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The Puzzle of the Tall Tower
BOOK I of
Dance Into Unity Through the Heart of Tango
Our storybook and basis for our production "Tango Adamor"
Community Outreach
Enriching Communities of Los Angeles
Bringing communities together through educational workshops in dance and fine arts.
Dance Into Unity Academy
Where art is bound with purpose.
Youth education in ballet & fine arts is aimed to harness qualities needed for "friends" of youth with autism.
Adams Ranch
A place of connection
Creating a place of connection for diverse youth in nurturing nature settings.
Adam's Ranch
Adam's Ranch initiative was introduced by Dance Into Unity in 2006 when we joined with another non-profit "Adam's Fund for Autism" to raise autism awareness through the arts.
Our first dance production " El Corazon del Tango " was the result, which attracted over 2,000 people who learned about autism and our vision of Adam's Ranch to create a place where individuals with autism could grow to reach their highest potential.
Well-known actor Craig Sheffer ( A River Runs Through It, One Tree Hill, etc...) joined the initiative in 2007 narrating this heart-felt video which describes our vision of Adam's Ranch.
Book One of
Dance Into Unity through the Heart of Tango
written by DIU founders Svetlana David and Elena Alexandra, illustrated by Masha Vasilkovsky
A note from the authors:
Adam was a long awaited child. After his birth he was developing nicely and it was a joy for his family to watch him grow. But something happened when he turned one and a half years old. He started to act strange, become withdrawn and shortly after shut off completely. At the age of two he was diagnosed with autism, a neurological communication disorder that has reached an epidemic proportion and according to the ortodox medical profession has no cure.
The devastation that this disease brought to Adam's family and many other families prompted us to look for available alternative medical options, one of which was Homeopathy, which is based on the Law of Similars and states that every disease in its essence has its own cure. But in order to find the cure you must first find the key to the essence.
"What is the key to the essence of autism?" was our question. This question drove us to write this book where we embarked on a journey together with the characters Truth and Light who entered the Snake Land in order to resolve the mystery of their growing dark place. And it was the character Disconnect (inspired by Adam) who provided them with the key, which helped Light and Truth to unlock the mystery of the dark place and solve the Puzzle of the Tall Tower.
Where Education in Arts is Bound with Purpose
“ The goal of our Academy is to educate diverse youth in ballet, and other arts in order to harness qualities, which will enable the student to connect with autistic individual as a "Friend" .
”
The idea of this academy came after we witnessed the miracle of the true connection (1:1) between severely autistic child and his friend/caretaker. Our idea of the Academy was shaped in steps:
Step 1. Adam's Ranch
Step 2. Accident and the First Friend
Step 3. Match A Friend
Step 4. Dance Into Unity Academy
Adam's Ranch (link)Initiative was introduced by Dance Into Unity in 2006. We invisioned the place in the nature setting for individuals with autism. Since 2006 DIU work closely with Adam, a child with severe case of autism complicated by seizures .
Accident & First Friend (link). In September 2010 Adam had an accident - during one of his seizures he broke his front teeth. Family was devastated and Dance Into Unity” responded by creating 24/7 care team in Adam's Home. From September 2010 till September 2011 we were able to care and define needs of an individual who requires most attention. It turned out to be the most valuable experience!
Other than constant basic care, we found a friend to Adam, a 22 year-old Special Ed student, just a couple of years older than Adam. It turned out that this connection created a miracle not only for Adam, but also for his new friend Cole. Adam, who was so withdrawn most of the time started to not only crave connection, but demand it, and Cole grew as an individual gaining self-esteem and maturity.
Match A Friend (link). When Cole left it was very difficult to find another friend for Adam, and we decided create a place where we would teach youth the art of connection through sensory related activities.
Dance Into Unity Academy. A place where Dance Into Unity's team of professionals will educate diverse youth in ballet, and other art disciplines in order to harness qualities, which will enable the student to connect with autistic individual as a "Friend"
DIU is planning a number of fundraising events to start the pogram. On April 21-22, 2012 DIU will have its first Charity Ball "Through the Heart of Tango" in Los Angeles. The proceeds will be used to launch "Dance Into Unity Academy" .
Magic of Tango
Enriching Communities: Argentine Tango classes for adults to improve health and quality of life.
As a part of our mission to enrich the community by introducing top level arts and education programs, DIU in association with the non-profit Unity in Diversity Arts Foundation offered the program "Magic of Tango" in West Hollywood where Elena Alexandra created a series of workshops (lectures, exhibitions, lectures, articles) for adults to improve health and quality of life. The program started in May 2009.
In this video Elena welcomes 79 year-old guest teacher Howard Barsky who shares his 12 years of experience dancing Argentine Tango with the group. "Tango gave me health, tango gave me life," Howard said.
Click here to see collection of articles about Tango created by DIU for Magic of Tango workshops.
Elena Alexandra (DIU co-founder) welcomes 79 year-old tango dancer Howard Barsky as guest teacher at the "Magic of Tango" workshop in West Hollywood.
Articles about Tango
The Benefits of Argentine Tango
The music of tango not only puts happiness into
your heart it also awakens your mind and body.
Argentine Tango is not only a form of creative espression, but according to latest studies offers sound health benefits for all ages.
WHAT DOCTORS SAY
According to studies made in Washington University (EUA), to dance the tango improves balance more than other exercises. The Argentinean doctor Roberto Piedro, pioneer researcher of the therapeutic benefits and applications of tango, put emphasis on the fact that rhythms of Tango require a lot of coordination, it is precisely for this reason that enormous benefits are produced in patients with Parkinsons disease. For people with Alzheimers disease Tango Therapy is very helpful as it requires coordination and memory to learn steps.
The director of Life Center of Favaloro (Rene Favaloro is a Pioneer of Coronary Bypass Surgery) Foundation Institute of Cardiology made his first research about tango and health with sedentary people and those with cardiac diseases. The conclusion was that to dance tango for half an hour every day improves the aerobic capacity of the human being.
Dr. Piedro emphasizes that tango is more beneficial than other traditional exercises and dances because they do not improve the coordination the same way as tango does.
But tango is not only better for the body, it is also good for the mind and spirit! Federico Trossero, psychiatrist, MD and author of the book Tango Terapia suggests and utilizes tango workshops as a treatment for depression, social phobias and also schizophrenia. Dr. Trossero started to investigate the clinical application of tango when he noticed that his friends headaches disappeared after they danced tango.Tango itself is a therapy.
HOW IT WORKS
It works by dancing steps that help your balance, equilibrium, memory, posture, synchronization, and much more. The man leads the woman (though men may dance with men, and women can dance with women). By dancing the steps we are putting our energy into motion, by dancing with our partner we are living, feeling, and creating harmony with each other. Tango works by our connection with life, with ourselves, our partner and the whole community.
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM ARGENTINE TANGO
ll types of people can reap the benefits of this Argentinean dance. Those people who suffer with depression, fatigue, headaches and other psychosomatic diseases that stop us from really expressing ourselves. People with Parkinsons and Alzheimers as well as those with various mental health problems. People who live alone, married couples, business executives and people who want to simply live in resonance with what makes them feel good. Those who love music and those who think thay cant dance, because we will teach you!
Tango Styles
Tango can be danced in a variety of styles and accompanied by different types of music. These styles vary in tempo and fundamental movements. Most modern dancers do not allow themselves to be pigeonholed into a particular style and incorporate various styles and ideas into their movements. Some are even unhappy when their are told what particular style of tango they dance. But at the end, it is as easy (or complicated) to see a particular style as it is to tell the difference between an impressionist painting and a modernist one.
Different styles of Tango
Tango Argentino Tango Oriental (uruguayo)
Tango Canyengue
Tango Liso
Tango Salon
Tango Orillero
Tango Milonguero (Tango Apilado)
Tango Nuevo (New Tango)
Show Tango (also known as Fantasia)
Ballroom Tango
Finnish Tango
These are danced to several types of music
Tango
Vals (the tango version of waltz)
Milonga (a related dance that usually has a faster tempo)
Tango Electronico
"Alternative Tango," i.e. non-tango music appropriated for use in the dance
The "Milonguero" style is typically danced with a slightly leaning posture that typically joins at the shoulders of the dancers. In most cases the style is danced in a close embrace. Usually the woman's head and body is so close to her partner that her left hand is placed far behind her partner's neck. The couple maintains a constant upper body contact and often doesn't loosen their embrace to accommodate turns or ochos. An ocho cortado is a fundamental dance step in the style incorporating all the factors in one move.
Tango Salon - the rules of tango Salon are based on the fact that people don't have much room to move as happens in the crowded Tango Salons of Buenos Aires. The partners must constantly hold each other by means of the embrace (open or close) and all movements usually performed within the space allowed by the couples embrace - leader or follower may not raise his or her legs above the knee line. Couples must move counterclockwise and avoid remaining in the same place for more than two musical measures.
Tango Orillero originated in a setting where dancers had a lot of room to maneuver and thus were able to maintain a further distance from their partners th us allowing both dancers to make other steps outside the embrace. Orillero style differs from salon style tango because of these playful, space-consuming embellishments and figures. The style can be danced in both open and close embraces
Show tango ( aka Fantasia) The complex figures of the above style became the basis for a theatrical performance style of Tango seen in the touring stage shows. For stage purposes, the embrace is often very open, and the complex footwork is augmented with gymnastic lifts, kicks, and drops
Tango Nuevo A newer style sometimes called "Tango Nuevo" or "New Tango" has been popularized in recent years by a younger generation of dancers. The embrace is often quite open and very elastic, permitting the leader to lead a large variety of very complex figures. This style is often associated with those who enjoy dancing to jazz- and techno-tinged "alternative Tango" music, in addition to traditional Tango compositions.
Ballroom tango is a ballroom dance that branched away from its original Argentine roots by allowing European, American, Hollywood, and competitive (a.k.a dancesport) influences into the style and execution of the dance. The present day ballroom tango is divided into two disciplines: American Style and International Style. Both styles are enjoyed as social and competitive dances, but the International version is more globally accepted as a competitive style. Both styles share a closed dance position, but the American style allows its practitioners to separate from closed position to execute open moves, like underarm turns, alternate hand holds, dancing apart, and side-by-side choreography.
Tango Canyengue is a rhythmic style of tango that originated in the early 1900s and is still popular today. It is one of the original roots styles of tango and contains all fundamental elements of traditional Argentine Tango. The embrace is close and in an offset V, the dancers typically have bent knees as they move, and the woman does not cross. Canyengue dancers are known to use exaggerated body movements to accent their steps Its main characteristics are its musicality and playfulness. Its rhythm is described as "incisive, exciting, provocative".
Finnish Tango spread from the dominant urban dance form to become hugely popular across Finland in the 50s after the wars. The melancholy tone of the music reflects the themes of Finnish folk poetry; Finnish tango is almost always in a minor key. The tango is danced in very close full upper body contact in a wide and strong frame, and features smooth horizontal movements that are very strong and determined. Dancers are very low, allowing long steps without any up and down movement. Forward steps land heel first, and in backward steps dancers push from the heel. In basic steps, the passing leg moves quickly to rest for a moment close to the grounded leg. Each year the Tangomarkkinat, or tango festival, draws over 100,000 tangophiles to the central Finnish town of Seinäjoki, which also hosts the Tango Museum
Tango Styles (Canyengue) - Interview & Exhibition by Robert Schafer & Vivian Wong
Balance & Partnership in Tango
by Elena Alexandra
Balance is a harmony between elements, it is unity in diversity and it is always a beautiful experience when we are able to observe, express and share this with each other.
We look for balance in colors that we see, in the music that we hear, in the flavors we taste, in the activities that we do, in the places that we visit, and of course in the people with whom we spend time. This becomes especially important and evident between two people on the dance floor.
Balance is essential in the partnership between man and woman, or leader and follower in the dance. Mutual feeling of rhythm, support of each other, balance between strength and softness, structure with mobility, movement and stillness - these are all key to the success of a partnership.
Each partners balance affects the other . Each partner has to reach a level of balance within themselves in their own strength, stability, openness, focus, desire, determination and overall feeling of the dance in order to reach this balance on the next level with each other.
We can see a real life example of this in the partnership between actor Robert Duvall and his partner Luciana Pedraza. Robert emits a strong, direct, fiery, active type of energy which is balanced by the beautiful stillness, grace and stability of his partner. She has the freshness of youth, yet deep maturity of character. He has a boyish aspect in his persona matched by a lifetime of experience in the world. The two balance each other in the dance and in life.
Here are some interesting facts about the famous actor, his partner Luciana, and their meeting.
> Veteran acto rRobert Duvall born in 1931
> Started his career off-Broadway in NYC, in the 1950s with veteran actors such as Dustin Hoffman, Jene Hackman and James Caan, has starred in over 80 films.
> To Kill a Mockingbird first important role
> The Godfather I & II lead roles
> 6 oscar nominations, 1 oscar win for Apocalypse Now
> Luciana Pedraza, his 7-year companion approached him on a street, outside of a bakery, in Buenos Aires
> Robert and Luciana born on the same day, January 5th, 4 decades apart
Duvalls last three marriages ended in divorce. Why? I dont know, you dont connect, he says. You withdraw. You dont connect. You try to make things work. Sometimes, they dont.
Reference for section above: source # 1
"It was on a deserted street on a Saturday when they closed all the businesses down," Duvall says. "The flower shop was closed. Had it been open, I never would have met her. I went down the street to a wonderful little bakery and bought some sweets for a gathering I was going to that night. I had my back to her and she approached me."
Pedraza, who grew up in Northern Argentina, did not know American films at all, and did not recognize the famous actor. Still, the couple soon bonded over their love for music.
Interestingly, Pedraza had never danced or acted before. For her part in Assassination Tango (2003), she trained in every way she could to become a professional tango dancer, as well as a tango teacher, which she plays in the film.
Duvall says that he learned a great deal from simply watching the way the old tango guys walked. "They walk the tango," he says.
"My style tends to be elegant and relaxed. But the main thing is that it's a social dance. You're not out to prove anything. It's simple and you take your time."
Reference for section above: source # 2
Luciana Pedraza (born January 5, 1972) is an Argentine of Italian descent and is currently married to Robert Duvall.
Born in the Argentine Northwest she was the oldest of five girls. After graduating from the University of Buenos Aires with an MBA and minor in English she became the marketing director of W. & Associates. In 1997, while strolling down the street, she approached Duvall to invite him to a party without knowing who he was. They share the same birthday 41 years apart.
Pedraza wrote and directed the short documentary Portrait of Billy Joe (2004), and had an important role in the 2002 film Assassination Tango, written, directed and starring Duvall. Even though she grew up in Argentina she was a foreigner, Duvall introduced her to tango.
Reference for section above: source # 3
Sources:
(1) September 8 , 2004 CBS News correspondent Rebecca Leung writes article based on Charlie Rose interview; (2) Combustible Celluloid Interviews by Jeffrey M. Anderson on March 31, 2003; (3) wikipedia.org/wiki/Luciana_Pedraza; (4) Elena Alexandra
Hold Me...
Our desire for true connections
Opening up is opening to an exchange of energy, of qualities between ourselves and our dance partner, our friend, our work partner, our parent or child, our life partner this is all a dance.
You give and you receive and each person becomes richer for it, there is an incredibly positive, exciting exchange of energy that happens on the dance floor whether its at a milonga, or another place in our life each person learns something from the other, perhaps just opening up what they already knew within themselves through the other.
This is what it really means to connect - to connect with another in a true way means to connect with yourself in a true way, a deeper way to get to know yourself more, on a new level. So your partner in anything- is your mirror to your own relationship with yourself it is you.
Movement & Change
Often times we are naturally ready to move on, and to experience another, new level of ourselves, to grow and develop further as a dancer, as a person
And often times this means connecting with a new dance partner, friend, group, place, etc... It marks a new stage in our life, it is our growth, a natural part of who we are, our evolution as a person.
Often times these changes take us to a new level, where we can experience a deeper and more rewarding connection with others and within ourselves through the dance.
Two to Tango
In the process of our growth, just as on the dance floor, we come together and move apart.
There are moments when we feel the exhilaration of being so close with our partner that were walking on air...
And there are moments when we feel a distance...and we need to take a moment, create some space, and reflect on what we feel.
No matter what we think at those times, our partnership is always a mutual benefit for all involved it is the nature of the dance of our lives.
Hold Me
Our guest from "Magic of Tango" told us this story:
"In Buenos Aires, I took private lessons with a gentlemen who kept repeating 'hold me...hold me...'. He just kept repeating those two words. Eventually I started to feel what he was talking about. And what he was saying was 'embrace me, connect with me...'
Sometimes in our day to day world we are next to people, we talk to people, but we dont really connect to them. And even in dancing you can go into an automatic mode where you just stepping, but if you actually grab hold of someone and you hold them and you let them to feel like you feel all of a sudden they relax and they breathe in with you and then you feel that you move together and you breathe together that's when you're dancing together, and not just stepping.
You are with someone in a momentThe expression is '4 legs one heart' .The more you open your heart, the more you receive in return."
Timeless Tango
Beyond Age ...
Perhaps tango is the secret doorway into another world, beyond time... beyond age .
Tango may be the one dance where you will see a 26-year old dancing next to a 96-year old especially in Argentina - and it is the 96-year old that may steal your attention on the dance floor as the better dancer!
In a world where everything is boxed in, categorized and evaluated according to statistics, logistics and familiar standards, where there is not much room to bend or step outside of the solid parameters of what we experience as real, it is a breath of fresh air - perhaps the first breath of life, to experience the joy of a fluid, flowing, borderless sensation where you lose track of time because you are for the first time truly moving, truly living in the moment.
Your body, mind and soul all awake and align to this joyful experience that takes you beyond the usual confines of your life almost without notice. You come alive. You wake up. You experience life filling all parts of your being [the entire you] and it is at this moment that you go beyond age, because it does not exist in this experience .
This is the world of the Argentine Tango.
In fact, the very roots of Argentine tango began in a world where people were looking to enter a world beyond the one they were living in to go beyond their existence. Displaced, poverty stricken European immigrants many of who fled to avoid the devastation of war - found their new home in Argentina, where they sought a way to connect, to feel warmth, nourishment, to find their identity, to feed their soul and it is in this dance called the tango that they found the fulfillment of this desire.
Their soul came alive, and this is where they found life. It took them beyond the poverty, loneliness, and harsh living standards of the physical world they found themselves living in.
And so this eternal fire lives on , in and through the tango today, and anyone ready to experience it enters a world beyond the confines of their own a world beyond the limitations, boundaries, and parameters of our accepted reality - a world beyond what we know as possible.
Carmencita Calderón, a dancer in Buenos Aires, continued to dance well into her old age. Here's a video of her rocking the tango on her 96th birthday . José Gobello defined her as follows: "You are the girl without age / a dancer of highest rank, / you are eternal like the tango that drives you in its soft beat."
Feeling the Lead
Thoughts after "Magic of Tango" class with Howard Barsky
When Howard returned for a class with us on September 5th, he stressed the importance of “feeling the lead” – not only for the followers, but for the leaders as well.
Howard led us through an exercise (see video on youtube) where we all took part in being leaders and followers. Half of our group closed our eyes and held out our hands waiting to be approached and met by the hand of our leading partners. Those of us in this follower role allowed ourselves to be guided by our leaders around the room – backwards and forwards, side to side, in and out of cross steps (cruzadas), rocking back and forth, and moving in and out of figure eights which we drew with our feet on the dance floor (“ochos”).
Ultimately, we let ourselves go and trusted ourselves to be guided by our leading partner, we opened up to listen to the signals, the subtleties, and the hints of a language based entirely on the connection between people. Those of us in the leader role, relied on the subtle feedback from those we were guiding to help direct and initiate our own movement.
Eventually it becomes apparent that the leader followed as well as led, and the follower led as well as followed… leading and following became one. In order to do one, we needed to do the other.
To learn this dance is to learn to connect…
… to listen
… to hear
… to open up
… to receive from another
… to respond… reflecting back our connection
To learn the Argentine Tango is to experience a most subtle, almost invisible, non-verbal language, that is a most powerful thread of connection between us all. Tango is the ultimate art of conversation… and the bridge to an amazing feeling that can only come from speaking the same language. And this is where we begin to express the true beauty of the dance.
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