hpm's Buenos Aires / Argentine Tango Project: Primero Paso...

OK, primero paso, first step... my first time out of the gate, being public about what I want to do viz my interest in Buenos Aires, Argentine tango, the food, wine, and culture of this amazing

Image by hanspetermeyer.ca via Flickr

city.

Here goes: I'm a writer/photographer/social media guy – and a passionate dancer. While I love to dance many kinds of dance, my "desert island" dance is Argentine tango. Why?

Let's just say it's the most "connected" of the dances I've had the pleasure to dance so far. The deeper I get into it, the deeper it gets. It's like a bottomless pool. And the more I swim in it, the more I love it (did I mention that I love getting wet?)

This isn't about "sex," though most people associate tango, and A-tango particularly, with being sexual. I must say there's a sexual energy about this dance when I connect with someone. But it's not about you and me and let's have sex. It's more like, you and me and we're creative, sensual energies and this dance creates a space and time for mutual creativity that isn't about sex so much as it is about creative, body-centred dialogue.

Does that make sense? Hmmmm....

Image by hanspetermeyer.ca via Flickr

In any event, I went to Buenos Aires a couple of years ago. (I wrote a little about it in this blog about why I love to dance.) Spent a month there doing a kind of self-imposed "Argentine tango boot camp"(muchos horas en las classes, muchos bailes con muchos mujers), and came back to my little town to discover and enjoy ongoing A-tango and milongas courtesy of Kirra G (@tangocorazon) and the dedication of folks like Tom and Jeanette (many thanks to you, and to all the others who make up our A-tango community). Check out www.vancouverislandtango.com for more info on this part of the story.

I can dance at home now. Which is cool. But as a photo guy and writer, I'm inspired to go back to BsAs. This is where the dance originated, yes. But it's also where it's growing, changing, where thousands of folks dance in many, many halls from noon to 7am every day – that's 19 hours of opportunity to dance, every single day of the week!

Image by hanspetermeyer.ca via Flickr

I want to explore the changing and emerging world of this dance as it is evolving. I want to describe, in words and images, the passion, but also the simple, respectful dialogue that happens within the 3-4 minutes of a song, the 2-4 dances that a couple will dance in a tanda. I want to somehow generate a dynamic, thoughtful, but expressive sense of what it means to be inside this dance, and in this strange and beautiful place so far from home.

Here's the vision this morning: I'll find a B&B or apartment in BsAs that'll host me, preferably associated with a tango school or a language school (I'm also keen to add to the bit of Spanish I picked up whilst there last time). I'll be sponsored by a tango or language school to take some classes. I'll re-connect with the friends I made in BsAs, and we'll tour the various tango bars and milongas. With the help of friens, I'll put together a dynamic "story" (words, images, social media, video) about this place, this time.

Putting this out here now is a way for me to say, "Hey, I'm making this first step. Hold me to the path folks!"

Thanks Kris Krüg (@kk) for making the obvious clear to me.

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