SHOES IN THE SNOW
When the snow fell heavily in January my New Years resolution to dance more tango
came to a holt. I was snowed in and my dance shoes were made redundant. With an
exceptionally slow internet connection I decided to occupy some time by reading
Robert Farris Thompson’s book: Tango, The Art History of Love, which took me off into
another world and I had time to dream of giros within giros.
Occasionally I would venture outside and smell the cold air. All around me the snow lay
thick and sparkled in the big freeze and the Winter sun. One morning I placed my black
suede dance shoes in the snow to contemplate the contrast of tone: to observe the
physical weight of the lifeless shoes sink into the purity and freshness of the expansive
white. These were the very same shoes that had spun into a flurry, to ensoul, (excuse the
pun) the dance rhythms of my feet. The black shoes in the white snow reminded me of
‘melting into the music’, having surrendered to the embrace. Perhaps it is our souls that
give tango colour. After such thoughts my toes were getting cold and it was time to go
indoors and dry out my shoes, for the dancing to come.
A PART OF THE WHOLE
The evening of the Hereford Tango Ball lives on in my soul. Beauty is a word that comes to mind. A fusion of beautiful people, music and dancing, all coming together and a really magical evening was experienced and created. I invited two friends to come along, even though they do not dance tango... yet, and they beautifully portrayed the evening through the lenses of their cameras. The image below I love for it has the totality of the embrace in all its strength and tenderness and it shows the feeling I felt within this hold. How wonderful it was to share the tango! |
Lets go to Le DRAGON VERT
To return,
With a faded forehead,
The snow of Time made silver my temple.
To feel,
That life is whisper,
that twenty years is nothing,
a feverish look wandering in the shadows
seeks for you and says your name.
To live,
With the soul attached
To a sweet memory,
That I cry once again.
I am very much looking forward to the Hereford Tango Ball.
There is a general buzz around the club, murmurs of what people
Are going to wear, the shoes, dress, a tie and suit.
Then there are the decorations, the atmosphere, music and the lights.
The growing numbers in bookings
The arrival of the band: Live music with Los Mareados!
Yes, I am very much looking forward to the
The Green Dragon’s Ballroom to be the place and the space
That it always was
To hold dancing couples
And now the Argentine Tango
Will command the dance floor!
Autumnal Colour
Leroy Tango Cat is able to create
music each time he places his foot
with the beat and rhythm but then
what else would you expect …from
a musical cat. Periodically he would
step down from his position on the
DJ stage, as though to flex his limbs,
gracefully approach a vacant
lady and with agility lead her onto
the dance floor……little would she
know that within the first few bars of
music he, (Leroy) had sensed with
his feline grace what colour her soul
was, its hue, shade and tone for
the night.
The following morning, in the clear
light of day, all was revealed.
Leroy gave us a wonderful picture
of tango dancers being able to
adjust to one another by imagining
the colour each person would be; an
artist’s palette lined up with hues
and a blend of shades. The range
would extend each time the tango
embrace was created between two
people, a combination of not only
gems of colour but also the different
mediums that hold them; the
substance of oil paint to the fluidity
of watercolour.
In tango I would suggest that we
leave traces of our coloured selves
with one another but due to dancing
with our inner axis, we do not become
discoloured; I have danced with a man
who was a heightened hue of genuine
rose and ‘flowers leave some of their
fragrance in the
hand that bestows them.’
- Chinese Proverb
Cornish Warmth
And Light,
with
Tango Nights
By St. Michael’s
Mount
A big thank you to all those
at Tango Cornwall who gave
the gifts of Joy, friendliness,
and fab dancing!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lines That Meet
And Paths That Cross
A number of
tango friends have
travelled further a field to dance in new
places, to experience fresh encounters
and Summer embraces.
To them I wish to say: enjoy the unknown,
the music between the pauses and remain
true to yourself; smile and please come
back to share your experiences!
‘I should allow only my heart to have
imagination, and for the rest rely on
memory, that long-drawn sunset
of one’s personal truth.’
Quote by: Vladimir Nabokov
Tango Wallflowers by Lisa Saunders
Tango Visualisation
Gisela Navoni simply asked us to
take our attention inwardly and focus
on our free leg as we shifted our weight.
As the free leg followed through, we
were to visualise the ball and socket joint
It was insightful to have this image and
the effects simple movements made on
this part of the human body. It was also
a revelation to discover another dimension
to dancing Tango: the dancing skeleton.
Thank you Gisela.
Once was scattered
As a thousand fragments
Coloured pieces shone
Broken, on a path of tears and sorrow
Until boundless space
Emanated beauty between each
Fear dissolved and there a
Light grew
Vibrating on infinite rhythms
A vision unfolded clear and true:
Whispers of angles by my side
Gently uplift my eyes to see
Your warmth and softness,
Your loving presence was
Also present in me.
As the Sun
shines with mirrored self,
Truth resides and reflects in all,
Thy essence brightly shone
For a thousand coloured butterflies
To gently rest
upon
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