Guest post from Jane Prusakova
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the
future,
concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha (Epigraph borrowed from Zen Habits - Guide to Achieving Flow and Happiness in Your Work )
Flow is a state of being when a person is fully
focused on a
task at hand, feels happy and in control, is creative and
productive. The time and
space (environment) outside of
the task cease to exist, past and future drop off the horizon. There is only a happy,
glorious, challenging
NOW.
Tango is ultimate flow-producing activity – the
music and
interaction within the couple (and with the rest of the floor)
require complete
concentration, the challenge and creativity are infinite, and
dancers are fully
in control. All of which
leads to a
fairly easy conclusion that tango equals happiness.
Except it does not.
There is a whole lot of frustration out on the pista. Leads upset that the follow
is not doing what
they are leading when they are leading it.
Followers are nervous that they are not doing enough
decorations at the appropriate
spots in the music. Both
partners
worried how they look to the spectators, whether they are about to
run into
another couple, and how much damage is about to be done to their
reputation,
hairstyle and their partner’s ego if they don’t start on “one”. How do we get from here to
the Flow?
I do not have a simple answer. “How to experience tango
Flow” isn’t a class
many instructors offer (although some come close). Yet, as more people join the
community, it
is important to both learn and teach what it is that makes us
happy, creative
and productive – or at least feel that way.