Aha, The Matrix,« Peter replied. I was pleased. Yeah, that was me, moving like Neo. Bullet-time, baby! »No, Blaž, you don't get it,« Sanja concluded. Then she made the effort to explain the instructions again and demonstrated it with Barbara. And then it dawned on me. Sanja told me to hold my ground again and pushed me. »Yes, now you get it. OK, again. Aha. OK, one more time. Yes! That's it!« Man, such a simple thing and I needed so much input and guidance. Sanja leaned in and said with some conspiracy in her voice: »Don't be so ambitious. You're doing so well as it is.« »Yeah, man, you're doing good. Probably better than the rest of the class,« my ego patted me on the back. But wait - ambitious! I would've never described myself as an ambitious guy. The teachers moved on to help the next couple and I walked to the bar to have a glass of water, while pondering Sanja's remark. Ambition was certainly not on my list of top values. But I couldn't discard her remark, because I could tell it landed well in the truth. After our class, I sat down to watch guests coming for a milonga and the first couples to take the dance floor. I was looking at the advanced leaders and try to figure out their moves, the routines they were performing. Was I anxious to learn all that as soon as possible, but definitely sooner than my class mates? I couldn't reject the possibility. I was eager to achieve some level of tango greatness soon. Then I thought of Mateo. He was now dancing regularly for a year and a half. I remembered our talks and his occasional complaints of having a bad tango period. I had always thought he was pushing himself too hard and wasn't able to appreciate what he'd achieved already, nor enjoy it. Myself, I would be perfectly happy with his tango level. He's got enough moves to keep his dancing partner entertained for the whole duration of the tanda, while I had about 30 seconds of material. Yes, that's what I was after. I wanted to learn just enough basics to just be dancing. No big moves. I had heard of old tangueros, who are much apreciated by their followers only for their skill of tango walking. No fancy stuff. Just a cosy embrace, clear lead and fluid movement. I confronted my ambition and told him that we had a plan. We would use him to drive us to a decent level of basics' mastery. Our goal would be to dance until I would be able to just listen to music and my partner and offer her a pleasant and not too monotonous experience. It was there and then that I chose to be a great tango beginner. I would not push to learn more figures, patterns, steps and tricks, but really get the basics down. To be able to play around effortlessly and spontaneously with the little moves I had. To have fun. To ride the flow. Coming to this plan, an allegiance with ambition was made and my inner peace was restored.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorBlaz B, social tango dancer since February 2015. I'm sharing these posts to inspire future tango beginners, to encourage today's beginners and to possibly entertain those dancers, who have already become regulars at tango heaven.
Archives
November 2015
Categories
All
|