PARKINSON’S & THE TANGO EFFECT
My diagnosis of Parkinson’s, the death of my father and my first tango lesson are inextricably linked in my memory as markers of the start of something, although the diagnosis actually happened two years later. After the initial shock, I ran myself ragged trying to hide my symptoms and function as normal. Eventually I gave in and gave up — running, playing the sax, teaching, even dancing. Face the facts: this was more of an ending than a beginning.
Fourteen years on, I’ve been fortunate to enjoy several fresh starts, the first when I moved to Cambridge and took up writing full time. I also took up tango again, meeting teachers keen to explore the remarkable relationship between my experience of Parkinson’s and the effects of Argentine tango, and to write about what we learnt.
We knew that exercise was good for the brain, effective in creating plasticity and protecting against disease, and that some studies suggested that dance was particularly helpful. We looked at research which compared tango with other dances and began to evolve a framework for presenting our findings. This would essentially be a personal account, consisting of observations and reflections from individuals on the inside, learning, teaching and dancing within a community. An extract from an article we wrote in the early days of our project illustrates our position:
“We are committed to an exploration of the life-enhancing qualities of tango for all within the tango community. By daring to become researchers of our own experience, we enable the voices of all members to become part of the growing body of knowledge.” (i)
For me, inclusion has always been a crucial ingredient of the social benefits of tango: the opportunity to dance as part of a mainstream community, to be defined simply as a dancer, rather than as a member of a ‘special’ class where I am defined by the disease. The challenge of holding my own in a mixed group was heightened by the physical demands of the dance. In addition to good posture and balance, tango requires confident stepping and turning and changes in speed and direction, all rendered difficult for those with the disease. (In fact, several of these features are used in exercises designed to help people with Parkinson’s overcome their difficulties). It is also a multi-tasking activity. As we worked, we observed that stepping up to the plate and rising to these multiple challenges was part of the secret, enabling me to achieve more than I could outside dance. In the private lessons, we noted improvements in posture and fluency of stepping and less upper body rigidity. In the milonga (a tango social dance) I felt my twitches and tremors slip away as I joined others on the dance floor. A curious effect concerned energy: fatigue had been an issue for me more or less since diagnosis. Now I found that the more I danced, the less tired I became.
A further challenge stems from the fact that tango doesn’t have a set sequence of steps but instead is improvised, relying on an unspoken communication between partners. The dancer with Parkinson’s, whose confidence in negotiating the physical has already been severely undermined by the condition, is required to embrace further uncertainty. In fact ‘embrace’ is key: as I step into my partner’s arms, I enter a relationship which demands complete presence, a ‘tuning in’ to his frequency and the core of that elusive ‘connection’ which is the goal of every dancer. Both sensory cue and physical support, the close embrace is often described as a ‘natural, loving hug’ and can offer a precious experience of intimacy, a powerful counter to the feelings of isolation which often come with Parkinson’s.
And then there’s the music. Certainly the complex rhythms of tango support the dancer’s movements. More than this, though, I experienced the power of music to ‘awaken’ me emotionally (ii). Combined with the intensity of the words to the tango songs, which “make you realise that there is this wondrous city far to the south, where the brave and the gifted are battling for love and for livelihood… they write us reports from the front” (iii), tango music was food for the soul. Whilst I have undoubtedly benefited physically and socially from my tango habit, the most far-reaching effect has been its emotional nourishment.
Parkinson’s & the Tango Effect: my Year on the Dance Floor takes the form of the diary of a year, incorporating detailed notes on the private lessons and an unflinching record of depression, as well as personal reflections on travel and literature. It offers an insight into the profound impact of Argentine tango on my quality of life and I hope will be a useful complement to research on the more readily measurable physical benefits of dance.
Parkinson’s & the Tango Effect: my Year on the Dance Floor was launched with award-winning crowd-funding publisher Unbound in December 2017, just weeks after I was ‘switched on’ after deep brain stimulation (DBS). I am optimistic that both events represent the start of a new chapter in my Parkinson’s story. What’s more, at a time when the NHS is under pressure and those it treats are encouraged to take a more active role in managing their own health, I believe the book offers an example of living well with illness, supporting recommendations from some that dance should be brought into the mix of more traditional ‘treatments’ for conditions like Parkinson’s.
And the DBS? That really is another story.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to tango teachers John Connatty and Ellie McKenny and to the support of the Cambridge tango community.
A shorter version of this article appeared in ACNR online in March 2018 http://www.acnr.co.uk/2018/03/parkinsons-and-the-tango-effect/?platform=hootsuite
References
(i) Connatty J, McKenny E, Swindlehurst K. 2013. Tango and Parkinson’s: the view from the dance floor http://www.communitydance.org.uk/DB/animated-library/tango-and-parkinsons-the-view-from-the-dance-floor.html?ps=AlnYNDVofUF9FIFaGm6t5bRpImEF0R&lib=29971 [accessed19 February 2018]
(ii) Sacks O. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. Picador 2007; Kinetic Melody: Parkinson’s Disease and Music Therapy:248–258
(iii) Thompson, RF. Tango: the Art History of Love. Vintage 2006:28
Parkinson’s & the Tango Effect: my Year on the Dance Floor is currently funding with Unbound: https://unbound.com/books/tango/
