Tango i kroppen; Hvordan danse- og bevegelsesterapeutiske metoder kan styrke selvfølelsen til tangodansere

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, social mixing was generally restricted based on the Corona Pandemic Infection Control Provisions. As a result, those of us who dance Argentinian tango were not allowed to practise together.

A survey carried out among members of the Oslo Tango Queer (OTQ) club in Oslo found that people missed tango, felt tango withering in their bodies, and believed that their dancing skills were about to disappear.

The survey also documented a sense of despair and loss of self-esteem. Practising dance movement therapy (DMT) recalled the feeling of tango in my body, thus strengthening my self-understanding as a tango dancer and my self-esteem. Therefore, I put together a collection of practical DMT exercises and invited the members of OTQ to participate in a pilot group. In addition to recreating a sense of (tango) community, the purpose was to support individuals’ positive feelings of themselves as tango dancers and strengthen their self-esteem.

Nine dancers participated. Four DMT sessions lasting one and a half hours were carried out; these included exercises performed individually, in couples and in groups. All the exercises were conducted following anti-COVID-19 regulations, that is, without physical contact and using face masks when necessary.

The DMT exercises had an effect on the individuals’ subjective experiences. Feedback from the participants highlighted that exercises involving grounding, training of body movements and possibilities, mirroring, and playing out an imaginary dance embrace recreated the feeling of tango in their bodies.