Gavito as Philosopher of Tango, and the Alexander Technique as Tango's Basic Philosophy
I have seen reference to Gavito as the “philosopher of tango.” I think it is true in the truest sense: in so far as he eschews mere philosophizing. In the first video clip below, you can hear Gavito tell his students that he is NOT an historian, a psychologist, or a windbag. It is so easy to be a windbag. It is not so easy to dance–to really let Life express itself through you and to allow yourself to express something through Life. He tells his students that teaching tango is not teaching philosophy. Only because of this is he a great philosopher. Real dancing IS a Love of Wisdom, a true Love that goes beyond mere philosophizing. Without Love, you cannot dance, and the thing you Love with this Love is Wisdom, Emptiness, Compassion, Life. A valuable lesson and warning for every dancer: no matter how sincere we are, no matter how UN-intellectual, the ego will still make ideas. We will still pass judgements on ourselves, on our partners, on other dancers, on those who don’t dance, on those who don’t like our politics, on those who don’t think the same way we do. We will still try to do our idea of tango. To become mindful of this is not psychotherapy in the mundane sense. It is instead a genuine possibility to heal our suffering. So Gavito is also the great psychotherapist of tango. Authentic dancing is as good as, if not better than, equivalent time spent with an analyst or therapist. Anyone want to put together a study? It should be studied. Intuition tells me they will confirm this hypothesis: tango lessons can do as much good as therapy.
Related to this is another important lesson from Gavito the philosopher and psychologist: don’t DO tango. When you watch Gavito dance, you see glorious moments of non-doing. In the brief opening sequence to the “Tango y Nada Mas” clip (the first clip below), the non-doing shines. In the second clip, “Tango Is Non-doing,” the focus is on non-doing with respect to emotional content in the dance. He gives the exact Alexander Technique formulation for achieving non-doing and arriving at genuine emotional content: awareness, connection, and acceptance. The Four Skills are the foundation of good tango because they are the foundation of all successful human action. He brings attention to his partner, to the music, to the environment. He remains connected to these. He accepts what he is, what she is, and what the music does from moment to moment.
The Alexander Technique is the Philosophy of tango because, like Gavito, it eschews philosophizing. One can speak of this or that ideal, but in the end, the Technique is about manifesting the ideal. Every gesture reveals our Love of Wisdom and Life. We can see it in how we dance, but also in how we sit in a chair. A great dancer may not be concerned with how he sits in a chair, or how he speaks to his wife, or how he deals with a stranger on the street. However, as great as his accomplishment on the dance floor may be, he is still missing something. Some of Tango’s potential has escaped him. By finding it, even magnificent dancing becomes better. For the beginner, it just makes the road to mastery more peaceful, more joyful, and even a little easier.
Video Clip 1, “Tango y Nada Mas”
Video Clip 2, "Tango Is Non-doing"