Skip to main content

I should have danced more . . .

The milonga Saturday, during Austin Spring Tango Festival, was absolutely beautiful. The performances were extraordinary, inspiring. I got to spend some quality catch-up time with my favorite diva girl friend. A beautiful night.

But in the midst of old friends, wonderful dancing and dancers, I got a call about my mom. I had not known until that moment how sick she was - no one had told me. I suspected there was more information I was being protected from, but I really had no idea. For me everything has stopped - the music, the dancing, everything - while I get my bearings.

I have tango class tonight and I have to go. If I don't go tonight, I'm afraid I won't go again. And I'm going to need the music and tango to hold it all together. I read more and more about the healing power of Argentine tango on sites like this one:

Tango Health on Tango Connections http://tangoconnections.ning.com/group/tangohealth , and I'm inspired.

Even my dreams tell me to go. I dreamt I learned to lead (now you know I was dreaming) so that I could dance with my mom and be able to support her.

Comments

Stephen Twist said…
Feel the support of your tango friends and keep strong. Stephen, Tango Health Club
AmpsterTango said…
In the span of less than a year, I had lost two people close to my soul. On both occasions it was in tango that my sorrow was helped eased. Keep going. It's beautiful healing therapy.
Mari said…
Thank you to all of you for your comments. I went to tango class last night and felt such a huge relief to be "in the music" again - even in my clumsy tango. Saturday I have another class, practica and a milonga that night - 7 hours of tango in one day! How does the tango phenomenon take over so fast? I've never experienced anything like it.
Mr Walker said…
Hi Mari

So sorry to hear about the poor health of your mother,you have our support.and i hope you can take some comfort in that you will not be alone,
Ampster is so right about It's beautiful healing therapy and your comment about tango phenomenon. i started out at 1 hr aweek and now it is all consuming..infact i would say i have given up anything which doe's not give me as much pleasure as tango....life is too short...
Mari said…
Mr. Walker, thank you so much for your kind words. You're right, life is too short. Who said this? I can't remember, but it's something like, 'Life may not be the party we were hoping for, but while we're here, we might as well dance.'

Popular posts from this blog

Tim Ferriss and the Myth of Tango Mastery

Dear tanguero, I feel I should explain my reaction to your comments about Tim Ferriss. It touched a nerve and I didn't really explain my apparent hostility. It was certainly not meant for you. Several people have brought Tim Ferriss to my attention over this past year. I can usually make it a month before his name pops up again. For readers who are unfamiliar with him, he's the author of "The 4 Hour Work Week". He set a Guinness record for the most consecutive tango turns and has competed with his partner, Alicia Monti, at the Tango World Championship . As a social dancer the idea of a tango competition seems absurd. I don't think I will ever understand how something like tango could be judged - or why anyone would want it to be. But I digress. I think the most crucial detail of Ferriss's history, as I relate it to tango, is his winning Wired magazine's "Greatest Self-Promoter of All Time" . If there is any concept more out of synch with social

"Proper" Tango Shoes

Periodically someone, usually a man, will be bring up the topic of "proper tango shoes." If he's referring to the problem (and dangers) of trying to dance in flip-flops, or mules, or platform shoes etc., those are definitely valid, and very helpful points to be made. The likelihood of damaging your feet is very high without the proper support of high quality shoes. My problem comes with the idea that the *only* proper tango shoes have 4" stiletto heels on them and fetish-worthy embellishments. (Okay, I'm pretty keen on the embellishments myself.) "goofy ballroomy shoes are a turnoff... get rid of them..." - Alex Tango Fuego (granted this is from 2007), http://alextangofuego.blogspot.com/2007/10/to-dance-or-not-to-dancebrutally.html And, in the comments on a blog post, Anonymous said... " This is a controversial one. If a follower isn't wearing tango shoes then it's usually a good sign she's not particularly good." From Ms. Hedgeh

Tango solidarity when it counts . . .

Some fellow tanguera-bloggers and I have been having a wonderful online "conversation" via blogs, Twitter, Facebook and email - about the importance of sisterhood and solidarity. You can find Stephanie's post, here and her follow up here , and then Tangocorazon's here . I was so bouyed by the idea of women bonding, helping and supporting each other that I took some things for granted. I took for granted that it would always be easy, enlightened as I am /*cough*/ to be the sort of consistently nurturing and helpful tanguera that I am (in my head) . The truth? Where the rubber met the road (or rather when the discomfort hit the milonga), I wasn't. Here's a little background that gave me a better perspective on the events at the New Year's Eve milonga. These guidelines appear under the heading " Behavior at the Milonga " on Vancouver Island Tango: " . . . The smaller the tango population, the more 'effort' required from each one of th