What She Couldn’t Understand in Ten Years, She Learned in One

Yesterday, I practiced tango for the first time in a while.

Though “practice” may not be quite the right word.

I have been teaching a tango friend of mine.

It has been a year since we began.

Recently, her dancing has finally started to take shape.

She seemed very pleased with it, too.

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There are principles behind the way we use the body.

Up and down.

Left and right.

Forward and backward.

Opposing forces create a sense of extension through the body.

That is what allows us to move from the core, rather than only with the arms and legs.

This is not unique to tango.

The same principles can be found in many forms of dance and sport.

Yet few people explain them in words.

Skilled dancers already understand them through their bodies.

Perhaps because these movements come naturally to them, they have never needed to explain how they work.

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I have tried to put into words what took me many years to understand.

Which part of the body to use.

Where to direct the force.

What to lift and what to lower.

Why a particular movement happens.

We went through each of these things carefully, one by one.

And after a year, her dancing finally began to come together.

“It took us a whole year,” I said.

She replied,

“I spent more than ten years without understanding any of this. If I learned it in just one year, that’s fast.”

She was right.

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Many people believe that if they keep taking lessons, they will eventually become better dancers.

I used to believe that, too.

That was why I studied with so many teachers.

But the number of lessons you take does not necessarily determine how much you improve.

What are you actually practicing?

How are you trying to use your body?

Without understanding those principles, you can dance again and again while continuing to circle around the same place.

The first thing we need to learn, I think, is how to use the body.

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Once the body begins to move naturally, we can turn our attention to other things.

Listening to the music.

Feeling what is happening between two people.

Waiting for the next movement to arise from the music.

Choosing what the moment requires, rather than deciding on a step in advance.

Those things are far more important.

The way we use the body is not the dance itself.

It is the foundation that allows the dance to happen.

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Dancing fully from the core places a considerable demand on the body.

It may not be possible to dance for hours with the same intensity.

Even so, I would rather dance carefully to each piece of music than move vaguely through one song after another.

To listen to a single piece of music.

To meet the person in front of me.

To dance those three minutes with my whole body.

For me, that is much more enjoyable.

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As we danced yesterday, I felt that she had finally entered the next stage.

She no longer had to think about how to use her body.

She could listen to the music and give her attention to her partner.

Perhaps that is where tango finally begins.