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(I also have a question re intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation – I feel that Shannon’s story – she knew she had to make a change from her insides. I feel like I had some emotions pre-C happening and Covid was the tip of the iceberg for me deciding to leave. I’m not sure I’ve “intrinsically” returned to teaching. – Does this make sense?)
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During the pandemic i was stuck in Argentina. I had gone down there for a yearly (overdue) tune-up. I had planned on taking classes, training with my teacher. I wanted to find some practice partners and dance all the time. 2 weeks after my arrival the organizers of tango events all agreed to close their doors and then a week later the government closed down the city. As time went on over the course of the year, I grieved the loss of my desires and intentions. I didn’t really know how I was going to pivot my career or what!
I tried teaching online, I attempted offering stretch classes online, but nothing was really happening.
I returned to the US in January 2021, I went to my parents’ home in Austin, I packed up my tango shoes and clothes and thought ok, that’s that.
I attempted to put my focus on building an online stretch class – again, it just didn’t take.
I was feeling pretty low at this point. I applied for 9 – 5 jobs and couldn’t seem to land one of those! I ended up teaching swim lessons for a few weeks in the summer. And then I was asked to house sit in Arizona; a place where I had lived before for more than 15 years.
Without creating any effort, next thing I knew I was almost completely booked with private lessons for Argentine Tango.
By the end of 2022 I decided I would move back to AZ and pursue building a school for the study of Argentine Tango, the music, the dance, the culture.![Profile Photo]()
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![Profile picture of DanielaBorgialli]()
oh such good good questions our lovely insightful wordsmithsman! i am so transparent!!!! I think I’m wondering all these things at the moment…. thank you thank you thank you as always…
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![Profile picture of JoelElfman]()
You are most welcome! And know you are loved and supported as you are figuring it out!
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![Profile picture of AmyHager]()
Joel has total nailed what I was thinking. The emotions that you were feeling are more stronger than telling people you taught swim lessons. Here is a small tweak to help guide you as you take this to the next level. I am not sure if this is TRUE though. So, don’t use it if not. But as a guide of the next level.
I went to my parents’ home in Austin, I packed up my tango shoes and clothes and thought ok, that’s that.
I was feeling pretty low at this point. I applied for 9 – 5 jobs and couldn’t seem to land one of those!And then I was asked to house sit in Arizona; a place where I had lived before for more than 15 years and felt alive when I lived. I figured, why not. At this point I don’t have anything else to lose. I felt a little excitement for my life again with this move, but no clue what would happen when I arrived.
Without creating any effort, next thing I knew I was almost completely booked with private lessons for Argentine Tango. I unpacked my shoes and dresses – I was alive again!
By the end of 2022 I decided I would move back to AZ and pursue building a school for the study of Argentine Tango, the music, the dance, the culture.
(WHY IS THE STUDY OF Argentine Tango important to you and important for others to experience ?)
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![Profile picture of Claire Peltier]()
I see what you mean with intrinsic and extrasinc. and I am nor sure it matters for that purpose. I d love to see a bit more of your background : what were you doing before, why did you have enough ? What is tango for you ?
Reading your story also makes me say that there is something, at some point, even tiny, that shows us the way (or actually, that there is no alternative)-
![Profile picture of DanielaBorgialli]()
thank you @catpeltiergmail-com – yes – I believe this is true too… I love the questions – I think there’s a story much earlier than pandemic that might be more interesting too.. thank you again…
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Is teaching Tango something you love to do, or is it a job? is there something else that you want to do that will bring more joy? Does it truly matter whether you got there through internal or external circumstances? Maybe the internal signals were blocked by everything that was going on. Maybe other stuff didn’t work out because your heart wasn’t in it, or maybe the universe led you around to where you were meant to be. That could be part of your story, even though I fought it, I looked for other work, other options, and yet the universe brought me back to where I was meant to be. Stories change as we go through life, what story do you want to tell that will be the most helpful for you internally as well as for your audience?