Great Books By Great Thinkers on Creativity, Consciousness, and Education, and How They Relate to Teaching and Learning Improvised Argentine Tango

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Hello everybody!

I read an enormous amount. And so many times I read a book and while I’m reading it I’m sitting here thinking, “This is so key! I wish everyone could know this! I wish I could talk to other people about this! Because it has vast and sincere implications!!”

So when Sharna Fabiano suggested that book reviews might be part of the O2 blog, I was like: yeah! I hope this will inspire some of the people around me to read these amazing thoughts in these amazing books and get inspired and we’ll talk about it and there will be so much insight and upliftment and who knows what will happen from there!

So the theme of my book review series is: “Great Books By Great Thinkers on Creativity, Consciousness, and Education, and How They Relate to Teaching and Learning Improvised Argentine Tango."

For me exploring Tango - deeply and hardcorely - is one aspect of a broader exploration on connectedness in my life, off the dance floor. Connectedness to myself, connectednesss to others, and connectedness to the something beyond - something which IS me, and IS others, is all of us. And so many brilliant people out there have cared so much about this area of connectedness through the lens of different domains and I have learned so much by reading what they said about it.

Some of those writers are visionary artist-improvisers, who really have explored how fine-grained collaborative creativity can come to being through human interaction.

Some of them are visionary teachers who really care about connecting with students and enabling their total blossoming.

Some of them are community designers who know that community is more than just a bunch of humans being in the same place at the same time doing the same thing, even.

Some of these people are meditation teachers or spiritually developed people, who have explored the invigorating layers of finding connection with the divine or basic goodness within.

I think all of them have something to contribute to our process of growing as Tango dancers and as human beings, which seem to unfold in parallel and reinforce each other beautifully. It is a gorgeous journey and luckily these amazing souls have paved some of the way for us. I hope you enjoy their writing, and if you read the books and they click with you please write me and let me know! And here...is the first review!

Love, Mitra

Tell Someone How Much They Matter: Reflections on Living in Community - Part 1

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I had a friend, I really liked him, he decided to move back east. I said, “Why are you leaving LA? I like having you here!” “Oh!” he said, seeming sort of surprised. “Then why didn’t you ever text me?”

It surprised me. He really didn’t have any idea that him being here was something I valued, a lot.

How often does this happen to you: You think, Oh yes, he’s always there, every Thursday. I’m looking forward to Thursday, I know I’ll see him there. And then a Thursday comes, and he’s not there. Do you think he knew that he was a part of your life that you looked forward to?

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A Truly Superlative Activity for Dissolving Your Stress in LA: Argentine Tango

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We, the people of LA. We are powerful. We are creative. We are driving and parking and social networking. We are...stressed. A little bit. Maybe. But, hey, we're managing it. 

I have learned some things about the stress of us people of Los Angeles.

  1. Most Angelenos are more stressed than they want to be, BUT
  2. We have two favorite stress management techniques: Listening to music, and exercise or walking
  3. But, we mostly do not manage our stress as effectively as we wish we did. Sadface. Source: American Psychological Association
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Ah, if only we could do more listening to music, and walking, how stress-free we would be. Wait a second, what's that? Listening to music and walking? Why, that sounds like...wait for it...Argentine Tango!

What’s cool is that Tango even throws in for good measure an extra helping of hugs, which are also highly stress relieving!

How Tango Reduces Stress.

  1. Hugs. We Need Hugs! I won’t bore you with all the scientific oxytocin neuropeptide business, you can look it up. Hugs are healthy. And where else are 3-minute-long hugs socially acceptable? Look no farther than your local Tango community!
  2. Walking, Lots of Walking. Again, the health benefits of just plain walking have been pretty convincingly demonstrated by modern medicine. Walking is low impact, relaxing, connecting, rhythmic. And how much nicer that in Tango you can walk all those miles - in circles, while embracing a friend?
  3. Awesome Music. Tango music is heralded as the new world music. Blending together elements of European classical music and African tribal music in a completely unique flavor, it is powerful yet soothing, driving yet intricate, passionate yet still. There’s nothing like it. Come immerse yourself in a truly mood-altering music.

So that’s it, and I feel I would be remiss if I did not encourage you to check out your local Tango community today. There's Tango all over freakin' LA - find a beginner class, maybe here at Oxygen Tango! Do it for your health. If you’re happier and a little less stressed, your and everyone’s day might become a little sunnier. Happyface. Love, Oxygen

What Yoga Does for Tango Dancers

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In my own exploration of tango, I have found the practice of yoga to be a mindful form of “cross-training” that enhances and supports my dancing. A regular practice on the sticky mat might help fill in the gaps in your tango education when questions about posture, balance, and alignment come up. Below are three specific ways that yoga can make your dancing stronger. As always, these points are only suggestions. Always follow your own body's wisdom in choosing the form of conditioning that is right for you.

1. Better Balance – A large percentage of yoga instruction is intended to help you get grounded. The lunges and other standing poses that often serve as warm-ups emphasize deliberate foot placement, weight distribution, and connection to your core, all building blocks of strong balance in tango dancing as well. Yoga alignment cues throughout the class help line up your joints for safer and more fluid movement. With regular practice, you can carry this stability and fluidity off the mat and into your tango dancing.

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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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