I couldnt take my eyes off the big swarthy chubby guy for even an instant, as he danced zamba. The way he stood, upright and proud, with the body language of a superior officer, of a CEO at a board meeting, of a statesman. The way every gesture was economical, graceful and meaningful: all clear signal, no distracting noise. He was dancing with my favourite puppyish gay boy, who skipped and bounced around, waving his handkerchief enthusiastically, and they reminded me of a father and son: not because of their relative ages but because of the way they danced. He was a loving, careful father, hitting gentle balls to his boy, placing them with exact precision so that his son had to bound around the court, enjoying the challenge of returning his fathers shots, always just able to reach them. Thats how I want to dance in tango, as a leader. With that sovereign calm, that absolute security and self-confidence, that complete precision, that quiet decisiveness. With not one extraneous movement. He made zamba seem like a clear, logical, eloquent speech: every movement and gesture a word spoken with beautiful received pronunciation. I have seen many people dance zamba sensually, playfully, prettily. But he seemed to lose all his own tics and idiosyncracies, to become just a transparent medium for the lovely gestures of the dance, a native speaker who doesnt have to think about grammar or search for vocabulary, who just fluently utilises the language to speak his mind. He owned it. Or, rather, it owned him. Im going to take zamba lessons again. Because that is charisma. That is what I call presence. Transferring your weight clearly and completely and fully inhabiting each point you pass through in space. Not trying to move or manipulate the other person. Just declaring with your posture and groundedness: look world, here I am. Deal with it. Thats how I believe a tango leader should dance.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 07:40:59 +0000
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