Dance like there is no… tomorrow

Documenting memories

“It’s such a pity that no one took a photo of me dancing with her.” A friend told me about a memorable tanda he had. Just a few days ago, another friend posted a video of dancing with a well-known dancer that many consider a myth. Looking at photos and videos from events we joined and finding ourselves in them is indeed a kind of revival of those nice memories.

I guess we get this dopamine hit that makes us look for more of it. Join the next event… wait for the next set of photos… scroll through them impatiently… looking for the next dopamine hit after the one we had during the actual dance. It is part of the addiction. But what if you knew before you went to an event that there would be no pictures taken of it? At least, not officially. What if you knew that you would live this weekend without having someone capturing memories you would like to keep for you?

Our weakest memories

Months ago, I read in an article that when we live an experience and capture it at the same time with our mobiles, cameras, etc. it is less likely to remember details out of it. It is kind of counterintuitive. You get the pictures to capture the memories. To remember them better. Yet you rarely revisit them, and when you do, your memory fails to recall details. On the contrary, when you don’t capture the memories, your memories tend to have more details.

I know how often I fall victim to this trap. I take hundreds, if not thousands, of photos on my vacations only to post a few of them and forget and never revisit the rest. Then, after years, when I discuss such and such trips with my partner, I fail to remember details that she remembers very well. Somehow, our brains, knowing subconsciously that there is a documentation of the event, don’t put the same effort into capturing the details of the moment.

No photos

At the beginning of the post, I asked what would happen if you knew there would be no photos taken at the event. What if there are no official photographers? No albums to watch later? No second chance to live the moment through a photo? So, I had that experience for the first time at an event almost 18 months ago. There were, of course, some people who were capturing some photos with their camera, but they were not in the event with that purpose. They were there to enjoy the event and dance. Taking photos was just to fill the void in some tandas.

I can’t hide that I was hoping that some of the moments and tandas I experienced were captured in someone’s camera. Who wouldn’t? I was checking the few photos posted, trying to spot myself, but in vain. But I returned to the event the next year, and I even asked the organisers what was the reasoning behind their decision. The explanation behind it was that they knew that some people would come with cameras and they don’t stop them from taking pictures. So it’s not like they completely ban it. But after a few years of following the beaten path of hiring photographers, they decided to leave it to the discretion of the participants.

But you know what happened? Do you know why I returned to the event although the first time I didn’t have any photos? Because, that was the event that left me with some of the most vivid memories! I remember more details than from many other events I joined. I may look at pictures from other events and struggle to even recognise who my partner was at the time. But somehow, knowing that the tanda danced at any moment wasn’t probably going to be captured by anyone made me even more present in the moment. Made me want to live it even more fully than before. There would not be anything else to remind me apart from my own and my partner’s memory. Nothing more! The stakes were much higher!

Dance like there is no photo!

I know that photographers at events are very important, and they do an incredible job, and I am not arguing against photographers here. Good photographers manage to capture moments when no one else takes notice. There is something strange in the magic of a couple dancing. The moment you try to observe it and once the couple realises it, the magic is somehow lost. (Nerd alert). It’s like light in the double slit experiment in quantum physics. That is why great photographers manage to be hidden when they take photos. Nobody notices them.

So, why am I writing all this? I don’t know if it is the case or not, but knowing that there is no possibility that someone will catch a shot of you dancing allows you to fully focus on how you feel at the moment. You don’t need to worry if you will look good in a potential photo. You don’t even need to keep it in the back of your head. It is a huge relief that, in the end, heightens your level of presence in the moment and the joy you get out of it. I know that many of you will say, “Well, Christos… I already don’t care if they take photos!” and good for you. But even if you don’t care, you are aware of them. Subconsciously, it is registered in your mind, and even if you don’t care, you may subconsciously adjust or maybe restrict yourself from freely expressing in the dance, especially at the moments you see the photographer pointing at you. Knowing there will be no photos takes the dance to a different level. You are dancing like there is no tomorrow!

I don’t know if there is any advice to be taken from this. But if there is one, this is it.

Dance like there are no photos.

Dance your every tanda like there is no tomorrow

Tonight’s Goodnight Tango

Tonight’s Goodnight Tango is all about memories from an orchestra which has the ability to mark some of the most memorable tandas in out brains. If you already have some, you know what I mean. If not, then I wish you to find some in your journey.

So, how about you? Does knowing about photographs affect your presence at an event? Have you noticed a difference in your behaviour when you notice a photographer? Which tandas do you remember best? Let me know in the comments…

Do you have something to say on the topic?

^{Join the group}

^{PM me on messenger}

^{Drop me an email}

Did you like the post? Spread the word…