In dance as in life

Since this is a huge departure from a major theme in this blog, I felt I should say: I have started teaching tango in a dance class.  I was invited, first by a group for whom I had twice done some historical guiding.  We were having coffee, talking about tango.  I had just said "I don't believe in teaching dance class" when the very next thing the lady said was "But will you teach us?"  I have not started teaching them yet.  Then I was asked by a friend who said he was going to stick a class in front of the event we were already co-hosting. 

So. More about how that's going another time. 

Cacu was the only individual in years I have had a lot of time for, as a teacher. I saw his practice was grounded in how we relate to others in dance and it is this idea and that the music is your guide and friend that I try to convey to new people who arrive thinking dancing tango is about steps.

But the undercurrent of how we connect to people in dance spills over into life. The organiser of the tango contact event echoed this unity. He said he liked Cacu as a person, first, as well as a teacher, that the line between them was not obvious, just as the activities in the workshop seemed almost to blend with the play in the park.

How a person is in dance is generally a reflection of them in life and vice versa. You dance with someone, you feel their personality. You can sense in guys whether they prefer the woman's role, you can tell whether someone is controlling, insecure, unimaginative, or are subtle, tuned in, fun. It's practically a superpower.

The grainy photo from ten years ago is a clip from a video of my boys aged 5 and 7 dancing to Canaro's La Copla Porteña in the kitchen.  You can tell even from that which was, that day, the earnest, focused, conscientious one (who has just got 7 As in his National 5 exams) and which was the one who wanted to seize the moment, mess about and have fun.