HelaTango (Orivesi, Finland)

My first tango camp as a leader is now over, and of all the memories, sensations and emotions accumulated in the past few days the most prevailing is an overwhelming sense of happiness and gratitude. The wonderful teachers at HelaTango managed to put me at ease about my capacity to learn leading in a structured way, and my supportive practice partner was able to calm me down the few times when I felt a sense of panic when thinking i was expected to memorise a sequence, something that I dreaded more than anything.

In addition, i was all the time surrounded by the best possible crowd: a lovely, lovable and crazy bunch of people whose affection for me is not based on my merits on the dance floor. I laughed more in this weekend than in the past 6 months altogether, and only cried twice: once from happiness, once from being moved by the emotion present in a performance.

I learned about setting one's own limits, defending one's own integrity and communicating one's commitment to another person . I admired the effortless, calming power of a magnificent woman, and was impressed by the fearlessness of a little girl. I witnessed the beautiful dynamics of several happy couples, and played a very satisfying game of verbal table tennis with a fascinating opponent.

And they call this *just* a dance!