探戈与整体观念（INTEGRITY）

我们跳探戈的方式反映了我们是谁。我们是一个强国。我们习惯于弱小国家听我们的，而不是我们听他们的。我们习惯于我行我素，按自己的意愿行事，而不管他人的想法和价值观。我们不顾其他国家的主权，以自由的名义发动战争，推翻我们不喜欢的政府，侵犯别人对自己的创作——如阿根廷探戈——的 权利，并按我们的意志毫无敬意地对待它。我们的政治家只维护他们所代表的特殊集团的利益而不尽其职地平衡所有人的利益。“按我说的做，否则没门！”是他们 在华盛顿及国境内外的任何地方做事的方式。我们已经失去了当我们是小弱穷国时曾有过的伟大，宽宏和谦逊的气度，而成为一个自以为是，固执己见，不顾别人， 有失偏颇，蛮不讲理的人民。

在我们的舞会上常见的不尊重人，不守规矩，显摆卖弄，危及他人，侵犯别人空间，阻挡交通，撞人，以及其他许多不当行为，都是缺乏INTEGRITY影 响跳舞的例子。探戈讲究礼貌，尊重，体贴，合作，服从，礼让和关爱。自我中心，不顾他人，麻木不仁和自高自大的人无法超越自己，因而不能与人合作，也跳不 好探戈。探戈涉及内部和外部，运动和感觉，优美和舒适，身体和心灵等多种辩证关系。一个浅薄，偏执，片面的人无法超越表面而欣赏探戈的深度。这样的人往往 只注重步法而忽略舞伴关系，舞伴间的连接，感觉，舒适，态度，及探戈的礼仪和文化。他们认为能跳花步的就是好舞者，但事实未必如此。我们有时看到一个舞者过分表现自己而让他的舞伴相形见拙。这样的人是好舞者吗？一个好舞者不能只有技能，还需要具备INTEGRITY。

很多人认为跳得美的探戈就是好探戈，这也未必是事实。探戈既有看得见的一面，也有看不见的一面。人们可以发展旨在提高视觉印象的技能，也可以发展旨在增加感官快乐的技能。有人故意偏离探戈的精髓，开放拥抱，分离舞伴，牺牲探戈的亲密，深情，感性和舒适，只追求令人乍舌的视觉效果。这样的舞蹈纵然看起来惊险夺目，我也不认为是好探戈。一个好探戈是集多种元素，包括感性，亲密，感情，心灵共鸣，舒适，优雅和美丽为一体的。

INTEGRITY不 仅是人品和思维严谨的问题。探戈更适合重视整体价值而不是只重视个人价值的文化。在一个重视整体价值的文化中，人们学会超出自我考虑问题，学会体贴，尊重 他人和与人合作。过分强调个人自由和个人主义可以让人把“我”看得高于一切。当这样的人有机会说了算的时候，那往往是事情在我们的政治舞台和探戈舞会中会 如此一团糟的原因。

INTEGRITY是超越有形，外表和自我而理解他人对自己，不见对所见，实质对表面，内容对形式，感觉对运动，舒适对美丽等的重要性。探戈需要INTEGRITY，因为它涉及到很多元素。让我们希望，正如一位读者所说，“探戈是帮助这个文化走上正道的又一个工具。”

*注：INTEGRITY具有整体，全面，完整，完美品德等多种意思。

Tango and Integrity

The way we dance tango reflects who we are. We are a big, strong and powerful nation. We are accustomed to that small and weak nations listen to us, and not we listen to them. We tend to do whatever we want, or have our own way, despite what other people want or value. We disregard other nations’ sovereign rights, launch wars in the name of freedom, overthrow governments that we don’t like, violate their entitlement to their own creations—Argentine tango, for example, and treat which disrespectfully at our will. Our politicians fight only for the special interests they represent and fail to balance the interests of all people. “My way, or no way!” is how they do things in Washington and elsewhere within and beyond our borders. We have lost the greatness, magnanimity and humility that we used to have when we were a small, weak and poor nation, and become a self-important, single-minded, inconsiderate, unbalanced, obstinate, and arrogant people.

Contempt, disobedience, showoff, self-glorification, endangering others, invading other’s space, blocking the traffic, running into people, and other misconducts in our milongas are examples of how the lack of integrity affects our tango dancing. Tango requires manner, respect, thoughtfulness, cooperation, obedience, yielding, love and care. A self-centered, inconsiderate, insensitive and arrogant person is not able to see beyond oneself, thus cannot cooperate with others and dance tango well. Tango involves dualities such as external and internal, movement and feeling, beauty and comfort, body and soul, etc. A shallow, obstinate and unbalanced person cannot see beyond the surface and appreciate the depth of tango. Such individuals tend to focus only on the footwork, and overlook the partnership, connection, feeling, comfort, manner, etiquette and culture of tango. They think that he who can do fancy steps is a good dancer, but in fact that is not necessarily true. We sometimes see a dancer so over performing himself it puts his partner into shame. Is such man a good dancer? No. Skills alone do not make a good dancer. It takes integrity as well.

Many people think that a beautiful tango is a good tango. That is not necessarily true either. Tango has both tangible and intangible sides. One can develop skills aiming at increasing its visual impression, or one can develop skills aiming at increasing its sensual pleasure. There are people who deliberately deviate from the essence of tango, break the embrace, drift apart the partners, and sacrifice the intimacy, soulfulness, sensuality and comfort of the dance, just so that they can achieve stunning visual effects for impression. I don’t think such is a good tango even if it looks dazzling and striking. A good tango embodies a pleasing integration of all elements, including sensuality, intimacy, feeling, emotion, soulfulness, comfort, elegance and beauty.

Integrity is not only a matter of moral character and sound thinking. Tango fits better a culture that values integrity than a culture that values self-interests. In a culture that values integrity, people learn to think beyond oneself and be more considerate, respectful and cooperative. Overemphasis on personal liberty and individualism could make people put “me” above everyone else. When such people gain the opportunity to be in charge, that is often why things get so wrong in our politics and milongas.

Integrity is the ability to see beyond the tangible, external and self, to understand the importance of others to oneself, the invisible to the visible, the substance to the surface, the content to the form, the feeling to the movement, and the comfort to the beauty. Tango needs integrity because it involves many elements. Let’s hope that, as a reader said, “Tango is one more tool to help this culture on its way.”