Tango

"Life can be lived in a minute." Al Pacino, "Scent of a Woman".

If you saw the 1992 film "Scent of a Woman", with its stirring tango sequence, in which Al Pacino, as blind irascible Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, dances with beautiful stranger Donna (Gabrielle Anwar), the singular and dangerous beauty of this dance form will have entranced you.

The tango is a world-renowned and highly fashionable dance now but it has its roots in the poverty and human misery of late 18th and early 19th century Argentina. There tango was primarily danced by individuals of poor backgrounds who had migrated to Argentina for economic purposes, leaving their families behind.

Drawn together from many quarters, separated from partners and loved ones, despised by the rich and fuelled by loneliness, these immigrants forged new links through tango, a dance which evolved from human longing and reflects and expresses that yearning in the dancer.

And now, at this historic time when Ireland is opening its doors to immigrants, Kerry has its first resident tango practitioner, who is herself an Argentinian native. Her name is Cristina Aguilera. Sharing the same romantic nature as the (slightly!) more famous Ms Aguilera, Cristina came to live in Ireland 4 years ago. She is married to a Cork man and they live in Tralee with their young daughter.

Cristina is from a city called Tartagal in the north of Argentina and she likens the landscape there to a 'tropical' Killarney. Inspired by the region's very beautiful tropical landscape Cristina’s people are naturally creative and the area has produced many artists, musicians and dancers.

Tango is danced in Argentina by young and old alike and when Cristina was a teenager she took up formal tango lessons at a dance academy in Buenos Aires so that she could dazzle on the dance floors at the Tartagal discos.

Cristina also has the equivalent of a Masters Degree in Psychology and has worked as a clinical psychologist in Argentina. This life experience gives her a knowledge of and appreciation for the subtleties and undercurrents of human emotions. All these talents she brings to bear in her dance instruction.

"As well as tango and Argentinian folk dance I also studied biodance, a therapeutic dance form devised by Chilean psychiatrist and anthropologist Rolando Toro. Biodance uses aspects of contemporary dance, Tai Chi Chuan and Yoga to develop the dancer's affectiveness and creativity."

When Cristina gives her tango workshops she offers much more than simple instruction of steps. "I start by giving a short description of the cultural conditions that gave birth to tango and then I use creative exercises to increase the students' understanding of the meaning of the dance and get them in the tango "mood". Then the steps are taught. In this way the student has an experience of tango which stimulates them physically, mentally and emotionally and which they find very enjoyable."

In 21st century Buenos Aires tango is once again a focal point for the city's immigrants. This is also the case in the UK, where tango groups have sprung up in many regions, with a cluster in London, Manchester, Devon and Edinburgh. It is very likely that tango will prove to be equally popular in the new Ireland.

As Cristina explains, "tango goes beyond linguistic barriers and connects two people emotionally as well as physically in the embrace. An embrace of loneliness and hope, passion and abandon, love and sadness, seduction, romance, elegance and pride, betrayal and bravery, sensitivity and drama - that's what tango is."

Cristina has given tango workshops in Tralee through the KES and for the Samhlaiocht's Easter Arts Festival. Now she is joining forces with Lorna Tyther, Egyptian dancer, to offer tango classes this summer at The Phoenix, Lorna's restaurant in Castlemaine near Tralee, which is newly renovated to incorporate an artistic and cultural centre.

By the way, according to "Good Housekeeping", scientists have discovered that dancing - in particular the tango – can significantly reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's. The mental and physical multi-tasking needed for all that fancy footwork is claimed to help maintain a robust hippocampus - the part of the brain that controls memory.

And, if you still need convincing, just get your hands on a copy of Scent of a Woman and fast-forward to the afore-mentioned tango scene. Like I said, it's stirring stuff.

Cristina Aguilera can be contacted on 066 7118977. Lorna Tyther can be contacted at the Phoenix Restaurant, Boolteens, Castlemaine on 066 9766284 or e-mail phoenixtyther@hotmail.com

And for those of you that prefer a little Cha Cha Cha or Salsa then get on down to Banna Beach on Sunday May 27th for a fun filled, absolutely free Salsa beach Party that starts at 3:00 p.m. sharp. Attendees should dress all in white and bring a little food to enjoy with the free music, free games and raffle tickets. For more information please call Linda on 086 400 9916