A Tango Class for Buddhists: a report
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Randy Cook
Aug 29, 2009, 7:52:07 PM8/29/09
to Sonoma County Tango
A Tango Class for Buddhists
Saint Yrieux-sous-Aixe, France
Sunday, June 28, 2009
8:00 PM
Janet Lott has arranged to teach a tango class at the Chateau, once
the home of a wealthy Limoges porcelain manufacturing family, now a
Tibetan Buddhist meditation center. Janet has been affiliated with
the Buddhists for many years, teaching yoga and dance here in France
and in Boulder, Colorado. This evening, she has enlisted me to
partner her for a demonstration dance, and to help her teach the
class. The management of the Chateau has given us the Shrine Room, a
spacious, airy place with Tibetan tapestries, an altar, and a
beautiful hardwood floor. Early evening sunlight pours in through a
pair of western windows. The room glows.
We've been requested to leave our shoes by the door. We push the
meditation mats up front by the altar in order to make room to dance.
Janet puts on some D'Arienzo, and the two of us warm up in our
stocking feet.
We quickly have a crowd. Janet has posted the announcement of the
lesson on the activities board. There isn't a lot to do here in the
country on a Sunday night. The younger residents of the Chateau, in
particular, are eager to give tango a try. One young man shows up
wearing a bow tie, sweat pants, and an evening jacket. Another tells
us of dancing in the streets of Kiev, his hometown in the Ukraine.
Another says that his father used to play the tangos of Carlos Gardel
in Santiago, Chile.
English, not French, is the lingua franca here. There are students
from the Ukraine, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Mexico,
Chile, and New Jersey. Only a few are from France. Since everyone
speaks some English, that's the language Janet uses to teach.
Occasionally, they remind her to speak more slowly.
Janet lines the students up on one side of the Shrine Room, facing
into the evening sunlight from the west windows. She teaches them how
to walk with intention, transferring the weight all-at-once from foot
to foot, so as never to be caught in the middle. The crowd of 25
people is very responsive. When Janet talks of body dynamics, she is
speaking a language they are trained to understand. This is how they
learned to meditate.
I would not say that the Buddhists are necessarily a better class of
dancers than any other. They make all the beginner's mistakes. They
walk like robots, or they try to skate. When Janet pairs them up to
walk together in line of dance, the couples wander blindly all over
the floor like newborn kittens. But when she talks to them of being
"grounded," of knowing which foot the partner is on, of not
"anticipating" the lead, they understand instantly.
So Janet and I have every tango teachers' dream--a roomful of good-
humored but serious students who already know that dancing isn't about
steps, it's about moving together fluidly with the partner and the
music. They've got it! The rest will be easy.
Two hours later, Janet decides to stop the lesson and give a
demonstration. She puts on a waltz, and we put on a show. My
stocking feet slip a few times on the polished floor. Janet has to
dance without heels. But we perform with energy and affection. The
class applauds like they'd just watched the stars of Nora's Tango
Week. And I think, yes, it's true! Tango and Buddhism have a lot in
common, for a tango well-danced is a little piece of Eternity, ne
c'est pas?
Saint Yrieux-sous-Aixe, France
Sunday, June 28, 2009
8:00 PM
Janet Lott has arranged to teach a tango class at the Chateau, once
the home of a wealthy Limoges porcelain manufacturing family, now a
Tibetan Buddhist meditation center. Janet has been affiliated with
the Buddhists for many years, teaching yoga and dance here in France
and in Boulder, Colorado. This evening, she has enlisted me to
partner her for a demonstration dance, and to help her teach the
class. The management of the Chateau has given us the Shrine Room, a
spacious, airy place with Tibetan tapestries, an altar, and a
beautiful hardwood floor. Early evening sunlight pours in through a
pair of western windows. The room glows.
We've been requested to leave our shoes by the door. We push the
meditation mats up front by the altar in order to make room to dance.
Janet puts on some D'Arienzo, and the two of us warm up in our
stocking feet.
We quickly have a crowd. Janet has posted the announcement of the
lesson on the activities board. There isn't a lot to do here in the
country on a Sunday night. The younger residents of the Chateau, in
particular, are eager to give tango a try. One young man shows up
wearing a bow tie, sweat pants, and an evening jacket. Another tells
us of dancing in the streets of Kiev, his hometown in the Ukraine.
Another says that his father used to play the tangos of Carlos Gardel
in Santiago, Chile.
English, not French, is the lingua franca here. There are students
from the Ukraine, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Mexico,
Chile, and New Jersey. Only a few are from France. Since everyone
speaks some English, that's the language Janet uses to teach.
Occasionally, they remind her to speak more slowly.
Janet lines the students up on one side of the Shrine Room, facing
into the evening sunlight from the west windows. She teaches them how
to walk with intention, transferring the weight all-at-once from foot
to foot, so as never to be caught in the middle. The crowd of 25
people is very responsive. When Janet talks of body dynamics, she is
speaking a language they are trained to understand. This is how they
learned to meditate.
I would not say that the Buddhists are necessarily a better class of
dancers than any other. They make all the beginner's mistakes. They
walk like robots, or they try to skate. When Janet pairs them up to
walk together in line of dance, the couples wander blindly all over
the floor like newborn kittens. But when she talks to them of being
"grounded," of knowing which foot the partner is on, of not
"anticipating" the lead, they understand instantly.
So Janet and I have every tango teachers' dream--a roomful of good-
humored but serious students who already know that dancing isn't about
steps, it's about moving together fluidly with the partner and the
music. They've got it! The rest will be easy.
Two hours later, Janet decides to stop the lesson and give a
demonstration. She puts on a waltz, and we put on a show. My
stocking feet slip a few times on the polished floor. Janet has to
dance without heels. But we perform with energy and affection. The
class applauds like they'd just watched the stars of Nora's Tango
Week. And I think, yes, it's true! Tango and Buddhism have a lot in
common, for a tango well-danced is a little piece of Eternity, ne
c'est pas?
Bic Ha DoVan
Aug 30, 2009, 1:50:38 AM8/30/09
to soco...@googlegroups.com
| Randy, Thanks for sharing that wonderful report with us. I enjoyed reading the piece and agree with you that tango is not about the steps, but about the connection and the fluidity of the partners when the music and the dance come together. I am always in search of the zen tango experience: when the music ends and the feeling of quiet peace envelopes. Maybe that's why Argentine tango has such a following. ~Bic
"While I dance I can not judge, I can not hate, I can not separate myself from life. I can only be joyful and whole. This is why I dance." -Hans Bos --- On Sat, 8/29/09, Randy Cook <randyco...@yahoo.com> wrote: |
randy cook
Aug 30, 2009, 6:21:01 PM8/30/09
to soco...@googlegroups.com
Thanks, Bic, for your sympathetic observations. I see you received this through Sonoma County Tango. Demetrius invited me to submit it. I am so glad it found at least one good reader!
Have we met? I live in the City of Sonoma.
|
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