[MNDancers] This week's tango

[Lois Donnay]

 had a full tango week last week - dancing Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and
Saturday, owing to a great visiting dancer. I was awash in tango moments, so
I am newly invigorated to give all my students the same thrill. That's what
we'll be working on all weekend - the connections that lead to tango
moments. Warning - this can be addictive!

Many people have been asking me about my next tango tour to Buenos Aires. It
will be in late November - probably around the 18th. You do not need to
leave on the same day as me, nor return on the same day. Just let me know
your schedule, and you can join us at the tango house. I will need to know
for sure that you are coming, and for how many days, by July.

A few of you have been asking for this information sheet again:

 
This Saturday is the Tango Society milonga-I hope we will see you there!
Next Saturday is the Black Dog. For the fourth Saturday I am planning on
another Tango to the Blues workshop, so you can all be more comfortable
joining us at the Eagles Club on Wednesdays.

Lois Donnay
3142 1st Ave S.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
www.mndance.com

I recently found this article that I wrote when I was president of the Tango
Society. I think it might be worth reading again!
Tango Moments
I've been thinking lately of how lucky people are who know how to dance. So
often, when I'm out dancing in a setting with non-dancers, I hear people
say, "Wow, that's great - how did you learn to do that?" They're fascinated,
but when I tell them they can learn, they don't believe me.

Learning to dance isn't easy, but it's not as hard as most people think. And
of course, the rewards are enormous. It's great exercise, and where else do
you get to hold a relative stranger that close, if only for 3 minutes? If
it's true that you need six hugs a day for spiritual growth, my spirit is
enormous!

One of the saddest things I see is people who take a series of lessons,
maybe go to a dance or two, and then let their learning slip away. Right
before they get over the awkwardness, while they're still in a bit of
frustration, they stop. If only they would keep at it for another month, or
maybe two, the skill would be there for a lifetime - almost like that famed
bicycle ability. 

The elusive dance we love is probably harder to learn than most (although
the hug factor is greater!). Connection is more crucial than in other
dances, and connection is always hard to master. But when you do, when you
get it, there it is: a Tango Moment. Then you're hooked.

That doesn't mean there won't be many other times of frustration. Times when
you try and try to learn a new step and it doesn't work. Times when you
can't get comfortable with any of your partners all night. Times when you
see the masters and think you're not even dancing the same dance. But in the
years I've been working at this dance, I've come to treasure those moments.
I know that the deeper my frustration, the more my skill is growing.

When I was in Buenos Aires, I had so many Tango Moments my head was
swimming. But I also had some frustration. The Argentineans are so good! The
end result was extreme growth, and a much, much better understanding of this
dance. How sad if I would have given up that day a long time ago when I saw
a tango demo and realized that what I was doing at the time could hardly
even be called tango. I almost gave up, but I gave it one more shot. 

I'm so encouraged right now that I might even start taking those guitar
lessons again - why did I give those up?

Lois Donnay, President, Tango Society of Minnesota



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