In her new book, Parkinson’s & the Tango Effect: My Year on the Dance Floor, writer Kate Swindlehurst – who’s based in Cambridge, UK – explores the healing power of Argentine tango
When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2004, my initial response was to give up – first playing the saxophone, then running. Eventually my teaching job proved too much. Depression undermined my confidence to such an extent that I even gave up on my love affair with Argentine tango, which began in 2002. Somehow, I felt ashamed, as if the condition was something I had to hide.
Fast forward to 2011: the sound of music behind a closed door as I passed by on the street outside. Those familiar rhythms, that wonderfully melancholy yearning. I stepped inside. In the semi-darkness I saw couples closely entwined moving slowly round the floor. I was hooked, all over again.
As well a community of dancers to welcome me, I found teachers who were keen to explore the extraordinary impact of the dance on my experience of Parkinson’s. Together we began to write about what they discovered.
Argentine tango evolved among new immigrants in Buenos Aires and Montevideo more than 100 years ago and is now danced socially all over the world. Partners usually dance in a close embrace, often described as a ‘natural, loving hug’. Unlike other dances, it doesn’t have a set sequence of steps. Instead it is improvised, relying on an unspoken connection between the partners.
Tango teacher Ellie McKenny explains: “Tango is about communication, listening and responding to each other and the music. This is the first challenge and the first powerful counter to the sense of isolation which those with Parkinson’s often experience.”