TangoZen: Walking Dance Meditation

Settling in Buenos Aires

A little more than a month has passed since I moved to Buenos Aires. 

As you can imagine, Buenos Aires is quite a dynamic city, where many things, especially totally unexpected, can happen.  For example as you must have read in newspapers, the whole city was covered with smog a few weeks ago because farmers in the neighboring areas burned soybeans for days.  How could it be possible? Can you imagine what it was like being in the middle of the city? Not quite pleasant, I can say.

Here is another unexpected event. Pagina/12, the 3rd largest newspaper in Buenos Aires, published a whole page article on TangoZen the last Sunday, May 11th.  You can read it here:
http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/suplementos/radar/9-4612-2008-05-13.htm

If you’re interested in TangoZen workshop and classes and if you happen to be in Buenos Aires, here is your oppourtunity to have the first-hand experience of TangoZen, starting this Saturday, May 17th: http://www.tangozen.com/ba.html

I hope to see you in Buenos Aires.

Chan

What is TangoZen?

What is TangoZen?

Nothing to talk about, no place to go…  Just be here and dance now… connecting with oneself, one’s partner, the music, and with the other dancers on the floor.

Since the concept was announced in 2002, this question has been asked numerous times: What is TangoZen?  In fact, at the beginning many asked a question like, “What the hell is TangoZen?”  After the book Tango Zen: Walking Dance Meditation was published and the workshop was offered in many places, I notice the question is being asked in a slightly different way, such as “What really is TangoZen?”

It is interesting to note how I have tried to answer the question:

1. TangoZen combines Zen meditation principles with Tango dancing. TangoZen is meditation in motion, and, if practiced properly, may enable Tango dancers and non-dancers alike to meditate and experience Zen moments while dancing Tango.
-from Tango Zen: Walking Dance Meditation

2. TangoZen is an innovative yet natural way of meditating while dancing Tango.
-from Tango Zen: Walking Dance Medication

3. TangoZen is a new meditation concept, which combines Zen meditation principles with basic Tango movements.

4. The essence of TangoZen is that there is something beyond logic and reasoning in Tango.

5. TangoZen is Walking Dance Meditation. TangoZen is known to help establish balance, calmness, groundedness, centering, and harmony in mind and body.

6. TangoZen is for beginners as well as veteran dancers, for those who are new or seasoned at meditation, and for anyone who is searching for a literal step-by-step method that is both rhythmic and simple to pursue, in order to accomplish a peaceful way of being. The essence of TangoZen is doing rather than understanding by intelligence.

7. TangoZen is Tango Made Simple.

8. TangoZen is about learning to appreciate traditional tango through disciplines of Zen, which is synonymous to simplicity and clarity of body and mind.

9. TangoZen is to advocate and promote the traditional tango with aid of the Zen, which teaches us to devote 100% of our physical and mental attention to what we are doing Here Now.

10. TangoZen is tango milonguero.

I admit some time ago I decided to use TangoZen instead of Tango Zen but don’t know exactly when.  And I am still trying to find a perfect description of TangoZen.

I am launching this TangoZen blog, where I’d like to hear from those interested in helping me find the perfect description. From time to time, I will post new messages including workshop reports, new exercises, opinions, etc. Your comments, suggestions and experience of TangoZen will be greatly appreciated.

Chan