7 days of meditation, tango dance, relaxation, discussion, and fun
with Chan and Eugenia Park

Tango Zen is Walking Dance Meditation. Tango Zen is known to help establish balance, calmness, groundedness, centering, and harmony in mind and body.  This Retreat introduces Tango Zen, an innovative yet natural idea of meditating while dancing Tango.   Details

Tango dancers said Tango Zen helped enhance understanding of posture, groundedness, connection, sensibility, movement, balance, centering,, all of which are essential for dancing. Details

Daily schedule of the Retreat includes morning Tango Zen (Walking Dance Meditation) session, afternoon Tango class/Practica, and nightly milonga (Tango dance). Details

The Retreat will take place in an aristocratic eighteenth century Venetian villa: Villa Soligo, or, more appropriately, the Hotel Villa Soligo near Venice, Italy. Details

Class fee is 225 Euro.  For room and board, half pension fee is 55 Euro per person per day. Details

Space is limited.  Register early! Details

Contact Chan for any questions.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Date	Morning  10:00 -11:30	Afternoon  17:00-18:30	Night  21:00-24:00
Mon, July 25		Check-in	Milonga / Tango Dance
Tue, July 26	Walking Dance Meditation	Tango Class, "Dance Here Now" Close embrace, connection, communication and walk	Milonga / Tango Dance
Wed, July 27	Walking Dance Meditation	Tango Class, "Express our own nature" Various ocho-cortados	Milonga / Tango Dance
Thu, July 28	Break	No class	Milonga / Tango Dance
Fri, July 29	Walking Dance Meditation	Tango Class, "Practice, practice, practice" Turn, turn, turn like a merry-go-around	Milonga / Tango Dance
Sat, July 30	Walking Dance Meditation	Tango Class, "Music: The heart of Tango" Vals: even your ears must dance.	Milonga / Tango Dance
Sun, July 31	Walking Dance Meditation	Tango Class, "Letting go" Milonga: zen mind in the freest body	Milonga / Tango Dance
Mon, Aug. 1	Check-out

Times for meditation sessions and classes and tango class topics are subject to change. 

Class Fee*	225 Euro	per person
	425 Euro	per couple
Room**	55 Euro per day	Half pension per person double occupancy
	70 Euro per day	Full pension per person single occupancy

* covering meditation session, tango class, and nightly milonga (dance) each day. 
** Half pension including breakfast and dinner; full pension including breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

Can one dance Tango to meditate? Everybody knows meditation is a good thing.  For example, Zen meditation, if practiced properly, may create balance, calmness, groundedness, centering, and harmony in mind and body.  However, it is difficult to meditate for many reasons.  Meditation is mainly practiced while sitting with legs crossed to support and ground one's body.  Unfortunately this sitting posture can give uncomfortable feelings and even pains before you benefit from the meditation practice.  In addition, despite the importance of practicing meditation regularly, it can be difficult to stick to it with regularity due to the hectic life style we run everyday. 

Can one meditate while moving around instead of sitting down?   Although it appears to be sedate and passive, Zen meditation can also be practiced in more active ways than the sitting posture.  For example, walking meditation has been practiced among Buddhists since the Buddha himself practiced it. Other forms of Zen meditation in motion can also be found in sports and performing arts. 

Tango is a walking dance -- a special gift from Argentina to the world. Unlike Tango images of sexy and provocative movements commonly featured in media, Tango is a social dance that should be danced while walking.  Of course, one embraces the partner and listens to music while walking. Benefits of Tango dancing can be explained in many aspects including social, physical, and emotional; however, it is interesting to note that the effects and benefits of meditation are experienced and shared among avid Tango dancers. 

Yes, one can dance Tango to meditate. As stated above, Zen is a meditation practice.  Besides many associated benefits, its main goal is to discover and reconcile with one's own nature. To reach that goal, Zen teaches us to devote 100% of our attention to what we are doing Here Now.   Tango is a dance of connection, uniting one and one's partner while walking and listening to music -- together. Tango can be fully enjoyed, as many Tango dancers experienced, only if one completely surrenders to and connects with one's partner, both physically and emotionally, while dancing.  Therefore, once recognizing similarities and benefits between them, one can properly unite and practice Tango and Zen.  In other words, one can meditate while dancing Tango, experiencing deeper appreciation of physical, emotional, and even spiritual aspect of inner-self.  That is, one can practice Tango Zen: Meditation in Motion. 

This retreat introduces Tango Zen, an innovative yet natural idea of meditating while dancing Tango. Using the striking similarities between the two, this workshop will also introduce methods through which both tango dancers and non-dancers can practice Tango Zen to experience and enjoy the wonderful benefits, which both Tango and Zen have to offer. 

For tango dancers, this workshop will help enhance understanding of posture, groundedness, connection, sensibility, movement, balance, centering, etc. by practicing a number of exercises adapted from other martial arts, mediation techniques, and sports. 

For more information on Tango Zen, please visit http://TangoZen.com.  Inquiries on Tango Zen and/or the workshop can be directed to Chan on TangoZen@hotmail.com. For more information on direction, transportation, and room and board, please contact Isabella on info@hotelvillasoligo.it or visit http://www.hotelvillasoligo.it (Italian). 

• October 1999, class instructors at Washington DC Tango Festival
• June 2001, conducted tango workshop in Vilnius, Lithuania
• July 2001, conducted tango workshop in St. Petersburg, Russia
• March 2002, conducted tango workshop in Seoul and Taejeon, Korea
• October 2002, class instructors at Tango Festival, Portland, Oregon
• December 2002, conducted tango workshop in Seoul, Korea
• March 2003, class instructors in Washington DC Tango Marathon
• April 2003, provided coaching to Cirque Du Soleil Dralion Team
• July 2003, guest instructors in Tango Festival, Prayssac, France
• December 2003, conducted Tango Zen Workshop, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• February 2004, conducted Tango Zen Workshop, Silver Spring, Maryland
• February 2004, conducted Tango Zen Workshop, San Francisco, California
• July 2004, conducted Tango Zen Workshop in Utrecht, The Netherlands
• July 2004, hosted Tango Zen Retreat in Chassignolles, France 
• October 2004, conducted Tango Zen workshop in Singapore
  
• October 2004, conducted Tango Zen workshop in  Seoul and Taejeon,  Korea
  

I appreciate the constant care and attention you gave us, a very good example of zen in practice!

...really enjoyed the workshop.  I think it really helped.  Tango is so different from other dances... you have a very interesting approach to teaching it!

 I loved your workshop! I particularly liked the exercises in the beginning that focus ones awareness on the details of movement. For me, that awareness not only helped me to relax, but also helped me to detach from overanalyzing and allowed me to get to the place of feeling the energy and hence connection with partner. I was able to be in a meditative state rather than getting hung up on patterns. This flow of energy then makes it possible as a follower to follow anything that comes.......hallelujah! In my Buddhist practice I have done a lot of walking meditation and these exercises were similar. It allows one to transcend one's mind and then be natural. So, I really appreciate your direction and encourage you to continue. This is new to the tango community. But there are some that are ready for this method of teaching and more and more people will discover its effect.

...we loved it...I think it was just right..we have worked now with several teachers of the tango and ended up feeling competent and clumsy...the first one started with the most complicated steps, the second with less complicated steps but high expectations, and you two, just giving permission to settle into our bodies and feel at placing weight on one foot then on the other was so sane...we love the dance and hope some day to actually be able to do it and I think you are on to something here with this zen idea...we will come back and try again...thanks so much...I also have a long time meditation practice so your reference to meditation was very helpful...thankyou

 Though it appears that Zen meditation is a discipline in 'introspective meditation', Chan and Eugenia showed us how to walk the 'meditative walk' with a partner and not be distracted by anything around us. It truly was a great  meditative and communal experience I suspect only a few people actually achieve in dancing tango.

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Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)
1. What is Tango Zen Retreat?
2. What kind of activities does the Retreat offer?
3. Where will the Retreat be held?
4. What is the Villa Soligo like?
5. Does the Villa Soligo have a wood floor for the Retreat activities?
6. What kind of food does the Villa Soligo serve?
7. How do I get there from Rome?
8. Can we swim at the Villa?
9. What else are there to do?
10. Do I have to have prior knowledge on Tango and/or Zen? 
11. Do I need a partner to participate in the Retreat?
12. What is the maximum number of participants you will accept?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

1. What is Tango Zen Retreat?
Tango Zen Retreat is a week-long event, where participants will experience Tango Zen, an innovative yet natural idea of meditating while dancing Tango.  For more information on Tango Zen, please visit http://TangoZen.com.

2. What kind of activities does the Retreat offer?
Daily activities of the Retreat include morning Tango Zen (Walking Dance Meditation) session, afternoon Tango class/Practica, and nightly milonga (Tango dance). The participants -both tango dancers and non-dancers- will practice a number of exercises, through which they can experience and enjoy the wonderful benefits, which both Tango and Zen have to offer. Focus will be placed on breathing, posture, being mindful of oneself, connecting with one's partner and music, centering, weight-shifting, and walking in close embrace. 

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3. Where will the Retreat be held?
The Retreat will be held at Hotel Villa Soligo, located about 35 Km North from Venice.
Address:
Villa Soligo
Via Marconi 2 - 31010 - Farra di Soligo Treviso - Italy
Tel. +39-0438-842025 - Fax: +39-0438-980838

4. What is Hotel Villa Soligo like?
Villa Soligo is an 18th-century neoclassic building in the Palladian style, whose very walls are evocative of fascinating tales of yesteryear.   In the heart of the Veneto region, in that part of the Marca Trevigiana crossed by the renowned Prosecco Road, you will find this aristocratic eighteenth century Venetian villa: Villa Soligo, or, more appropriately, the Hotel Villa Soligo. This Villa, which has been the property of the Brandolini Counts for five generations, is today a large hotel surrounded by an immense park. The hotel has five thousand square metres of space under its roof with a spacious hall, forty double and single rooms, a suite of rare elegance, and numerous lounges and bars.  At the back of the villa, in the splendid annexed stables, you can find the perfect convivial atmosphere for banquets, ceremonies and receptions.  The Hotel Villa Soligo is the ideal place for a relaxing stay, as we have a gym, a swimming pool and a tennis court - but that is not all, the management also arranges other sporting activities, ranging from horseback riding to mountain bike excursions.  See photos below.

5. Does the Villa have a wood floor for the Retreat activities?
The Villa has a multi-function room for the Retreat activities including meditation session, tango classes, and nightly dances (milongas).    See a photo below.

6. What kind of food does Hotel Villa Soligo serve?
Details will follow. 

7. How do I get there from Rome?
Details will follow.  Contact Isabella for more information.

8. Can we swim at the Villa?
There is a swimming pool at the Villa as shown below.

9. What else are there to do?
Check this site http://www.marcatreviso.it.  More info will follow. 

10. Do I have to have prior knowledge on Tango and/or Zen? I don't know much about Zen or Tango but I'm interested in your Retreat. 
You don't necessarily have to have any knowledge or experience in Tango and/or Zen.  Your open mind, a beginner's mind so to speak, will help you enjoy the event.

11. Do I need a partner to participate in the Retreat?
Partner is not required but encouraged.

12. What is the maximum number of participants you will accept?
Maximum is 40 participants.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. 

See you at the Retreat.

Chan
TangoZen@hotmail.com
 

Week-end de tango & médiation, 
Treviso, en Italie, 29-3 juillet

Chers amis,

Nous aimerions vous convier à notre week-end de tango & médiation, qui se
tiendra à l'hôtel Villa Soligo, aux alentours de Treviso, en Italie. Le
programme de ce week-end inclut, dans le cadre de Tango Zen Retreat, des
sessions de Tango Zen, valse et milonga. Un concert aura lieu, et bien sûr, nous
aurons une milonga tous les soirs.


Tango Zen innove sur une idée somme toute naturelle, selon laquelle la pratique
du tango offre une opportunité à la méditation. En s'appuyant sur les
similarités frappantes entre le Tango et le concept Zen, ce week-end de classes
présentera certaines méthodes grâce auxquelles les danseurs, quelque soit leur
niveau, comme les néophytes pourront apprécier les bénéfices de l'intégration
Tango-Zen.

Pour plus d'informations, veuillez vous reporter au site Internet suivant :
http://www.TangoZen.com/italy.

Ainsi que : Chan et Eugenia Park, http://www.TangoZen.com

Quand : du 29 au 31 juillet 2005
Où : Hotel Villa Soligo
        Via Marconi, 2 - 31020 Soligo (TV)
        Tel. 0438 842025 http://www.hotelvillasoligo.it


Programme

Vendredi 29 juillet:
21h - 1h Milonga
DJ André

Samedi 30 juillet
15h30 - 16h45 Cours Tango Zen I: « le corps se déplace, l'esprit vogue »
Ce cours introduit les concepts de base de la méditation zen, la respiration et
le positionnement du corps, certains exercices propres à nous rendre plus
conscients de la musique et de notre partenaire, avec une emphase particulière
sur notre axe, les changements de poids du corps et la marche dans le style
milonguero.

17h - 18h30 : Cours de Tango : « La musique est le coeur du tango »
Valse : même vos oreilles se doivent de danser

21h - 3h Milonga
DJ Chan Park and André Carrière

Dimanche 31 juillet
15h - 16h30 Cours Tango Zen II: « l'esprit Tango Zen, l'esprit du débutant »
Ce cours se centrera sur la fusion entre l'esprit et le corps, à l'aide de
quelques mouvements simples de tango basé sur une pleine conscience de soi, et
montrera comment ajouter de la complexité à votre tango au travers de mouvements
simples.

17h - 18h30 Cours de tango : « comment se laisser aller »
Milonga, ou comment garder l'esprit Zen quand notre corps accélère

20h - 21h Concert de tango avec le « Trio Porteño », gratuit
21h - minuit : Milonga, DJ André Carrière

Tarifs : 10 euros pour chaque classe ou milonga.

Pour toute question et pour vous inscrire, veuillez envoyer un message
électronique à TangoZen@hotmail.com. Des informations complémentaires  sur Tango
Zen sont disponibles sur le site http://www.TangoZen.com. Pour vous rendre à
l'hôtel, visitez le site http://www.hotelvillasoligo.it, toute information
supplémentaire sur les chambres peut être obtenue auprès d'Isabella
(info@hotelvillasoligo.it)