Buenos Aires – October 4 - 27, 2022

 El Beso (located just three blocks from my AirBnB in Buenos Aires)

I just got back from three weeks dancing tango (and practicing Spanish) in Buenos Aires. Long on my bucket list, it was my first trip to the birthplace of tango. I was traveling alone, but I was very fortunate that my AirBnB hostess, Liliana Perez, happened to be a tango dancer! She introduced me to the dance community, showed me around town, and helped me with practical concerns.

Liliana and I attending a practica at Salon Canning

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Numerous milongas and practicas happen each day and night. Some are quite crowded (milonguero style only), and the quality of dance varies from person to person as it does here in the States. A helpful resource is Hoy Milonga where you can view each day's scheduled events. 

La Cachivachería at Libario

Los Sensibleros at Plaza Perón y Gallo

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Tango schools abound too. My school of choice was Escuela Mundial de Tango, directed by Gabriela Elias, centrally located on the pedestrian street, Florida. They offer high quality, yet affordable, group and private lessons. 

Gabriela Elias and Escuela Mundial de Tango

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My private instruction was through Alejandro (Turco) Suaya, a master of tango dance and music. He also generously gifted me a copy of his marvelous book which he co-wrote with Loreen Leong – Talk Tango: A Dancer’s Guide to the Language of Argentine Tango  

Talk Tango was co-written by Alejandro (Turco) Suaya. Liliana was my regular dance partner.

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Speaking of Florida (the street where the school is located) this is where you will want to exchange your money. If you use your credit card, you will pay the official rate. But if you bring cash dollars and exchange them for pesos with a money changer, your money will go much further. Walking down Florida, you’ll hear, “¡Cambio, cambio!” The more you exchange (up to $200) the better deal you will get. Note that given Argentina’s nearly 100% inflation, exchange rates change every few days. 

Eva Perón is on the 100 peso note (worth about $0.35 at the time).

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Beyond tango there is much to discover in Buenos Aires, beginning with the friendly “porteños” (residents of the city). These are just some of the folks (all dudes, as it turned out) that I met on my travels through the city.

Left to right: Daniel, Martin, Maximiliano, Owen,

Evelio, José, Sabastian #1, Sabastian #2 (final cab ride to airport)

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Be sure to visit the barrios of San Telmo and La Boca, especially on the weekends when the markets are teaming with artists, vendors, and street performers. 

Marcela, my cartoon dance partner; El Caminito in La Boca; street market in San Telmo

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Highlights for me included the swanky neighborhood of Polermo known especially for its beautiful city parks. 

Jardín Botánico, Jardín Japonés, Choza congoleña - Ecoparque de Buenos Aires,

Floralis Genérica - Plaza de Naciones Unidas

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Recoleta is an affluent Paris-style neighborhood that includes its historic cemetery of the rich and famous. 

Recoleta Cemetery

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Puerto Madero is a refurbished industrial dockside with restaurants overlooking the Rio de Dique. 

Puente de la Mujer "Woman's Bridge" - Puerto Madero

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Galerías Pacífico is a gorgeous beaux-arts style building built in 1889 and is now a shopping mall. El Ateneo Grand Splendid was built in 1919 as a theater and is now a beautifully ornate bookstore. And the famed Teatro Colón is considered one of the most important opera houses in the world. 

Galerías Pacífico, El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires - Teatro Colón

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Lastly, I attended a contact improvisation "jam" at the Centro Cultural Kirchner. Limited to only 75 people, the lucky few (like myself) had to wait in line for up to an hour. It was well worth it though!

Contact improvisation at the beautiful Centro Cultural Kirchner

Contact Improvisation

 

Illustration by Lew Lott (used with permission)

More than any other dance, contact improvisation – a meditative, partnered dance form – has informed my tango. But most haven't even heard of it, much less practiced this amazing dance. 

What is it? The "contact" part of CI means that two (or more) people remain in physical contact with at least one portion of their body. The "improvisation" part means that there are no patterns, that the dance is entirely improvisational and free in the movements. Those are the two "rules", though because the dance is potentially so intimate (like tango), honoring each other's physical and psychological space is, of course, also necessary. 

Unlike most dances, CI is not danced to any music or rhythms. Although sometimes ambient tunes are played in the background (I sometimes play my native American flute). Also unlike traditional social dances, CI is danced without reference to gender. Women dance with women, men with men, and men and women together; it makes no difference. Similarly, CI has no leader and no follower. Each one leans in to meet the other where they are; no one dictates the other's movements. And those movements? They are so wonderfully varied! There is running and rolling, jumping and catching, balancing on shoulders or on the bottoms of feet. And, of course, there's resting … sometimes even in the famed "puppy pile"! 

So what's the connection to tango? Contact improvisation exercises all the elements of good tango: connection, attention and intention, creative expression, and somatic awareness and control. Through CI, I have learned to focus on where my and my partner's bodies are in space, so we can most effortlessly and effectively stay in contact as we move across the floor as one. I highly recommend it.

Check out a "jam", if you have one in your area. In the mean time, here's a lovely little video: What is Contact Improvisation?

Who Is Raj?

Raj is my yogi name, short for Nataraja (king dancer, an incarnation of the Hindu god Shiva). He’s my playful, creative, dancing, musical self. And Raj is my sometimes hippie, cannabis inspired, alter ego who definitely thinks outside the box. I love it when he comes out to play. Raj has taught me to pay attention to my body, and to pay attention to my partner when we dance, becoming one as we do. When I have taught this thing I call ZenTango, it is Raj who has showed us how to be.

One of the first things I discovered early on is mindfulness. Through the practice of meditation I learned to quiet the “monkey mind”, the distracting chatter that goes on continually in our heads. Like still water on the surface of a pond, I could then see more clearly, looking into and seeing myself reflected. Or picturing a snow globe after the snow has settled, everything becomes more clear. So too in dance, as we focus on what is present and not allow the mind to wander, we see each other and where we are, moving better together. 

Interestingly, I really enjoy dancing with my eyes closed … being sure, of course, to mind my “floor craft” and not bump into others. But when safe and secure, dancing while blind affords a real benefit. With the eyes closed, we can more readily see with the “mind’s eye”, seeing where the other is, where we are, and what our somatic relationship is to our partner. It is really quite sublime! Try it … but be careful, especially if you’re the leader, the “responsible” partner. The last thing you want to do is disturb someone else’s mindfulness when they’re trying to be present. 

(ツ)