DON'T GET TOO CLOSE

How did the Greek scholar Archimedes crack the scientific problem of determining an irregular object's volume? He didn't do it through countless hours in a laborabory, analyzing data, or by consulting with experts in the field. 

As the story goes, he came across it while taking a bath, when he happened to notice the water level in the tub rise as he started sitting in it. From there, he figured out that the volume of water being displaced was equal to the volume of the corresponding body part being submerged.

In other words, a major scientific discovery was made when the scientist happened to be taking a break.

We love tango, and we work hard to improve our technique and the steps we're struggling to learn. And more often than not, the only time we think to relax is when our legs and feet get too sore. But physical rest alone isn't enough when we've been dancing for hours on end, night after night. 

We also need mental rest. Being too close to the dance, spending too much time with it, hinders improvement. Trying to improve your tango with a burnt-out brain is about as smart as dancing while drunk.

So step off the dance floor every once in a while. Have a nice bath. When you take the time to stop looking for answers, you give the answers time to come looking for you. 

THINKING vs LEARNING

Classes are for learning. Prácticas are for thinking.

If we're having trouble progressing, maybe it's because we're focusing too hard on one element and not the other. For most of us, we're often fixated on taking classes, or learning. Although receiving instruction is important, our teachers aren't encouraging us to also go to prácticas and milongas just for the sake of plugging their events. 

Prácticas are where we focus on thinking, as opposed to learning.

A práctica is a good place to pick apart what we've gone over in class, to experiment and see if there are multiple ways to do a figure. For example, can we do a certain step in close embrace? Or can we do it while turning in the opposite direction? Give it a shot. Maybe it'll work. Maybe it won't. Or, maybe we'll discover a new step by accident.

An environment geared towards thinking isn't as structured or organized as a learning one. It goes against the "sit-still-and-do-as-you're told" mindset that years of schooling and work have ingrained in us, and can appear chaotic and scary in comparison.

But the process of getting better at tango, or achieving any kind of success in life for that matter, rarely follows a linear, orderly path.