| “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” –Proust |
NOTES
1. “Before I studied the art, a punch to me was just a punch, a kick was just a kick. After I’d studied the
art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick no longer a kick. Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a
punch, a kick is just a kick.” Bruce Lee, Tao of Jeet Kune Do
2. The reader is strongly encouraged to compare these distinctions and their accompanying inquiries with
Thich Nhat Hanh’s discussion of non-duality in The Art of Flower Arranging, a key source inspiration for
this essay. This talk (available on CD) is an excellent guide for tango and for life. Most of Thich Nhat
Hanh's writing is useful for tango dancers, and it remains a strong influence on the way I teach the Tango
Principle.
1. “Before I studied the art, a punch to me was just a punch, a kick was just a kick. After I’d studied the
art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick no longer a kick. Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a
punch, a kick is just a kick.” Bruce Lee, Tao of Jeet Kune Do
2. The reader is strongly encouraged to compare these distinctions and their accompanying inquiries with
Thich Nhat Hanh’s discussion of non-duality in The Art of Flower Arranging, a key source inspiration for
this essay. This talk (available on CD) is an excellent guide for tango and for life. Most of Thich Nhat
Hanh's writing is useful for tango dancers, and it remains a strong influence on the way I teach the Tango
Principle.
| Beginner's Mind Tango |
| Dangerous Dualities: Overcoming Two to Tango |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| By Nickolas Knightly |
It takes a beginner’s mind to dance tango well, because a beginner’s mind is the mind that allows for
beginner’s luck. All great art and science comes from lucky accidents, and the highest artistry in tango
flows as if each step were a matter of impossible luck. We sometimes call this inspiration. The Nobel
Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney gives us a good insight into tango with the following:
beginner’s luck. All great art and science comes from lucky accidents, and the highest artistry in tango
flows as if each step were a matter of impossible luck. We sometimes call this inspiration. The Nobel
Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney gives us a good insight into tango with the following:
A poem always has elements of accident about it, which can be made the subject of inquest
afterwards, but there is always a risk in conducting your own inquest: you might begin to believe
in the coroner in yourself rather than put your trust in the man in you who is capable of the
accident.
afterwards, but there is always a risk in conducting your own inquest: you might begin to believe
in the coroner in yourself rather than put your trust in the man in you who is capable of the
accident.
The coroner in you will continually try to assert itself. Every attempt to overanalyze, every hesitation,
every time you second guess yourself, you are conducting an inquest on the dance. And remember: an
inquest is conducted on a dead thing. The coroner in you will only kill the dance–unless we redirect his
attention. Because there is a relevant place for inquest.
every time you second guess yourself, you are conducting an inquest on the dance. And remember: an
inquest is conducted on a dead thing. The coroner in you will only kill the dance–unless we redirect his
attention. Because there is a relevant place for inquest.
Before you study tango, walking is just walking, and an embrace is just an embrace. Once you begin to
study tango, you see that walking is much more than walking, and an embrace is much more than an
embrace. After you begin to master the tango, you come to realize that walking is just walking, and an
embrace is just an embrace.(1) What does this mean? The final step is the beginner’s mind. The
beginner's mind is our real intelligence, our ability to move naturally and gracefully, our ability to
improvise and respond creatively to music and to life. This is not a special way of being, but the way we
are designed to be. Unfortunately, we cover it over with habits, ideas, analyses, fears, hesitations,
assumptions, and more. That is why we need the second step, the inquest. Here is where we direct the
attention of the coroner in us. We perform our inquest as we kill every little thing that gets in the way of a
beginner’s mind. We eliminate all of the unconscious habits and ideas, all the fears and desires we have
that interfere with our natural grace and stability. Then, nothing is left but a series of accidents. We have
our beginner’s mind, and the dance is pure poetry. You find yourself just moving to the music, falling
gracefully and rhythmically with each step. You no longer dance the dance. Instead, the dance dances you,
in every moment of your life. This is possible for every student, because the beginner’s mind is your
mind. We are built to dance the tango. All it takes is a little time and gentle effort.
study tango, you see that walking is much more than walking, and an embrace is much more than an
embrace. After you begin to master the tango, you come to realize that walking is just walking, and an
embrace is just an embrace.(1) What does this mean? The final step is the beginner’s mind. The
beginner's mind is our real intelligence, our ability to move naturally and gracefully, our ability to
improvise and respond creatively to music and to life. This is not a special way of being, but the way we
are designed to be. Unfortunately, we cover it over with habits, ideas, analyses, fears, hesitations,
assumptions, and more. That is why we need the second step, the inquest. Here is where we direct the
attention of the coroner in us. We perform our inquest as we kill every little thing that gets in the way of a
beginner’s mind. We eliminate all of the unconscious habits and ideas, all the fears and desires we have
that interfere with our natural grace and stability. Then, nothing is left but a series of accidents. We have
our beginner’s mind, and the dance is pure poetry. You find yourself just moving to the music, falling
gracefully and rhythmically with each step. You no longer dance the dance. Instead, the dance dances you,
in every moment of your life. This is possible for every student, because the beginner’s mind is your
mind. We are built to dance the tango. All it takes is a little time and gentle effort.
Be forewarned: this process takes patience. You cannot get rid of all of your habits, tensions,
imbalances, misconceptions, and bad postures in five minutes. It takes time and gentle effort. You will be
tempted to try to just learn steps, and to ignore the dance. But that is your misguided coroner talking.
Instead of steps you need a place from which to step, a solid foundation of inner balance and stability.
From such a place of poise, the steps come all by themselves. It takes patience and care to lay the
foundation, but without it the structure is never truly secure. Once the foundation is in place, things move
more and more smoothly every day, and the dance enters all of our actions.
imbalances, misconceptions, and bad postures in five minutes. It takes time and gentle effort. You will be
tempted to try to just learn steps, and to ignore the dance. But that is your misguided coroner talking.
Instead of steps you need a place from which to step, a solid foundation of inner balance and stability.
From such a place of poise, the steps come all by themselves. It takes patience and care to lay the
foundation, but without it the structure is never truly secure. Once the foundation is in place, things move
more and more smoothly every day, and the dance enters all of our actions.
In order to dance with a beginner’s mind, we must come to terms with our mental static. We do many
things that get in the way of having fun and moving gracefully. In this chapter we will consider a series of
common mental roadblocks that we usually establish unconsciously. These roadblocks are made of
dichotomies we hold, not just conceptually, but psycho-physically, in a way that has practical effects on
our ability to dance. There are five of these dualistic roadblocks we set up: the dualism between dancer
and non-dancer, the dualism between dancing and not dancing, the dualism between music and non-music,
the dualism between leader and follower, and the dualism between dancer and dance.(2) Over the next
few pages we will examine and question these distinctions. In doing so we will learn how overcoming
them allows us to live more in harmony with the spirit of art, and this will manifest not only in our dancing,
but in our daily life as well.
things that get in the way of having fun and moving gracefully. In this chapter we will consider a series of
common mental roadblocks that we usually establish unconsciously. These roadblocks are made of
dichotomies we hold, not just conceptually, but psycho-physically, in a way that has practical effects on
our ability to dance. There are five of these dualistic roadblocks we set up: the dualism between dancer
and non-dancer, the dualism between dancing and not dancing, the dualism between music and non-music,
the dualism between leader and follower, and the dualism between dancer and dance.(2) Over the next
few pages we will examine and question these distinctions. In doing so we will learn how overcoming
them allows us to live more in harmony with the spirit of art, and this will manifest not only in our dancing,
but in our daily life as well.
| Nickolas Knightly Alexander Technique, Argentine Tango, and Sutainability Resources Based in San Francisco, CA and serving the Bay Area and beyond. |