Born to Tango

"Tango Pasión" 1999 José María Cornide

I've been wanting to do something adventurous and spontaneous for some time now and the opportunity came this past Friday night. While sitting at the j.v. basketball game I received a message on my cell phone from Kevin, one of the dance teachers here at EWS, inviting me to a Milonga ( a tango social party) that was beginning in only 2 hours or so. Somehow he heard through the grapevine that I knew how to tango (not sure where he heard that joke!) and he wanted to introduce me to the local tango crowd in this region. I've certainly never considered my big and tall self capable of dancing such a sensual and intricately detailed dance as the tango, but my interest was peaked and I decided to take him up on the offer. I told Jessie, my housemate, and she was interested too. Well when I called and confessed to him my inexperience but sincere interest in learning he told Jessie and I to meet him in the school dance studio where we'd have an hour private lesson and then head over to the Milonga together. What an amazing opportunity!

I didn't think it possible but in one hour he had us dancing the 3 key moves that we would need in order to participate at the Milonga - the basic 8 steps, forward ochos, and backward ochos. He also gave us some tips about the social gestures and procedures necessary to invite someone to dance with you and keep them dancing with you - In Argentine Tango you show you're interested in dancing with someone by making eye contact. Then, there are three short pieces of music within each set. If you enjoyed the first dance you need to be sure not to say "Thank You" because that communicates that you are done dancing with them and would like another partner. If someone says thank you to you they don't want another dance with you and are in someone unsatisfied with your performance. If you get through three dances then your partner must be really impressed and want to take you out on a date after the milonga! Isn't it all fascinating? I had no idea that there were actually rules of behavior for dances like this.

So we get to the dance studio, which is used as a yoga studio during the week, and the crowd is mostly older and , no surprise here, much shorter than I. Jessie and I were a bit worried we wouldn't fit in and that we'd be wallflowers the whole evening because of our inexperience but it turned out to be quite the opposite. Kevin, our most amazing and patient teacher, actually danced with us the entire night. He'd dance a few songs with me and then invite Jessie to dance for a few. Each time helping us when we needed and introducing new steps as the night progressed. Occasionally he would dance with some of the people he knew there but he really was dedicating this night to help us learn. Jessie and I both were invited to dance with others in the room, which was a lot more challenging because the steps where not always done in the way Kevin did them. That's what makes tango so fun is that there are some basic stpes but they are never done in the exact same way each time. There's always room for interpretation and improvisation. Although dancing with those other men was more of a challenge I felt I could keep up well and many were impressed that I'd only been dancing the tango for less than three hours.

When I wasn't dancing I really enjoyed watching. there were some incredible dancers there. But there are so mancy nuances to the dance that one can't see or understand unless they do them. The male is the leader and determines every step the female is to take by how he has his hand on her back or how or when he crosses the center line of the woman's body. Much of the dance too is done on the balls of your feet. The best tip Kevin gave me was to take one step at a time. The next step is mostly determined by which foot the female has her weight on and where her center of gravity is. So if the female decides to predict the moves or speed them up, it makes it difficult/impossible for the male to lead her. Now one could read into this dance and see that it mirrors patriarchal values which control even the slightest movement of the female and as a feminist I can say there is much truth to that. However, there is something magical about being held by your partner and being carried across the dance floor in the most graceful of ways. Like I said, I never thought that my 6'1" athletic self could be turned into a nimble, quick and lightfooted dancer. But Friday night I proved myself wrong and felt like I was dreaming. It was so amazing that we could learn so much in such a little amount of time, be able to put it to use on the dance floor and learn more as we went along. I learned some new moves such 'la parada' (sudden stop/pause in the dance), "la mordida", or sandwich (when one partners foot gets trapped between the two feet of the other partner), and "arrastre"( where the foot is dragged across the floor by the foot of the other partner, which forces one to cross their foot over their center of gravity).

We had a great time and stayed until 1:15am! I'm hooked and now trying to find a way to keep practicing. My weeks are pretty booked now with my only free day being Monday (tuesdays I play volleyball in a league nearby and wednesdays and thursdays I'm on duty in the dorms). I found out there are private lessons at someone's home for only $5 every monday and also Williams College is beginning lessons next Monday. I think it's worth a look into either one of them! For this week I'll continue practicing each night in my attic room!

"Be the Change"

Soon after graduation last May I went to Barnes & Noble and bought myself a little book called God's Graduate: Continuing Education for everyday life. There are 39 themes , such as Attitude, Love, Prayer, Forgiveness, and Worry, explored through six or seven pages each. Looking over it again tonight I came across one page that is particularly applicable to what I wrote in my last post.

"Be the Change" briefly explores Ghandi's simple yet profound statement that you should "be the change you want to see in the world". After this statement the author offers what she believes to be a comparative statement by God to Abraham, "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing." (NIV Gen. 12:2) She then offers this comforting thought, "God may not be calling you to make your name great but He still calls each of us to be a blessing to the world. Be the change. Be the blessing. If those around you are blessed by the things you do, the beliefs you stand for, and the love you share,then you are effecting change in their lives."(p.27)
I like this way of thinking about my present purpose and only hope that I can effectively apply in immediately.

theme for the week

Recently I have been anxious about future plans and excited for what's to come. to be honest I have no idea what that is but I've been feeling recently that I need to do something very different, something that will throw me out of my comfort zone and get me to toughen up. I've certainly been challenged as a first year teacher, but i'm looking for new challenge that will force me to take action with the things I care about and force me to really apply and expand my religious, moral, and academic education.

With all this excitement I must be careful not to get too ahead of myself. A big lesson I am learning in life is that it is not about taking jobs or moving to places where I can feel the most comfortable or where I can grow the most. Instead it is about finding the place where I can use my skills to give the most. Of course growth and enlightenment come with this, but acquiring those is not the ultimate goal. The Christian Science Bible Lesson never fails to be applicable to my thoughts, experiences, and challenges every week. This weeks subject is LOVE. Two particular quotes stood out to me from the first section: "let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." (James 1:4 let) and from Science and Health, by Mary Baker Eddy: "Wait patiently for divine Love to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the perfect concept. Patience must 'have her perfect work' " (454:22).

I think that last statement is referring to the healing waters of Bethesda where one could be healed by touching the water after the heavens 'moved' it. But for me, both of these statements can be applied to so many situations in life - desire to find a new job, travel, find a boyfriend, get the money I need, etc. All of that has to do with needing certain things to occur or to arrive before we can be happy or feel complete. According to both the Bible and SH we must be patient and give God time to "form the perfect concept"....why would we want to rush and receive anything less than perfect? I'd like to add another thought to the pile. It's one that I gained from reading Eckert Tolle's book "A New Earth" --> There is nothing we need to wait for because all we ever need to realize our complete identity is right here, right now. Perfection is present because it is not formed or gained by material circumstances and objects. What a relief! all that time spent day dreaming and creating constructing ideal moments/situations in our mind is a distraction from the complete, perfect life that is in the present moment. Why waste time thinking about something that has already happened or could possibly happen? --> that's thinking about things that don't even exist! Once we decide to be still and dedicate our energies to the present moment we'll realize that there can be nothing more.Wow, even writing this out helps! So I'm going to really 'be' this week and start being the person I am and want to be rather than waiting for the right circumstances to give me the permission to change.

At least one good thing this week

1. Spanish 2 Friday afternoon --> although it may have been a little out of control, spanish 2 was fun. 5 minutes before class starts 5 out of the 11 students run into my office and ask if they can run to get food from the school store. it being the the afternoon and the last day of the semester, (and me being the softy that i am) I told them to go quickly and get the darn food. So they arrive 5 minutes late to class, wired and energized and in no condition be focused in any way at 1:45 on the last friday of the semester. we started commands, or mandatos, as they're called in spanish the day before so I decided to play a little game with them. Split into two groups the students had to come up with 5 formal commands (in spanish of course) to make the other team do. i.e, hagan un pirámide humano, actúan como pollos, cantén el alma mater de Emma Willard, etc. (yes they're very creative those girls) well the human piramid was the best one. then after successfully completely this activity we all sat together on the floor and we read two classic children's books in Spanish that I had found in the education section of Barnes and Noble - La Oruga Muy Hambrienta (Hungry little catepillar) y El Árbol Generoso (the giving tree). As they ate their chips and dip they sat enthralled like little children at the beautiful pictures in each book. It all felt a little juvenile but it was fun and they seemed really into it. nothing like calming kids down with a good book.

good teaching week

As you can see from my last post, it's been a pretty good week. I also should add that things have gone quite smoothly as far as teaching goes. I've feel much more relaxed in class. I used to be planning and fine tuning those plans up until the last minute before class. Add onto that that I would enter my classes super nervous and I'm sure my students could tell. After more than one observation, Marilyn noted that the pitch of my voice gets higher when I'm nervous and unsure. Thanks goodness that has subsided a bit! I think the high voice was the icing on a not so good cake that was overly decorated and detailed. I was too uptight and trying to make everything perfect and feeling like it was my huge responsibility to educate them. If they didn't get it, or weren't doing well then it was my fault. Geez! why do I take everything so darn seriously!

I think the change in 'performance' and confidence came once I realized that I most likely will not be teaching next year. I know that I'm not teaching Spanish here and that I'm going to explore other options. So I've said to myself: "Self - who knows when, or even if, you'll be teaching again, so why not make the most of it. Have fun! Make mistakes! Keep it light! Laugh a little! You are not the only way these students can learn Spanish. it's a life long process to get into and master a language and you have to face the fact that not all of them will love it as much as you do. However, that doesn't mean they can't enjoy it while they are learning it!" yeah, that was a great revelation. I've also stopped seeing my students as these odd creatures who have some power over me. They are just kids! Why do I let them get to me! If anything, I should be the one that scares them! Ha ha, but know, I'm not that mean!

Each unit (of three chapters each) is structured around a different Spanish speaking culture. All the vocab, grammar, and dialogue relate in some way back to the culture. This unit we're in Puerto Rico and the first chapter, which we just tested on yesterday, has a cultural reading on the music of Puerto Rico, specifically "Bomba y Plena"

(http://www.smithsonianglobalsound.org/archives_03.aspx). I've been a little frustrated because there is so much pressure to cover tons of vocab and grammar before the end of the year and focus on culture is often pushed to the side or given minimum attention. Well I truly believe that the reason you learn a language is so you can better understand and connect with the cultures in which the language is spoken. Unfortunately, I have skipped over many of the cultural sections because there just isn't time and I have to keep up with the schedules of my colleagues who are teaching other sections of the same class.

Today, however, I decided to prioritize culture. On the test there was a reading that mentioned a Bomba y Plena concert and although more knowledge of this cultural item wouldn't have really affected how they answer the question, I felt like a jerk that I didn't prep my students about this cultural aspect that was mentioned on the test. So I decided to take the beginning of the class today to do the reading in the textbook on Bomba y Plena and have them answer some questions related to the reading. Then I found two great videos on the Smithsonian website that demostrated the music and dancing. Know one has educated me yet on how to connect a mac to a projector (I've tried it myself but it's all the wires are twisted and don't fit. I feel like a dunce!) so I had all thirteen students and I huddle around my 12inch screen to watch these tiny videos. Throughout the video I could point out certain things we saw in the reading. Afterwards, I had them brainstorm a few other dances that they knew and from where in Latin America they dances came.

It was a good bonding experience. It made me realize that even if these students don't absorb and master all the grammar, they at least should be exposed to the rich cultural characteristics of Latin American and Spain. They may not remember my the precisely organized lesson plan about stem-changing verbs but they will remember me trying to demostrate dancing across the front of the room, trying to demonstrate tango (which I did today!). I'd like to find a way we can bring some Latin American dancers to Emma so that they can see the dances in action and have the culture come to life.

So moral of the story - I'm learning to chill out a little and not take everything so darn seriously. We gotta have fun in every moment, because its the only moment like it that we have.