My Tango

You want to be happy. Want to have your mood changed and need a dose of neurotransmitters? What you need now is not therapy, but dance class. At at dance studio you can get introduced to some of the most famous dances the world has known. Tango is an excellent dance on the menu. Originating in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Uruguay and spread to rest of the world. Berger, a renown psychologist observes “On a physiological and psychological level, humans like order and form, and the rhythm of dancing to music provides that satisfactory patterning.”

Man has known this secret for thousands of years, music is food of the soul and activates the brain’s pleasure circuits. When this rhythmic music goes with perfect symmetrical movements of the body it’s near bliss. In ancient times dance became a method of worshiping gods. It established a true link between the Creator and Creation.

The Tango Craze

One interesting study correlated the patient’s newly acquired Tango dancing hobby with greatly reducing the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. As Tango uses several forms of movement which were ideal for these patients compared to a group of patients who were just given exercises. The other benefits of Tango are cardiac health, memory power, weight loss and better balance.

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You love Argentine tango, and taking classes and workshop regularly under great teachers. Still you feel you are missing something on the dance floor. If you feel like that, it may be the time to hire a personal tango fitness coach! No, I did not write that wrong. What you need is a personal fitness coach, not a dance coach. You already have enough tango instructors, now you need someone else. If you are curious, read on.

On the surface, Argentine tango movements are not too different from those of daily life. Instructors often tell us to walk like we walk on the street. But whatever we do, our dance does not look like the tango. Actually, the more we try to imitate the instructors, the more our movements become awkward.

Although most leaders try to lead their followers as gently as they can, she never moves as she “is supposed to”; so leaders end up pushing or pulling with their hands and arms to let her know what the intended movement is. Followers however, are complaining that leaders have no idea how to lead, and push them around all the time.

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The tango is a hot, sultry dance full of strutting proud men and softly flowing women. While it retains many elements of the other dances, it has its own movements which set it apart from the other dances. These are quick turns and jerky arms and leg movements most people are familiar with. When dancing tango dance steps, it should be noted that a proud, strong and quietly dignified expression and bearing is a hallmark of the accomplished tango dancer. When Buenos Aires became the capital of Argentina, immigrants flocked to its newly found prosperity. Here the combination of African, Indian, Spanish and Eastern European cultures joined together to create a wildly emotional dance. The word ‘tango’ is thought to come from an African drum beat ‘tan-go.

And the dance tells the story of sensually charged emotions between man and woman.While it has many similarities to other ballroom dances, the particular movements of the tango are different. There are some of the flowing movements, when both dancers follow each other’s movement, but there are also quick jerky head changes from side to side as if the dancers are slapping each other with stiff upper bodies. Upper body movements are structured and refined with pointing hands and stiff heads. Most of the time the upper body does not move while the legs perform a frenetic routine of their own. Then the upper body becomes fluid, both dancers entwine as the male and female elements engage in their own conversation.The modern tango danced today is a much sanitized version of the original. Much of the original, passionate emotion which first filled the dance was lost. There are no longer the lust-filled gazes and women draped provocatively across the men.

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