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22 September, 2017

Tango space


Being connected with Art of living, Sri Sri Tango, yoga, tai chi and meditation, I strongly believe that tango has a meditative and spiritual side too. I am talking about that moment in tango when you feel the connection- one soul connects to the other soul, the heart beats amalgamate and the breaths unite. The two partners are in sync not just with one another but with all the others on the same dance floor. This is the most crucial detail, most satisfying experience of tango bliss without which your dance is incomplete. This is what gets you addicted to tango.
The serenity you experience while meditation, the calmness, the slowing of breath, that is what you experience in tango. That is what I term as being “in space”. Recently, when I did skydiving, it was a similar experience. The moment when the universe stands still, your heartbeat stops and yet you are alive like never before.
In Art of Living, I do “Sudarshan Kriya” every day without fail. My day is incomplete without it. I have devised my own way of doing a short Kriya but I do feel the connection with the Supreme power during it. I feel enormously taken care of by Him, I feel His presence and He engulfing me and uplifting me. I focus on my breath and chant and connect to Him. I am in “the Space”. There is stillness and calmness. When I get a “good tango” and I open my eyes, the feeling is exactly the same of being in “space”.
Another passion of mine is sarees. I feel sarees, being six yards of running fabric has free-flowing energy in them. The warps and wefts breathe and connect to you. They are quite alive, unlike the stitched garments. They are eternal, timeless, never go out of fashion or trend. They are stunning pieces meant to be admired, touched and flaunted. Now, the way you caress a saree and move your fingers on its folds, smell it, play with its ebb and flow, light and shadow is a mystical experience in itself (if you have experienced it). You will understand what I am talking about in tango- pauses, intervals, space.
This “space” in tango is like the space between two folds/ pleats of a saree. The space that sets them apart yet gives it, its form, shape, allure and life. It is multidimensional in its form and structure. They taper on top and expand at the bottom. They define the edges and are like hills and valleys. These spaces give the saree its true form, shape and structure. That is why saree is centuries old garment, draped in many ways.
The spaces found between each breath, in punctuation marks of each sentence, in pauses of tango dance and music bring the real meaning to its structure.
This pause or space you can generate in your dance only and only if you dance the tango peacefully and without rush. Connect with your partner whom you embrace and experience the tango bliss.