You don’t need to dance tango to enjoy my writing about tango. I write about tango as a metaphor . . . . Tango goes very deep. Once you understand the nature of the dance, you’ll find that tango has as much to teach you off the dance floor as it does on it.
You can read some of my insights about tango here.
Looking for Joy, Finding It in Tango
by | November 7, 2010 | Tango, Travel | 4 Comments
Tango feels like the passion I have been looking for a long time. It makes me happy. I don't even need to be dancing. Watching others dance can be equally blissful. It's the transportingly beautiful music, and most of all, the utter concentration and mindfulness that...
Passion in a Buenos Aires Taxi
by | February 24, 2011 | Tango | 0 Comments
Lindo Como Vos: A professional tango singer (and taxi driver) Victor Diaz serenades me on the ride home from a milonga, Zona Tango in Balvanera, extremely local, sort of grungy, one of my favorites. I predict this will be the opening scene of a longer documentary...
Tango: Suffering for the Bliss
by | February 25, 2011 | Tango | 0 Comments
Tango is theater, and we must play a role if we want to dance--glowing with confidence. This is how the maestro Graciela Gonzalez began a women's technique workshop that I attended in Buenos Aires. Sometimes we women in tango feel like goddesses, she said, and...
San Francisco vs. Buenos Aires: Tango
by | April 12, 2011 | Tango, Uncategorized | 0 Comments
I sometimes feel high from San Francisco tango but I never full as fully blissed out as I did out at a Buenos Aires milonga, or even at a Buenos Aires practica or class. An element of soul is missing here, especially at the practicas and milongas where the so-called...
Tango: Suffering for the Bliss
by Sasha Cagen | May 27, 2011 | Tango | 0 Comments
Tango is theater, and we must play a role if we want to dance--glowing with confidence. This is how the maestro Graciela Gonzalez began a women's technique workshop that I attended in Buenos Aires. Sometimes we women in tango feel like goddesses, she said, and...
The First TangoChat: Tango Addicts Unite
by Sasha Cagen | June 7, 2011 | Tango | 7 Comments
Tango is my big new love. I first discovered  salon-style tango in Cali, Colombia, at the magical, must-be-visited club La Matraca. I then followed up with a two-month obsessive immersion in Buenos Aires with my Belgian friend Griet, whom I met in Cali and who is...
IdeaChat #2: Straight Women in Queer Tango with Helen LaVikinga
by Sasha Cagen | July 12, 2011 | Tango | 0 Comments
IdeaChat2: Straight Women in Queer Tango with Helen La Vikinga from Sasha Cagen on Vimeo. For the second installment of my IdeaChat series, I spoke with Helen LaVikinga, an accomplished Icelandic tango dancer who lives and teaches tango in Buenos Aires. Helen leads...
Beyond the Steps: The Essence of Tango
by Sasha Cagen | November 10, 2011 | Tango, Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Next week I am thrilled to be part of a new experiment bringing tango and nature together at an overnight milonga at the rustic West Point Inn. To warm up the group, I am giving a workshop called "Beyond the Steps: The Essence of Tango." There are still spaces to come...
Where We Shine Most
by Sasha Cagen | October 13, 2012 | Advice, My Life, Tango | 1 Comment
It's my two-year anniversary of discovering one of the bigger passions in my life, tango. I was just in Cali, Colombia, the place where I serendipitously discovered tango, this past week and danced again with my original teachers. So I am fresh with the impression of...
Ten Ways I’m Settling into My New Life in Buenos Aires
by Sasha Cagen | November 7, 2012 | Tango, Travel | 1 Comment
Dear readers! Dear me! It's been almost a month since I posted. My life has gone topsy-turvy since moving to Buenos Aires. I've been here almost a month now and I finally feel ground below me, enough to post again. To make sense of it I will make a list of all the...
Tango and the Kama Sutra
by Sasha Cagen | November 17, 2012 | Sex, Tango, Travel | 0 Comments
Such a great little speech in tango class today at the Dinzel Studio from Camelo, a Colombian tango teacher who is the son of one of my first tango teachers, Leyda, who lives in Cali (Colombia). Here it goes. "If you have a lover, which of these two lovers do you...
My Tango Journey
by Sasha Cagen | January 16, 2013 | My Life, Tango | 2 Comments
My tango journey continues and it teaches me so much about life. I'm writing about my revelations through tango for my new book so those are still getting formed and I'm excited to share them with you--not because everyone needs to learn tango to grow, but as an...
Poignant Tango Moment
by Sasha Cagen | March 26, 2013 | My Life, Tango | 0 Comments
Poignant tango moment last night in a cab. I had gone to Villa Malcolm Cachirulo and it was awful from the start. Nowhere to sit, no host to seat me, so many women sitting at tables with hard expressions of waiting. I had only gone once before and had a beautiful...
Lady Gaga and the Buenos Aires Cabbie
by Sasha Cagen | April 15, 2013 | Tango | 1 Comment
We're speeding through the streets of Buenos Aires. I'm on my way to dance tango on a Sunday night, heels in my purse. The cab driver is rocking out, drumming his hands on his steering wheel to a pop song. His enthusiasm is remarkable. It's Lady Gaga singing "Bad...
What Tango Taught Me About Relationships
by Sasha Cagen | June 6, 2013 | Tango | 3 Comments
This is the first in a series of posts about how tango provides metaphors for our lives on and off the dance floor, especially as it relates to being single and/or in a relationship. I hope they are relevant to you whether you dance or not. Tango is more than a dance....
What Tango Can Teach Us About Life. A QuirkyTango Workshop Next Sunday!
by Sasha Cagen | September 14, 2013 | Tango | 2 Comments
Are you curious about tango and what it could teach you about life and relationships? I'm thrilled to invite you to my first tango workshop in the Bay Area! It's groundbreaking territory combining tango and personal growth. I was part of a weekly psicotango workshop...
See you in Buenos Aires for the QuirkySexy Tango Adventure
by Sasha Cagen | January 6, 2014 | Personal Growth, Quirkyalone, Tango | 0 Comments
How is your 2014 going? Would you like to dance? I hereby invite you to join me for an for an intimate immersion experience into tango, quirkyalone, and quirkytogether in Buenos Aires this May. The Quirky Sexy Tango Adventure is a unique opportunity to travel to...
Psicotango and the representation of sex in dance
by Sasha Cagen | February 4, 2014 | Tango | 0 Comments
If you've been following my work for the last year you know I am fascinated by tango and what it has to teach us about life. Tango has given me a whole way to stay rooted in myself as an equal in relationships. I wrote about that here in my first in a series of posts...
Are you touch-starved? Hugs and tango can help
by Sasha Cagen | February 25, 2014 | Advice, Being Single, Quirkyalone, Tango | 5 Comments
Touch-starvation is an epidemic, especially in the U.S. and the U.K. Are you touch-starved? Here are some symptoms. --You might have trouble sleeping through the night. --Or feel irritable. --Or depleted. --Or anxious. Does this sound familiar? I have certainly...
Video: Scenes from this week’s tango party
by Sasha Cagen | March 8, 2014 | Tango | 0 Comments
The highlight of this week was this tango party in San Francisco where I got to share what's special about tango in Buenos Aires and tell everyone about this Quirky-Sexy Tango Adventure trip that I am leading in late May! It was great to bring together passionate...
Combine adventure and self-discovery with me in Buenos Aires, come on a tango adventure!
by Sasha Cagen | March 21, 2014 | Advice, Personal Growth, Tango | 0 Comments
Note: When you watch this video, skip to 2:30. That's when the audio kicks in! This week I did the first inaugural monthly Quirky Community Chat on spreecast, a video platform where you can ask questions and even join me. Every month there will be a different topic,...
Pics from my first week in Buenos Aires. . . Plus: News Flash! A second Tango Adventure added for late June/early July!
by Sasha Cagen | May 15, 2014 | Tango | 2 Comments
News flash! We have decided to add a second week for Tango Adventure #2 June 29-July 5. There's still time to join us. Come PLAY AND DANCE WITH US in Buenos Aires! Now on to the photos from the last week to give you a sneak peek of this delicious experience getting...
Embrace your inner sex kitten with us in Buenos Aires–the Quirky Tango Adventure 2015 in Argentina
by Sasha Cagen | September 10, 2014 | Sex, Tango | 0 Comments
I am so excited to announce the dates for the next two Quirky Tango Adventures in Buenos Aires. The next adventures will be in February 21-28 and March 14-21. We timed these dates so you can get out of the last throes of winter and enjoy the warmth in the South. If...
How Tango Helped Amanda Recognize an Unhealthy Relationship–and Walk Away
by Sasha Cagen | November 4, 2014 | Advice, Tango, Travel | 2 Comments
This week I want to share two stories with you from Carissa and Amanda, two awesome women who joined me in Buenos Aires this May for the Quirky Heart Tango Adventure (note new name). Carissa and Amanda shared with me how tango continues to reverberate in their lives...
Carissa’s Adventures: “I caught a man’s eye as we were both leaving the grocery store and the thrill was just so sweet.”
by Sasha Cagen | November 10, 2014 | Advice, Tango | 0 Comments
One of the best thing about creating travel experiences is I get to meet you all . . . the quirkyalones are pretty fabulous. Carissa is a kick-ass, open-hearted quirkyalone woman who joined my GetQuirky online class last year. After the class, she decided to quit a...
Up Your Boldness as a Woman through Tango–Highlights from Our Google Hangout!
by Sasha Cagen | November 18, 2014 | Advice, Tango, Travel | 0 Comments
If you missed us LIVE, we have the replay of our boldness hangout on video! YAY! This Hangout is great to put on at night when you are chilling out . . .it gives you ideas for how to increase your confidence in dance, life, AND dating. It's also a great preview of the...
Psicotango: How Tango Can Be Therapy
by Sasha Cagen | December 8, 2014 | Tango | 2 Comments
“Tango remains from its origins as a hug, an embrace, to rescue us from pain and loneliness, central pathologies of consumer society. Tango is a path that connects us with our own personal story.”—Monica Peri and Ignacio Lavalle, Psicotango founders What if you could...
Three Tangasms, or, I’ll Have What She’s Having
by Sasha Cagen | December 11, 2014 | Tango | 0 Comments
If you follow my writing, you know that I am interested in the power of pleasure including and beyond sex. One of my favorite -asms is the "tangasm," an experience of all-over-the-body pleasure that I first discovered when I was a beginner in tango in my very first...
Is Tango Better than Sex?
by Sasha Cagen | December 29, 2014 | Sex, Tango | 10 Comments
I am a tango addict. I have been one now for four years. I did not go out looking for tango. The dance came to me. It was in Cali, Colombia, the world capital of salsa, where everyone dances, that I saw tango for the first time. A Belgian woman named Griet who was...
The Kindness of Strangers at ETI, or, How I Overcame Despair in One of the Worst Solo Travel Experiences of My Life
by Sasha Cagen | July 17, 2015 | Being Single, Tango | 0 Comments
Last week I took the leap for another solo travel adventure, this time to a unique and totally Argentine tango festival called ETI (Encuentro de Tangueros del Interior). ETI is special because it brings together hundreds of passionate tango dancers from around...
My First Tangasm at That Really Happened???
by Sasha Cagen | February 23, 2016 | Tango | 0 Comments
A few weeks ago I told you I was in the process of facing down my fears to tell my first live story at a Moth-like event, That Really Happened???, in Berkeley, Calif. For your listening pleasure this weekend, here's a podcast recording of the live 10-minute story....
Dancing in the time of #anklerecovery
by Sasha Cagen | April 25, 2016 | Tango | 0 Comments
Dancing in the time of #anklerecovery #tango #tangopracticeshoes #healingvibes #milonga #etitango #nuevochique #buenosaires #tangoadventure A photo posted by Sasha Cagen (@sashacagen) on Apr 23, 2016 at 6:45am PDT On the second to last night of the most recent Tango...
#TangoAdventureChat
by Sasha Cagen | May 11, 2016 | Tango | 0 Comments
I have been bringing together quirky women for TANGO ADVENTURES in Buenos AIres. Now that I have committed to being here in Buenos AIres for the next year we will be offering this 7-day immersive course more often. We may even do some co-ed adventures soon too. The...
Behind the Postcards on the Tangasm, Coaching, and Why I’ve Chosen South America over Silicon Valley for Now
by Sasha Cagen | August 26, 2016 | Interviews, Quirkyalone, Tango, Travel | 0 Comments
Chris Tyre over at the lovely blog Nomad + Camera interviewed me about why and how I chose to leave Silicon Valley tech stress for a more artistic life in South America. And how I got here. Plus you can read up on the tangasm. Why wouldn't you want to read about that?...
Tango Therapy in the Time of Trump
by Sasha Cagen | December 7, 2016 | Tango | 0 Comments
If you are reading my website, I am going to assume that you are a feminist, and that you are probably experiencing grief and fear right now about what it will mean to live with a president who has no regard for women's consent--or women at all. You may be concerned...
How Can You Be a Feminist and Like Tango?
by Sasha Cagen | June 21, 2017 | Feminism, My Life, Tango | 9 Comments
“You’re not getting the lead,” he tells me. Gruff, mid-fifties, beady eyes, a ponytail dwindling halfway down his back, Ponytail Man chose me as his partner for this advanced tango class at Floreal, a traditional milonga in Buenos Aires. It’s nice to be chosen, but...
Chongos, Histéricos, and Chamuyeros: A Dating Dictionary for Buenos Aires
by Sasha Cagen | September 19, 2017 | Dating, Sex, Tango, Technology + Modern Life, Travel | 5 Comments
Argentines are very expressive, and their Spanish is distinct from, for example, Mexican Spanish. There are plenty of books and websites out there that explain Buenos Aires slang, or lunfardo--slang words you will never learn in a high school Spanish class. Over the...
I Shared My Thoughts on All Things Tango
by Sasha Cagen | January 4, 2018 | Interviews, My Life, Personal Growth, Podcasts, Tango | 0 Comments
Joe Yang, a tango teacher from Madison, Wisconsin, recently interviewed me for Joe's Tango Podcast. Joe's podcast is for people who are who are starting to fall in love with the dance of tango and want to learn from different experts in the field. I...
How to Be a Flaneur (or Flaneuse) in Paris
by Sasha Cagen | January 9, 2018 | My Life, Tango, Travel | 0 Comments
A post shared by Sasha Cagen (@sashacagen) on Aug 18, 2017 at 2:56pm PDT While I was in Paris for three weeks this July and August, I found often that Parisians were not that aware of the beauty surrounding them. Of course I was on vacation; they were living real...
The Healing Power of Tango
by Sasha Cagen | January 10, 2018 | Podcasts, Tango | 0 Comments
LIke many women in the U.S., when I was in my late thirties I started to get very tired. I worried that I might have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Sometimes when I took a walk for two miles I needed four hours on the couch to recover, and even taking a shower and getting...
