A few weeks ago my husband and I started taking beginner lessons in Argentine tango - the place is only ten minutes from our house and the lessons happen to be free - major incentives - although we have dabbled in ballroom dancing since before we had kids (always on and off, always at the glorified beginner level).

But tango seems different, less mechanical and structured than conventional ballroom dancing, and more intuitive and sensual. For one there is that sliding, slithering tango walk - the most basic tangoing might actually simply entail slide-walking to tango music. Tango requires dropping from the head into the heart, and isn't that the topic of our times? Tango teaches trust because the follower always moves backwards. As a matter of fact some of the practice exercises were done with closed eyes. More so than conventional ballroom dancing (at least it seems so from my beginner perspective), tango becomes a complete merging of self, music, and partner, an in-the-moment moving, feeling, trusting, responding to your partner - no anticipation, just being in the now.

Tango, and ballroom dancing in general, is good for your health. It helps your balance and coordination, moving to music is joyful, tango, in particular, is also very sensual, it requires and trains trust, it's great exercise that's a lot more fun than running on a treadmill, you can do it 'til the day you die, and as a social activity connects you with people. As an exercise in togetherness, partnership, and trusting it's a perfect hobby for our times.

We need to play more, we need to dance more, we need to enjoy life more.