Active Meditation
A couple of nights ago, I was about to leave the milonga early: shoes changed, bag packed and winter coat put on. One of my favorite dancers showed up, fashionably late. I greeted her and half jokingly complained about her late appearance. Swiftly she put on her shoes, and I mine, again. We went on the floor and danced a tanda of Troilo con Fiorentino. It was nice.
Just as I thanked her and was ready to call it a night, the next tanda came up: Pugliese con Chanel. I love this! I exclaimed. We could dance if you like. She was generous. We stepped on the floor again.
We just slowly walked to the music, very simple. It was such a rare experience, being able to stretch a simple step over the whole phrase in a flowing fashion. On the surface, I felt so calm; underneath I felt the energy surging and receding. At the end of tanda, I’d experienced the joy yet felt so peacefully, like coming out from a meditation…
I hadn’t been able to put this experience into words. I wasn’t sure how to make of this. This approach to tango, the lack of intention of movement, the profound satisfaction of submerging in the energy of the music, of my capable partner and mine… I don’t want to call it a spiritual experience. It sounds corny, especially to someone who hasn’t had similar experience. And I don’t consider myself a spiritual man, although I’d been practiced martial arts for many years, and yoga for a couple.
But I’ve been really feeling this approach to tango.
Coincidentally, my tango brethren posted a video of OSHO: Meditation Is a Very Simple Phenomenon. Looked into his website, I found that the Nataraj way has perfectly described my discovery.
Disappearing in the dance, then relaxing into silence and stillness, is the route inside for this method.
“Forget the dancer, the center of the ego; become the dance. That is the meditation. Dance so deeply that you forget completely that ‘you’ are dancing and begin to feel that you are the dance. The division must disappear; then it becomes a meditation.
If the division is there, then it is an exercise: good, healthy, but it cannot be said to be spiritual. It is just a simple dance. Dance is good in itself – as far as it goes it is good. After it, you will feel fresh, young. But it is not meditation yet. The dancer must go, until only the dance remains…. Don’t stand aside, don’t be an observer. Participate!
And be playful. Remember the word playful always – with me it is very basic.”
I had been experimenting this way of dancing tango, after my private with Cecilia: “Let your unconscious take over completely. Do not control your movements or witness what is happening. Just be totally in the dance…Dance in celebration and enjoy.”
Isn’t it more fulfilling than trying to figure out what step one should dance? 
Thank you for writing this and sharing it. I had no idea until I read it, how much I needed to hear it.
Glad that you found it interesting.
[...] Active Meditation – “Forget the dancer, the center of the ego; become the dance. That is the meditation. Dance so deeply that you forget completely that ‘you’ are dancing and begin to feel that you are the dance. The division must disappear; then it becomes a meditation.<br/› ‹br/› If the division is there, then it is an exercise: good, healthy, but it cannot be said to be spiritual. It is just a simple dance. Dance is good in itself – as far as it goes it is good. After it, you will feel fresh, young. But it is not meditation yet. The dancer must go, until only the dance remains…. Don’t stand aside, don’t be an observer. Participate!<br/› ‹br/› And be playful. Remember the word playful always – with me it is very basic.” (tags: tango psychology meditation flow @fb ) [...]
Mm — that sounds so great! Hope you get more moments like this soon
Have a great time down there!
Thanks man!
Hola TP…
Whether it’s active meditation, tango “bliss”, a “tangasm”, or a tango “trance”, I think we’re all talking about and experiencing the same thing – sometimes more spiritual, sometimes less.
I always go back to Dan Boccia’s definition of the tango trance:
“The state of being so completely immersed in the music, and so profoundly connected with your partner, that movement flows from within the partnership uninhibited by conscious thought.”
These experiences are rare for me here in Austin, partly because I’m not dancing so much, mostly because there’s not a lot of “profound” level close embrace here. But I did experience them rather frequently in Aspen and Denver.
The key, which may or may not be obvious to other readers, is that this can only occur whilst dancing close embrace – and not any other tango variant.
Of this, I remain convinced.
I know you will have a great time in BA! Looking forward to hearing all about your trip.
Later,
Alex
Alex,
I think my experience has been slightly different. I’ve had only a few tangasm experiences in four years, in Moscow more precisely. I’ve had many occasions of tango bliss. While in my earlier years, I’d experienced tango trance, now I am more actively seeking meditation state in the dance. I will write about them when I come back from this trip. I am looking for something, and I think i am about to find it.