[Tango-L] Tango Your Life

[Ann Dobyns]

“Tango Your Life"

I had the opportunity recently to view Chan Park’s new film, Tango
Your Life.  As a person who teaches a class about tango, at my
university, I am always looking for good documentaries to show my
students.  This is one that I will buy as soon as it becomes
available.

The film allows dancers to tell their stories, not about how they came
to tango but what it means to them.  Chan thus addresses the appeal of
tango, that for those who love tango, the dance is a way to live and
live fully.  To explore this perspective, Chan Park presents separate
sections that capture different significant elements of the dance.  He
includes clips from interviews with dancers from Buenos Aires and
around the world and scenes from milongas and beautiful images of the
city.  The various commentary, dance montages, and images capture the
spirit of this beautiful and additive dance.  The section on the
cabeceo is one of the best explanations of this uniquely Argentine
means of communicating I have seen.  And, the filmed illustrations are
funny and touching.

Chan Park is the author of the book Tango Zen: Walking Dance
Meditation.  The film, while not explicitly about Buddhism,
nonetheless is infused with the perspective.  Images of Buddha
introduce sections and many of the comments of the people he
interviewed address the appeal of tango in its meditative nature.
Especially compelling is the section in which the filmmaker splits the
screen so that on one side he shows the faces of dancers on the other
images of the Buddha.  The effect is an elegant illustration of the
meditative quality of the dance!

Throughout, the film demonstrates the best that tango can
be—fulfilling, contemplative, collaborative, spiritual, respectful,
and enchanting.


-- 
Ann