Tango Argentino. Encounters.

What?
No fixed sequence of steps?
No fixed rhythmical pattern?
No fixed dance hold?
What kind of dance is this?
What’s left then?

Eye contact. Getting closer.
Embrace.
Standing. Sensing.
Shifting weight.
Listening.
Together.
Walking. Turning. Pausing.
Balance.
Slowly. Quickly.
Tenderly. Demanding.
Playful. Simple. Clear.
Each step a new experience.

If you get to know Tango Argentino
in this way,
it’s the perfect sequel
of the Feldenkrais-Method on the dance floor.
But despite the freedom, strictness reigns
- despite the strictness, there’s freedom.
The strictness is
in the necessity of clarity,
of oneself and of the interaction.
If you know what you're doing,
you can dance what you want.
That’s the freedom.
If you don’t know what you're doing,
you stumble around.
That’s strictness.

And how much one doesn’t know!
One’s own movements
now also play a role for the dance partner.
The more unbalanced, the less clear
and more stressful for the partner.
No more freedom.
Only fighting.
Thus, step by step, the "nice-to-have"
of many Feldenkrais lessons
becomes a "must-have" in Tango Argentino:
Ankles? Chest? Shoulder? Arms?
Extension? Rotation? Lateral bending?
Reversibility?
Transmitting the power through the skeleton?
Movement with the whole self?
Orientation in space?
Suddenly all of this is important
- at least if you want to dance
with serenity, joy and pleasure.

And then: forget everything.
Letting go of conscious control.
Letting it happen.
Only you yourself, your partner and the music.
Dance the music.
With four legs and two hearts.

Dirk Steinkamp
www.feldenkrais-tango.de