Creativity, Buddhism and Tango - How Non-Aggression Can Make Your Life A Work Of Art

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Book Review by Mitra Martin

True Perception by Chogyam Trungpa

This book is a gentle guidebook to making your life an outrageous and peaceful work of art.

I first heard of Chogyam Trungpa when the movie Crazy Wisdom came out. Wow, what a soul, I thought when I saw it. The first Tibetan Buddhist to teach in the US, he was the founder of Naropa University and the network of Shambala Centers - and also a friend of poets and creative people like Alan Ginsberg and Joni Mitchell. He wasn’t perfect at all and I guess that’s okay too. I think it was nice for me to have a reference point for who he is and the calm bigly humorous way he speaks, as I read the book.

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Interview with Fabienne Bongard! A Tango-teaching-gem shares her experiences and perspectives through two decades of Tango!

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by Holly Darling

Fabienne Bongard is a bastion of tango knowledge and history, combined with a keenly creative, sensitive, and accessible style of teaching. She delights in breaking down steps into bite-size chunks, and then leading her students into magically whirling those pieces together, so that they really feel like they are dancing, all by the end of a fun-filled and lighthearted class. In this interview, she shares her perspective on learning Tango, as well as her experiences learning from some of the great milongueros, and how she hopes women will never have to sit out a tanda when the music inspires them to dance!

When did you start dancing Tango?

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Care for the Feet that Keep You Dancing - Part 2 of 3

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by Diana Devi

Part 2: Exercises and Massage

For Part 1 of the Series - See here

We walk on them all day; we dance on them all night. We all know that when our feet hurt, nothing is enjoyable. This is one major reason why we must take proper care of our feet. Another motivator is that we want to dance until we are in our nineties, just as we have seen in Buenos Aires at the milongas.

So how do we get our feet to take us there? Last time we talked about simple foot care. For this segment, we will focus on exercises and methods to massage, stretch and strengthen our feet. The first set of activities will focus on massage, the second flexibility, and the third on stabilization and strengthening.

None of these exercises should be painful. If you are experiencing pain, STOP what you are doing! Pain is a warning signal from your body telling you something is not right. Please pay attention when your body speaks to you.

The following exercises I have developed over time, designing my own regimen while incorporating relevant components from teachers like Ms. Judith Bragg, my first point teacher; evolving through all of my bodywork and dance experiences including most recently a workshop with Diana Cruz, international Argentine Tango performer and instructor.​

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One Possible Reason Why You’re Not Dancing As Much As You Want

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Fourth Article in It Takes One to Tango Series

by Mitra Martin

Did you ever throw your bicycle at someone because you were mad they didn’t dance with you?
I did.

There was a time in my life when I was one frustrated Tango girl. I thought I was better than I was. Way better. (Still do, haha.)

I would go to festivals and have these amazing, unearthly, peak-experiences which made me think I was a rockstar. And it felt so unjust that weekend after weekend, the nice leaders in my own community would look past my eyes.

Once I had a friend who needed a place to stay, so we offered him the couch for a few days. A nice dancer friend. And so that weekend, we went out to the milonga together. Man, did I want to dance. I was all ready to dance. I was so excited to dance. My body wanted to dance, my mind wanted to dance, my soul wanted to dance. Everything felt like dance.

But, I didn’t dance. I just sat there. Like, the whole damn night.

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Care for the Feet that Keep You Dancing - Part 1 of 3

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Part 1: Footcare Basics

by Diana Devi

My quest to find the right foot care began many years ago. I was dancing ballet; I wanted to dance on point forever. I knew my passion for dance would be life-long so I began educating myself on caring for the feet that would keep me dancing. Fast forward to when I started dancing tango. WOW the heels really made my feet hurt and thus began the second part of my journey for happy healthy feet.

Pain is not normal, no matter where you feel it. If you are experiencing pain, your body is trying to tell you something.

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