MAHA LENA MONTANA

When we enter that journey called Tango, we encounter different stages, as we keep on. Those around us, are the mirrors that, from time to time give us valuable feedback and encouragements. We need them, especially, when we travel that area where we feel , we are not progressing as faster as we would like.

As instructor, my role is to pay attention to the inner path of the learner and be available to bring the additional support needed. Maha has been able to surmount one of those inner places. She is growing...stronger and more confident!

It is a pleasure to recognize her progress and have her be one of the Students of the Month, of the Magdalena Technique ®.

Here is what Maha says herself, about her experience : " I have always been a dancer, that is a soloist, a member of a dance company, and such.

Yet, one who had never learned partner dancing. I studied Ballroom dance for a time, but the required dance positions between partners seemed rather removed to me. I was seeking a sense of oneness with a dance partner. Tango had interested me when I saw performances. At that time, I didn’t know the distinction between tango fantasia vs. the social dance that it is.

About a year after I attended Tango classes, I took a trip with a wonderful Tango group to Buenos Aires which changed my life. Our teacher took us to a number of Milongas in the evenings. It was on one such evening that I was invited to dance by a well-known, accomplished Tango teacher.

Over the course of a tanda, he took me on a magic carpet ride. To my surprise, it felt as if he already knew me intimately as a dance partner. We danced in perfect unison in the Tango Embrace position. It felt celestial. I was so moved by this experience, that I shed tears of joy upon returning to my group table.

Needless to say, when I returned to the Bay Area, I was on a quest for answers to the mystery.

“How could that have happened?”, I wondered. It wasn’t until I began to study with Jean-Pierre, and to learn his Magdalena Technique, that it all made sense to me. You see, I had been under the impression that I was merely a follower, and my partner was the leader. The reason for my bliss during that unforgettable dance was because I had been regarded as the “center of the dance”. Just as Jean-Pierre teaches us. Tango is Improvisational ! Not a series of choreographed steps. During that miraculous dance in Argentina, my partner was composing our moves and expressing emotional nuances in the music, as he invited me to move with him.

One of the traits that sets Jean-Pierre apart from other Tango teachers I have known, is his ability to explain and break down the basics, and to address the subtleties with amazing clarity, as he teaches. With his keen observation, he can tell us why something is not quite working in our practice. His unlimited patience and sensitivity inspire us to persevere. When he clasps his

hands, with a look of exalted joy on his face, when we’ve “got it”, is a reward in itself. It is easy to see why he is so loved by his students. Such a teacher is a rarity.

Tango is now one of my passions. The image of 80 and 90- year-old Argentine couples, still so in love, dancing ‘til dawn continues to inspire me to “Never Stop Dancing”; Jean-Pierre’s motto.

For me, Tango is a Dance of Life. Thank you for the gift, Maestro Jean-Pierre Sighe."

The Dancer you had already awakened will keep expanding in Tango. That, we can guaratee it!

 

BRAVO Maha!!!

 

Keep it up! The Masters say that Tango is very rewarding...that the efforts we put in learning and practicing it , ALWAYS pays off, many folds!

 

Jean-Pierre Sighe, Irina Goodkoff, Oshalla Diana Marcus.