Royal Tango

Hey all,

Spent the weekend at Valentango here in Portland, Oregon dancing my feet off. I love to see how much tango has grown in just the few short years I’ve been dancing. Looking at videos of festivals two years ago and the average level was almost laughable to what is regularly seen today. So many amazing dancers, so much quality. Expressive musicality is the norm it seems. Biagi like Biagi, Di Sarli like Di Sarli…they’re different and you can see it.

There are always a few people that ‘get away’ during festivals. People you’ve never danced with and want to, or friends you haven’t seen in a while. Its hard not to have some kind of list in your head for the weekend.

I remember at one of my earliest festivals, the tanda ended and I stood on the floor looking for someone specific, because you have the best overall view of the room from the middle of the floor. As my eyes scanned the perimeter, the biggest cabaceo I’d ever seen shot out at me…she looked like a sprung jack in the box with a huge smile. I couldn’t ignore it and be polite, so I accepted and we danced and…it was bad. It wasn’t bad for her dancing or mine, but, in retrospect it was clearly bad because I wanted to dance with someone else. That happened a few more times until I said to myself, “Self: Get the fuck off of the floor when the tanda’s over!” Rule #1

This weekend there was a few tandas where I was determined to find a particular person who inevitably was always sitting while I danced and became invisible during the cortina. I found myself standing on the floor looking in earnest and of course would make eye contact with someone I’d not intended on dancing with, politely said yes and not had fun. It took a few ‘bad’ tandas for me to remember: Ahhhhhh…stop looking.

There’s a great movie with Bill Pullman, “The Zero Effect“. In it the main character is the world’s most accomplished private investigator. It is narrated by the charater in a sort of journal form, describing his principles for his work. At one point he make a special note about finding things. “When you’re looking for something specific, of all the things in the world, you’re looking for only one thing. Your chances of finding it aren’t very good. But if you’re looking for anything, then of all the things in the world, it could be many things. And your changes of finding it are very good.” Rule #2

I love that. I remembered that, let go of finding that specific woman and just enjoyed myself and lo, I had a great night again!

+ in other news:
For those of you that don’t know, I’ll be moving back to Houston come April. I’ve loved my time in Oregon and will be visiting many times a year. Look out for workshops in tango + yoga!

Abrazos,
A

Exploring my headspace, and the way each of us think, has always fascinated me and shaped the way I teach. What do I bring to this moment? To this dance? To this conversation?

Here are some of my thoughts on how to distinguish where your attention is during dancing. Are you aware of the little voices chattering away in your head? What are they saying? How do they affect your experience, your performance, your enjoyment? In other words: what’s in your head?

Abrazos!

Imagine a general walking before the troops under his command to deliver a speech before a bloody, pivotal battle. He begins by puffing himself up and storming onto the podium raising a fist high into the air and opening his mouth wide saying in a meek voice:
“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh…I, uh. I’mmmmmm not exactly suuuuuuuure of what we need to do, you know? I’m feeling a little stressed right now and really confused. What do you guys think we should do?” Imagine the response of the troops who’s lives are being risked by this general. It won’t be one of confidence. He isn’t leading. To lead is to listen, carefully planning and then: decide. Leading is decision, direction, action. Call it the yang, the fire. In the dance I must move. I must move in way that inspires trust. The surest way to trust is clear invitation and caring about the safety of my partner. Sweetness.

Now imagine having a conversation with someone who interrupts you with non sequiturs after every few words. They look distracted and seem to be both oblivious to your words and absorbed in their own thought (maybe checking out their body in the mirror or chuckling at thoughts in their head). There is a lack of awareness, receptivity and rapport. You are not being met in the conversation. On the other end of the spectrum, nor are you simply passive in your listening, sitting blankly, occasionally nodding with understanding. Lets say you are flow, movement. Yin.

An image I had very early on in tango was that of a river. The follower in tango is the river, and I am the banks of the river, shaping the flow. The river ultimately decides and often just overflows the banks, and yet, I subtly and clearly attempt to define the course of each twist and turn. When I dance, I want to dance with you! Where are you? Who are you? How do you move? Let me know…this is a conversation.

In the yin and yang symbol, the black is not purely black, and the white not purely white. As a leader I am also not purely ‘leading’, as in a confident general. As a follow I am not purely ‘following’, as in passive listening. There is an element of the each role always present, fluctuating with each moment passing, each movement and shift. As a leader, I must move, and yet my partner doesn’t I can’t. I stop and adjust. Thus I am always following my ‘follow’. As a follower I am responding to the impulses I feel and yet I am not simply surfing their energy, weakly, meekly, passively nodding in agreement as a puppet in the dance. No! I move move myself too! I must. I am light not because I weight nothing (which I don’t!), I am light because I respond, I move, I choose to flow instantaneously with the feeling I perceive.

My job as a leader:
Powerful, irresistible leader: decision, direction, action, balance.
Action through clear invitation.
Responsible for both my own and my partner’s balance, connection, fun.

My job as a follower:
Match the energy of my partner.
“Listening” to three things from my partner - When, How far & What direction.
Responsible for my own balance, powering my movement, enjoyment.

In the milonga, that’s where I leave it, if there’s a mistake, its mine (lead of follow). In a class or private, you pay me to make you wrong for everything I see. If there’s a mistake, its your fault.

Next time we discuss the difference between practicing and dancing.

Cheers and marvelous dancing to you all,
A

Here are two videos of a master of Tai Chi push-hands, an art that has endlessly informed my tango. The lines between lead and follow are intentionally blurred and shifting to through you opponent off. The ‘pushing’ is always from the flow and is usually a devious masking of a push as a innocent movement…until the last moment. If you haven’t try it!

Ahhhhhhh. Dancing. Tango. Its is a sensual dance in all respects. Created in magic between two silent partners speaking volumes.

Ideally.

Then there is the milonga, and your insecurities, and your stories about that person who doesn’t like you but always watches you dance, and your energy levels and how your day went, and what you think this partner is thinking of you, and your outfit and shoes and your not as good as so and so, and and and and…

Lets agree for polite conversation that we spend our entire lives, save a few short moments, completely in our heads. Your entire experience of life is quite literally located in your head. And for the most part we all are listening to that little voice chatting away, labeling, describing, commenting, judging, complementing, responding, resisting, yelling, complaining, enticing, insulting, loving, et al.

Ever notice that you mess up when your thinking about messing up? Lets create something new. Lets just presume that the little voice is never going to go away. How do you dance and grow and enjoy yourself and connect and be entranced with the chatterbox un-muffled? In yoga, the practice of meditation begins with simply sitting there and putting your attention on one thing. That one thing is not important but what if offers you is the insight into how outrageously distractable your mind is. Then you come back to the one thing. Then you inevitably get distracted. Then you come back….and back, and back, and again.

Tango is no different, because life isn’t any different. Can you put your full attention on the senses that are feeling your partner? Can you relax enough to feel more? Can you catch yourself going off into thought-land? Once you are able to notice when your are not immersed in your partner, then you have the option to come back, until then you are trapped in your head and disconnected from that human in front of you that you have the privilege of dancing with. Try it and give yourself a year of practice every chance you get to dance, and you will master it. As my dad says, “100,000 times and presto you’re an expert!”

Can you see that the concern for looking good is simply a thought? And when your thinking that thought on the dance floor, you’re not dancing. You are thinking!

What if you gave up looking good and danced? This has been one of the most important questions for myself and has led to every great night of dancing in the last year. This does not mean, do not be concerned about your aesthetic, appearance or look in general! Lets look next post into the difference between training and dancing and maybe the answer the problem will be there.

With much love and joy to share,
A

Coming from Houston, moving to Eugene, a city with a vibrant tango community with a place like The Tango Center is like getting your wish.

So what if you got everything you ever wanted, what then? When your dreams come true. My experience is often a kind of blissful lethargy and stasis. Frustration is the great provocateur, the great motivator and when that is gone, sometimes there’s no inspiration. I moved here in September and for the first few months involved myself in a quest to simply connect, observe and enjoy Eugene. Since December I’ve been excited to begin working on my vision to create a festival and bring world renowned dancers and events here, specifically to the Tango Center.

This last month has been an interesting one. “The Tango Center is being evicted.” That was a provocative event. It also inspired a kind of spiritual peace and excitement around all possibilities. In the last 2 weeks there is a real possibility to invest in the Tango Center in a way that wasn’t possible before. I’ll work for that. Here is a letter I’ve written the community.

Hello All,

My name is Andrew Royal Dugas and I moved here with my [partner] Andria Miguez in September. I teach tango and yoga and am the co-founder and organizer for the very successful Houston Tango Festival. I am writing you to share my vision for the possibilities I see for the Tango Center and to make a request.

Most of you have read the saga of the most recent story of the Tango Center in the papers and from emails. The honest story is that the business was not well run, and imploded under years of that ethos. The Tango Center didn’t make its rent and the owners gave an eviction notice.

In my conversations with so many of you I have heard much of the history and frustration with both the space and the management of the Tango Center over the years. You have communicated your disappointment at all of the energy, money and creativity put into the space never coming to fruition. I hear the frustration due to a lack of transparency, a lack of communication, a lack of change. It makes sense that any plea from the Tango Center feels like the same old song.

I have volunteered to lead a group of teachers, organizers and committed tango folks to create something new at the Tango Center. With the help of Tom Kamis, a well respected entrepreneur in downtown, our vision is to create in reality the possibility of a great, well functioning and world renowned tango venue. We have a chance to not only keep the facility, but help make it beautiful, make it comfortable and make its potential a reality. Tom is in negotiation with the owners and, though there are still many variables and nothing is guaranteed, he is on track to become the new lessee, with a new business model that creates more revenue sources such as a stage, a classroom, a kitchen and a bar.

To create this and keep the space open for the month of March, Tom Kamis negotiated with the owners a way to clear the space for this new vision. Before March 15th, if we pay the back-rent, the owners will agree for us to continue to hold events in the space. The amount is $5000 and once paid, will cover everything till April 1st. At this moment we have amounted $1,400 in pledges and money’s from last Saturday’s milonga. We have 11 days to accrue the remaining $3,600 to continue operating through the end of the month and I ask each of you to give what you can at any Tango Center events in the upcoming weeks. As of today, I have become the functional director of the space and the non-profit and I make this commitment to you: Every dime this community gives towards this effort will be accounted for and be taken care of by me personally.

Please join me, your organizers and your community in creating a new Tango Center by pledging and donating at our Saturday, March 7th and 14th milongas or any other Tango Center event.

My email is: royaltango@gmail.com
I want to hear from you! Please contact me with questions, comments, stories, concerns and ideas. Thank you to each and every one of you for you part in creating and sustaining this vision for so many years.

Sincerely and With Excitement,
Andrew

I am excited and ready.

Here is what I look like giving everything dancing with Liz Foster in the 3rd song of 4 at a concert with Joe Powers and Naoko Aoki at Beall Hall, University of Oregon.

As arbitrary as Jan 1 is in space and time, I’m am excited and enjoy the feeling of excitement about this coming year.

Last year I wrote a text to my buddies that read: “08 = radicalness”, and in many was that summed up the experience. It was a year of radical change. On Jan. 1, 08, I had never been to a festival. A few weeks later I was figuring out how to organize what, to me is still the best big festival I’ve been to yet.

Now, a year later, HTF2 is coming up and I am excited for that and the other big ticket things I’m visioning for in the coming months.

This year I wrote a text to my buddies:
“09 = fulfillment and abun-dance”

____
Here’s a video of the milonga I went to in Portland for new years. I believe this is around 2 am.

Tip of the day:
Notice what headspace you’re in when you fall or ‘make a mistake’. Typically your attention will be on non-dance related experiences (e.g. thinking about dance, how you look, interpreting the movements rather than flowing, imagining what other are thinking about you, or even getting lost in a body experience that distracts from general presence).

Fulfillment and abun-dance to you all!

-A