Skip to main content

The Church of Tango - Book Review




The Church of Tango
by Cherie Magnus
Find it on Amazon.com here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Church-Tango-Cherie-Magnus/dp/0615573541/

Cherie has been an inspiration for me from the time I started tango (and my tango blog) over three years ago. She has been the voice of encouragement and wisdom and now, after reading her memoir, I have a sense of why that is. Her book is not a "tango book" per se (at least now how we normally think of them) - it is really a memoir of the life that brought her to tango. It is a taste of how tango (and dance in general) changed her life. In fact if I have one complaint, and really it's not a complaint as much as a meek request for a sequel, it would be that her book ended too soon. (Una tanda mas, Cherie!)  I wanted to know more about her tango life, though much of those thoughts, experiences, pieces of tango wisdom, can be found on her fantastic blog - http://tangocherie.blogspot.com/.

The beginning of her book contains one of my most cherished Joseph Campbell quotes,

"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us."

Her life, at times, is a very hard illustration of his point. She has had a very tough road to follow and her story reminds readers that change, even gut-wrenching, life-overturning change, is what propels our life forward. We can either own it, or get run over by it (my words, not Cherie's - she's much more eloquent on that matter.)

Many tango memoirs start with a broken heart, an affair gone badly - but to lose one's husband, to find yourself facing a life on your own when your identity has been so tied to your spouse, that is another journey altogether. For me, it is the scariest thing I can imagine - but that's only the beginning of her story. Cherie struggles through so much and yet has so many triumphs. This isn't a romantic tale of running away and having adventures to distract one's self from life's difficulties - but more a chronicle of a soul finding its home. To borrow something that Pema Chodron wrote - Cherie's story is one of leaning into the sharp points. It is, in places, heart-breakingly difficult to read. I couldn't read it at work for fear of having to explain my swollen eyes and red nose. It's worth the struggle to follow her path - her writing makes it impossible not to keep reading. For me, her writing mirrors how I think of tango - honest, human, vulnerable.

I recommend Cherie's book so highly (as well as her blog linked above.) It's a very personal, very moving book that, like Cherie, has much wisdom, inspiration and encouragement to impart.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tim Ferriss and the Myth of Tango Mastery

Dear tanguero, I feel I should explain my reaction to your comments about Tim Ferriss. It touched a nerve and I didn't really explain my apparent hostility. It was certainly not meant for you. Several people have brought Tim Ferriss to my attention over this past year. I can usually make it a month before his name pops up again. For readers who are unfamiliar with him, he's the author of "The 4 Hour Work Week". He set a Guinness record for the most consecutive tango turns and has competed with his partner, Alicia Monti, at the Tango World Championship . As a social dancer the idea of a tango competition seems absurd. I don't think I will ever understand how something like tango could be judged - or why anyone would want it to be. But I digress. I think the most crucial detail of Ferriss's history, as I relate it to tango, is his winning Wired magazine's "Greatest Self-Promoter of All Time" . If there is any concept more out of synch with social ...
6 comments
Read more

"Proper" Tango Shoes

Periodically someone, usually a man, will be bring up the topic of "proper tango shoes." If he's referring to the problem (and dangers) of trying to dance in flip-flops, or mules, or platform shoes etc., those are definitely valid, and very helpful points to be made. The likelihood of damaging your feet is very high without the proper support of high quality shoes. My problem comes with the idea that the *only* proper tango shoes have 4" stiletto heels on them and fetish-worthy embellishments. (Okay, I'm pretty keen on the embellishments myself.) "goofy ballroomy shoes are a turnoff... get rid of them..." - Alex Tango Fuego (granted this is from 2007), http://alextangofuego.blogspot.com/2007/10/to-dance-or-not-to-dancebrutally.html And, in the comments on a blog post, Anonymous said... " This is a controversial one. If a follower isn't wearing tango shoes then it's usually a good sign she's not particularly good." From Ms. Hedgeh...
24 comments
Read more

Expressing music or dancing for tables?

Too much of a good thing? As sort of a follow-up to my thoughts on technique, I've run into a little snag I'd like some feedback. When I get compliments about my embrace, I'm absolutely elated. When someone compliments the way my walk feels, I feel accomplished. Compliments about my musicality - ditto. When I start getting lots of compliments about my foot work, however - I get worried. I shouldn't right? A compliment is a compliment, and should be taken graciously. It's certainly meant as a positive thing. It's a good thing if a dancer's feet are pretty - why else would everyone wear those silly, yet gorgeous, shoes? But like Richard Dreyfuss staring down his plate of mash potatoes in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, I can't help thinking it means something. Something not good. I don't mean like a backhanded compliment - but more like a fear that my priorities have unintentionally shifted. Maybe it's a community thing. Online I very often r...
25 comments
Read more