If I say, "I dance Tango," some people imagine provocative movements or complex steps typically featured in the media. However, Tango is a walking dance. In other words, Tango is a social dance that should be danced while walking.
Tango represents intercultural experience blending many different cultures. For example, Tango is traced back to African music and dance, which were brought to Argentina by black slaves from Africa. In the early twentieth century, European immigrants, mainly Italian, Spanish, French, and German, influenced Tango's styles, to which we are accustomed.
Unlike other social dances, danced by a couple, Tango relies heavily on improvisation and is based on mutual communication between two partners moving as one. It also demands a great deal of concentration, creativity, and precision of each dancer.
Many people say Tango is difficult, not because they have to learn complicated steps and movements, but because they have to master how to communicate over cultural differences between partners.
Tango culture has the potential to positively affect various social, physical, and emotional aspects of our existence. What is more, the effects and benefits of meditation are experienced and shared among avid Tango enthusiasts.
So, why do I dance Tango? When I dance, I enter the Zone, the meditative state, the flow, what have you. When I am in the Zone, I can experience the Oneness inspired by music and shared with my partner connected through embrace while walking together in unison. I described this Zone experience in my book titled "Tango Zen: Walking Dance Meditation." www.tangozen.com
If you're interested in seeing how I dance at a milonga, please check out this clip:
baile de reconocimiento de Chan Park con María Inés Botas, el 29 de marzo,, 2011
Here is a small note for this clip. As a Tango dancer, it was my highest honor to be invited to demonstrate my dance at a Tango dance hall known as Cachirulo in Buenos Aires, the Mecca of Tango. It's one of the most traditional and prestigious Tango dance halls attended by all the lifetime dancers in Buenos Aires.