14 January, 2016

How tango embodies time and space


Tango experience is often referred as Bliss. It is no coincidence that tango connection makes a person reach sublime pinnacle. Amongst all other dance forms, tango seems to unique in its experience. It is often called addictive and alluring. What is it about tango that two individuals with different mindsets, two strong personalities, come together and merge as one? They seem to have same mindsets, they communicate silently, they share the axis, their heartbeats become one, intention of one partner is clearly understood and responded by the other. They move together like one animal with four legs in a close embrace, improvising, embellishing, imagining, smiling and becoming lost in exalted encounter. They become two bodies with one mind, one heart and one soul. There seems to be this paranormal, mystic and occult fusion of two bodies, the dynamics of which is beyond human comprehension. Most of the tango dancers are addicted to this feeling of unexplainable bliss, the connection, the musicality, the meditative mode that they experience during each dance. This is the moment when time and space dissolve. Tango is seductive, flirtatious, graceful, artistic and exquisite.

Lot of scientific research has been done on tango experience that remains a puzzle for many. Human mind has an unlimited prospective to learn. There is scientific evidence that proves that to develop skills for social dancing, the kinaesthetic awareness is heightened. It is the sensory skill that body uses to know where it is in space. The nerve receptors which send specific information to the brain are definitely functioning better in a tango dancer, as compared to a normal individual, which makes tango dancers more aware of their space. The brain of a tango dancer has inadvertently learned to move backward without knocking down things, to identify the edges. There is heightened awareness about impetus and extra senses in action.

Human minds and bodies adapt and respond pretty quickly.Whenever you work with a particular object continuously, it becomes an augmentation of your own self. For a pianist, a piano feels like second skin, a violinist knows his violin like a back of his hand. Similarly, there is scientific evidence that shows that for tango dancers, another body is like an augmentation of their own self. Here two bodies, four feet move simultaneously on the same beat. Tango is not just a dance form. It transcends beyond. It is meditation in motion, it is connection and relationship between two individuals and embodies time and space. It is romantic, spiritual and profound.

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