Is Tango an Addiction? - Argentine Tango debates
Many Tango dancers fancy themselves as Tango addicts. In fact, one student in her late 70s claims to be a "Tango addict" who would travel for two hours back-and-forth to be able to dance for just one hour.
There's the lawyer from London who retired from her job to shift careers as a Tango teacher, a journalist who plotted a travelogue on Argentina just so she could dance the Tango for two whole weeks, and one who contemplated canceling Christmas because it conflicted with a certain Amsterdam festival.
There is also a slew of other self-proclaimed Tango addicts who fly to Buenos Aires to immerse themselves in the home of Argentine Tango.
There are so many instances where people admit to being Tango addicts, but is Tango really an addiction?
Sue didn’t hesitate for a second to self-categorize herself as Tango Addict! And we LOVE it!
What Does Addiction Mean, and Can Tango be Classified as One?
In its literal sense, addiction has negative connotations. An addiction is a prolonged brain disease that affects both motivation and memory.
It involves having a person become dependent on a substance or behavior, particularly if it causes an obsessive or habitual craving for "reward" without any concern for the consequences.
The most notorious kind of addiction is to substances. However, there are studies that indicate that behavioral addiction is also an issue. Behavioral addiction is a new concept founded on the similarities between the symptoms, or emotions induced by substances and those caused by other activities such as gambling or exercise.
Behavioral addiction is described as an extreme need to repeat some action that is gratifying or perceived to be beneficial to one's well-being or useful for relieving pain, even with the understanding that such action may have adverse effects.
WaiLing and Gene figured out the way to dance in the rain during summer Tango in the Park. Gene designed his special umbrella so he can have both ands free and maintain the embrace he is famous for.
The following criteria can be used to classify behavioral addiction:
● As a result of the behavior or inability to stop, the individual begins to struggle with mental or physical health problems.
● Because of obsessive behavior, the individual develops problems with people who are significant to them, such as family or friends.
● The individual suffers a variety of negative consequences as a result of their continued, elevated, or persistent participation in the behavior.
● Regardless of how adversely their life is affected, the individual is unable to stop.
The inability to control urges, disinterest in other things, withdrawal in the form of moodiness, shame, denial, and deception are all common symptoms.
A theory behind behavioral addiction is that some people develop a physical dependency on the beta-endorphins being released by the brain during pleasurable experiences.
They use the "high" to either sustain a continuous euphoric feeling or to alleviate anxiety or depression. People who become addicted to their own brain chemicals will continue to engage in the behavior despite the growing social and emotional implications.
Now, can Tango addiction count as behavioral addiction? A scientific study entitled "Argentine Tango: Another behavioral addiction?" examines how Tango can be classified as a form of addiction.
One of the authors of the study, Dr. Remi Targhetta, initiated his research after observing a Tango dancer who joined the milonga each night from the sessions' start to finish, for a 10-day Tango festival. Dr. Targhetta befriended the dancer and speculated that he might have an addiction to Tango during the course of their conversations.
An interview with the dancer revealed that he ceased working at 52 years old and relocated to Argentina to learn and improve in Tango, wherein he danced daily from 11:00 PM to 4:00 AM and spent at least 2 hours preparing.
He has never contemplated reducing or stopping his dancing, and, on the contrary, he has grown to enjoy it even more. He asserted that this exercise had no disadvantages and rather, had benefits such as improved health and self-esteem.
Finally, he experienced signs similar to those seen during withdrawal, such as sadness, discomfort, and leg prickling, during the one time he missed his usual routine during a holiday week.
Dr. Targhetta concluded that the dancer's relationship with Tango could correspond to addiction and proceeded to conduct a study to prove whether or not Tango dancing could lead to addictive behavior. The research involved conducting a survey whose respondents were subscribers to a monthly magazine for Tango enthusiasts called ToutTango. There was a total of 1,129 Tango dancers who participated.
There are several established screening questionnaires for specific addictive behaviors such as gambling, the internet, exercise, bodybuilding, among others. However, none of these instruments fit with Tango dancing. As such, the authors had to build their own survey questionnaire. The survey instrument was designed based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), which measures tolerance, withdrawal, relapse, conflicts, and more, as well as Dr. Aviel Goodman's criteria of dependence. Questions regarding the experienced benefits and drawbacks of Tango dancing and a self-assessment of the extent of Tango addiction were also added.
Results of the survey indicate that the rate of Tango dependency was 45.1%, 6.9%, and 35.9%, accordingly, appertaining to the DSM-IV, Goodman's criteria, and self-rating scores. Some withdrawal symptoms were identified by a fifth of the total sample, and one-third revealed a strong craving to dance.
Positive effects were substantially higher than negative effects in both dependent and non-dependent groups. Long-term Tango dancing activity had no impact on the dependency rate or the extent of positive effects.
These findings lead to the conclusion that Tango dancing can lead to dependence in the sense that it is defined by the current diagnosis manual. Tango dependence is linked to a number of powerful and long-lasting beneficial effects (such as pleasure, self-esteem, decreased stress, improved physical health, and so on), whereas adverse effects are minimal.
This appears to be the same as what has been characterized as exercise addiction. Given that Tango, like all dances, involves physical activity, one would wonder if Tango addiction were simply a form of exercise addiction. Tango, on the other hand, cannot be reduced to a mere exercise.
Tango involves a number of distinct environmental elements such as music, dressing up, and social status. It also provides sensuality through the close embrace of partners while dancing and the prospect of embracing numerous other partners.
All of these sensations lead to a phenomenon referred to as "Tango drunkenness." Because of these elements, it appears that Tango dependency is only partly similar to exercise addiction.
Milonga at Ultimate Tango School of Dance
Why, Then, Do People Call Themselves "Tango Addicts," and What Does It Mean to Be One?
There are so many things to like about Tango, but the aspects that seem the most addicting are those that allow a person to discover more about themselves and others.
When asked about why they are addicted to Tango, self-proclaimed Tango addicts have a myriad of intriguing responses. Some answered that it was because of the interaction with the opposite sex. Another referred to Tango as his "quasi-religion" and described it as the artistic expression and freedom he needed to cope with all the order and humdrum of his daily life. One even compared Tango to fishing as a form of meditation.
However, for some Tango addicts, their dependency stems from the pursuit of the "perfect dance" — the sensation that a Tango dancer experiences when he and his partner are completely in sync with each other and with the music, even though it is the first time that they have met. It is the feeling that they are dancing as if they have been doing it together for years, yet everything is done in the spur of the moment.
The completely improvised nature of Argentine Tango is about what happens at the moment when two dancers and a musical piece are left to their devices. Each dance is something akin to an adventure and can be very thrilling when everything spontaneously falls into place.
Milonga at Ultimate Tango School of Dance
Argentine Tango is fundamentally relational and social; it emerged from a desire to make eye contact with another person, to interact physically and emotionally, to be spontaneous together, and to dance in tandem through an intimate conversation. Tango revolves entirely around the concept of relationship, despite only lasting for one tanda (which typically lasts for three or four songs of a single genre or rhythm for 10 minutes instead of 3).
Tango makes the dancer feel like he or she is the main character of an ongoing adventure, which is experienced through dance with a partner in mutual spontaneity that hinges on profound communication between bodies, an interlacing of physicality and spirituality.
When doing the Tango, dancers instantly recognize that the "perfect dance" involves equal participation. This makes Tango a difficult and complex, yet sensual dance.
Intermediate Tango class at Ultimate Tango School of Dance
A leader and a follower are often present in Tango, roles that have usually been given to men and women, respectively. Keep in mind that Tango was originally performed by men who alternated roles, so it's just about masculine and feminine forces in a personified communication — regardless of the dancers' actual sex.
Being the leader involves initiating the dance, choreographing the steps, paying attention to avoid colliding with other dancers, and above all, through his embrace, express an invitation to the follower to move with him. Aside from this, the leader also has to be aware of how the step looks from the follower’s perspective, so he can allow enough space for his partner to dance.
The road to becoming a good leader is a daunting challenge. He is expected to have a gentle touch but a commanding presence. When dancing, his thinking, and planning need to be slightly ahead of the beat in order to lead his partner in sync to the beat, then follow her into the next step.
Being a good follower also involves several elements. She must be responsive to the leader's invitation since he initiates the movement. Her movements are in accordance with his, and she does not move ahead with a step until she is led into it by her partner.
In order to achieve this, both the leader and the follower need to maintain physical consciousness and sensitivity. In this manner, Tango involves the delicate communication of shared trust through the embrace, which essentially shifts the center of focus from two people to just one being — the couple.
The focal point of Tango is the chemistry between dancers and how they move as one. To achieve this, both dancers must constantly trust each other in sharing and balancing each other's weight. This physical and spiritual link makes the partnership secure and assured. This makes their connection something akin to a relationship.
Milonga with Joaquin Amenabar at Ultimate Tango School of Dance
Similar to what happens in real-life relationships, Tango is centered on the communication of profound feelings and emotions as well as the openness of both dancers to those connections. This bodily contact and interaction can result in motion that is sweet, ardent, smooth, mellifluous, or otherwise. Like any serious relationship, Tango needs a person's dedication — to their partner, to self-improvement, and to the dance — and their level of dedication has an impact on the experience's quality.
Indeed, being able to move as a singular entity requires both partners to cooperate continuously in the physical and emotional sense. The leader is both a leader and a follower. The follower is both a follower and a leader.
Dancing gracefully requires harmony not only between the leader and follower or between the masculine and feminine manifestations of both partners but also between their physicality and emotions. This kind of reciprocity-based movement produces a seamless, dynamic loop of contact, interaction, and attachment.
Tango is like the next level of communication — it embodies the interaction between sexuality and emotions, a delicate agreement between oneself and another.
Tango teaches the dancer to use every muscle in their body to experience the present. It teaches them how to be graceful, how to welcome others in their physical bubble, and how to let go and be present in the moment. And the best part is that they're not alone in having the experience; they're sharing it with others.
Tango Musicality Workshop at Ultimate Tango School of Dance
Are You a Tango Addict?
Tango is literally addictive, according to recent scientific reports. These studies indicated that Tango could be categorized as an addiction according to numerous psychiatric guidelines.
This addiction is correlated to several long-term positive effects, with few negative effects. The chase for the "perfect dance" is what drives some self-proclaimed Tango addicts.
Tango dancers experience the "perfect dance" when both partners are fully in tune with each other, along with the music, despite the fact it might be their first meeting. Dancing Tango feels like a thrilling adventure whenever everything spontaneously comes together.