Mari Travels with Tango

  There (still) is something inexplicably exhilarating in entering the transit area of your home airport. Despite still being less than 5 kilometers from your own front door, despite the undeniable guilt over your climate impact or even the ever-present awareness of the horror that your Ukrainian friends are undergoing while you indulge in your frivolous hobbies, this sensation of freedom never completely disappears. Perhaps it is the memory of your earlier years when each trip presented the possibility of a entirely new future. Or perhaps, it is the inner child that is awakened when leaving the familiar everyday life behind. Or just maybe, these trips still represent a chance to see yourself and the life you lead in a new light. Whatever it is, I still love it. Travelling to Bergen Embrace.

Just when you thought you were familiar with all the possible ups and downs of participating in a tango event, new challenges present themselves: an hitherto unknown, almost debilitating physical discomfort forces you to sit out most of the weekend. Instead of customarily wading first ankle, then knee, and finally, waist deep in the endorphins generated by dancing, you find yourself stranded on the shore of that sea of emotions that the others now are swimming in. Like a fisherman without proper tackle or bait, you sit and observe others pulling one juicy fish after another, desperately trying to remain confident that this too shall pass, that your time will come again. Admittedly, there are moments of self-pity and resignation. Even after all these years, it is still so easy to feel like everything is lost, that it is now the time you finally ride into the sunset, leaving this particular kind of madness behind. But just as undeniably, there still are countless moments of joy: laughter...

According to one theory of life, there are only two basic emotions; love and fear. All the other feelings, cravings, itches and grievances are just their little cousins, brought about by circumstances and personal histories. Although they are certainly also present elsewhere, tango brings us in frequent contact with both of these primal forces. Fear is present in many forms: in the basic fear of being left out, of not getting the dances we want, of not being good enough, of not being heard and understood as we really are. There is also the most primal fear of all, that of being hurt. Although the risk of physical injury certainly diminishes with experience, it never completely disappears, and the occasional rough tanda with an insensitive partner serves to remind us of its existence. Obviosly, there is also the fear of psychological or emotional pain, caused by unmatched desires, unpleasant experiences, or rejection. Luckily, there is also ample opportunity to epxerience love on the da...

  In each tango embrace, there is a whole Universe. A microcosm of sounds, sensations, scents and sights only to be found in that unique combination of two people coming together from their respective life situations, personal tragedies, triumphs or challenges. What happens within a tango embrace is sometimes pleasantly familiar, like seeing an old friend and picking up the conversation from where you left it. It presents you with the wonderful sensation of feeling totally accepted, of knowing with absolute certainty that those tens of times you have danced in the past will carry you through any eventual bumps on the road. Or, it can be a delightful journey of discovery with a total stranger, starting with caution that quickly gives room to the joy of connection and exchange of silly ideas. This reminds me of those days in your childhood when you made a new friend at the playground with whom it was easy to play from the start. Just like some interactions outside the dance floor, so...