How You Dance Matters

The desire to realize our potential, expand our limits, conquer the unknown, and possess more is part of what drives us. This very nature has led to remarkable achievements on one hand and significant abuses on the other. Our society is rife with such abuses—unlimited personal freedom, selfish individualism, heartless capitalism, militant feminism, ultraconservatism, neoliberalism, religious fundamentalism, terrorism, radical sciences and technologies, monopolistic business practices, extravagant lifestyles, violent entertainment and sports, bank fraud, the gun lobby, overspending, over-taxation, overuse of natural resources, man-made climate change, and more.

These issues do not create a coherent and harmonious society; instead, they lead to conflict, inequity, division, hatred, hostility, and war. We oscillate from one extreme to another, failing to recognize that all forms of extremism stem from the same human nature—greed, selfishness, ignorance, intolerance, and aggression. We are unable or unwilling to consider perspectives and interests beyond our own. We fail to see the larger picture in which we are but a tiny dot. Relying on might and power to address problems, we disregard the consequences of unbalanced approaches. Our relentless pursuit of self-interest could spell the destruction of civilization if our greed, selfishness, and ignorance go unchecked. This is not alarmist rhetoric. Considering how radically and rapidly the world has changed since World War II, how long can Mother Nature sustain our greed, and how long can humanity maintain peace?

I am not alone in my concerns. Whether consciously realized or not, tango’s current popularity reflects a universal nostalgia for lost humanity and a rebellion against the dehumanizing realities of modern times. Tango fascinates many because it offers a different reality—connection, togetherness, interdependence, fraternity, and shared purpose. In tango, we rediscover the joy of supporting, comforting, and sharing with one another rather than competing and clashing. Tango provides a refuge free from animosity and conflict, a shoulder to lean on, and a means of reaching understanding through communication, cooperation, accommodation, reconciliation, and compromise. In tango, we rediscover the wisdom of Jesus, who taught love; Gandhi, who championed nonviolence; Lao Tzu, who advocated naturalness and simplicity; and Confucius, who espoused the Golden Mean. In tango, we find love, intimacy, equality, harmony, peace, and a vision of a better world we wish to see realized.

This is why tango attracts so many. It is also why I am sad to see that tango is corrupted by the attempt to make this dance of love a dance of show, a dance of spectacle, a dance of political orrectness, and a dance for profit. Such distortions not only alter the essence of tango but also betray its idealism, reducing it from a dance that teaches the world to love to that against its ordained purpose, from that uplifts humanity to that debases it, and from that symbolizes the world we hope to create to that reflects the world we seek to change.

Just as many now take responsibility for preserving the environment and using natural resources wisely—because Earth is our only home—should we not also take responsibility for cultivating a clean human environment and a harmonious society? Those new to tango must awaken to the truth that how they perceive tango shapes how they learn and dance it. One can approach it as mere entertainment or as a dance that teaches love. One can learn only the steps or strive to connect as one with another. One can dance to showcase ego or to demonstrate care. One can seek to reinvent tango or allow tango to transform oneself—and, through that transformation, the world. How we dance matters, as it leaves an impact, one way or another (see Beauty Will Save the World).