Tangolates

Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) is a method of conscious, mind-body exercises designed in Buenos Aires by Tamara Di Tella. It is based on certain characteristics of both Tango and Pilates, yet it is different from both. It combines the core stability of Pilates with the concentration, coordination and fluid movement of Tango music. It is unique in that it utilizes a partner method rather than individual exercises and that it incorporates the aerobic or cardio element of music.

Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) is usually performed on a specially designed apparatus called T-DITELLA, but it also may be performed on a mat, or on the Pilates apparatus.

Originally a rehabilitation technique conceived for patients with severe dysfunctions of the nervous system, Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) has transcended the hospital environment to become a fashionable workout for healthy people. Today, celebrities and stage professionals like the famous American Ballet Theatre dancer Julio Bocca, and the internationally known musician Sting enjoy performing this new method.

Tamara Di Tella has written two books and many articles concerning the Pilates and the Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) methods: Tamara Di Tella Pilates (Lumen Publishing House), Buenos Aires, 2003; and (forthcoming) Tangolates: a Different, Distinctive and Unique Method, Sudamericana/Random House Mondadori, Editors (Buenos Aires, 2008). See also www.clarin.com and www.elpais.com. She publishes widely in newspapers and magazines in Argentina and abroad (See her columns in www.clarin.com/tamaraditella and www.elpais.com) She has also presented her Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) method at International and United States Pilates Conventions (California, 2005 and 2006.) (see www.tangolates.com and www.tamaraditella.com).

History and Origins

Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) originated in 2004 in a public hospital for patients with motor disorders. Pilates’ exercises were prescribed as part of their treatment at the Tamara Di Tella Pilates Room in the Hospital of the School of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires. In order to help patients with their workouts, each one was coupled with an instructor in partner exercises. Later on, a strong beat rhythm -- Tango -- was introduced to help them initiate movement. Gradually, these routines designed for two and choreographed to Tango music, became Tangolates.

The science behind Tangolates

In order to assess the effects of these exercises on patients, a preliminary test of efficacy was conducted at the Tamara Di Tella’s Pilates Room. The results of this research were presented at the 10th International Congress of Internal Medicine, held on the 24th-27th of August, 2004, at the Sheraton Hotel of Buenos Aires. [ 10th International Congress of Internal Medicine, 24th-27th of August, 2004, the Sheraton Hotel of Buenos Aires [http://www.uba.ar/comunicacion/p_electronicas/uu/anteriores/septiembre04/notas/02a.php] ]

Patients were convoked for 325 sessions, over a period of three months. Afterwards, patients asserted that the exercises helped them “not only to move better but also to feel better”. Their evaluations led to the conclusion that Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) partner exercises help patients improve, not only their movement but also their quality of life.

Julie Robichaud, Ph.D., argues that “the conundrum for neurologists is saying that it helps to do exercise, but they do not know exactly what kind of exercise to prescribe”. [Dr Julie Robichaud, research assistant professor at the Department of Movement Sciences at the University of Illinois.]

Further research should be done on the use of Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) for patients with cerebral disorders, taking into account that Tango is a highly concentrated music that has a strong focused beat. There is a consensus among the academic community that these characteristics help patients move. Madeleine Hackney, faculty member of the Medical School of University of Washington, in St. Louis, United States, published an article in the Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy in which she states that Tango, as a dance based on balance, helped Parkinson patients with their difficulty in keeping equilibrium. [Hackney, Madeleine E. BFA, et al. Effects of Tango on Functional Mobility in Parkinson's Disease, in Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy. 31(4):173-179, December 2007]

According to Tamara Di Tella, the fact that Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) requires a rapport between two people is a very interesting subject of research. Partner work may help stimulate the brain and could become an alternate pathway to successful movement. “It is that internal ignition that may just work for some brain disorder patients”, says Tamara Di Tella. Indeed, Tango’s strong and focused beat and the fact that it is done in close coordination with a partner is an excellent stimulus to initiate movement. “Tango stimulates cooperation and creates bond like no other dance, and this is an extraordinary motivator for some patients”, says Tamara Di Tella.

Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) Principles

It has been argued that Tangolates is one of the few truly inspired innovations to the Pilates method, because it combines the coordination and core stability that is inherent to Pilates, with the cardio or aerobic element of Tango. Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) introduces some new principles, among which are: partner work; cardio; music; coordination; strength and assisted stretching.

Partner Work

“It takes two to Tangolates”. It has often been stated that patients with motor disorders do not necessarily lose their capacity to move but, rather, to “imagine” the movement. This is associated to a shortage of dopamine, a hormone produced in the basal ganglia, located in the brain, and that this affects movement. [Parkinson Disease in Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_disease] ] [Frank MJ (2005). "Dynamic dopamine modulation in the basal ganglia: a neuro-computational account of cognitive deficits in medicated and non-medicated Parkinsonism". Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 17 (1): 51-72. [http://jocn.mitpress.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/1/51] ]

In Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) partner routines patients compensate their “lack of imagination” by “copying” their instructors’ movements. It is as if a reflection of reality were created so that the instructor becomes a “mirror” that shows the patient his own “healthy self”. All the patient has to do is stand in front of the instructor and imitate his movements. This makes it much easier for the patient to get started.

Soon afterwards, some innovative pilates masters in the United States began to try out some partner workouts as well. Elizabeth Larkham, for example, in her article published in PilatesStyle Magazine showed the advantages of partner work (PilatesStyle Magazine, Spring 2005, Vol.2, No. 2, pp. 40–43). “Partner exercises allow you…to develop core strength, increase flexibility, and improve balance”, said Elizabeth Larkham, Director of Pilates and Beyond and formerly Director of the Center for Sports Medicine in San Francisco.

Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) partner routines condition the entire body in partner workouts, providing flowing movement, centering and concentration. They also provide for a tall and elegant posture. Flexibility and muscle tone, plus lengthening of the body and alignment of the spine are some extra bonuses of Tangolates.

Music

The incorporation of music is another innovative element of Tangolates (Tango-Pilates). In an article on the stimulating effects of on neurological patients, Gunter Bernatzky. MD, shows how music increases motor coordination in patients afflicted with Morbus Parkinson. [Neuroscience Letters, Vol. 361, No. 1-3. (6 May 2004), pp. 4–8] . Also, Nicole M. Harmon and Len Kravitz, Ph.D. argue, “there is a strong relationship between the physical stimulus of the music and the sensory responses that enable the exercises to achieve better results”. [“The Effects of Music on Exercise”, IDEA Fitness Journal: September 2007, pp. 73 to 77]

The positive effects of rhythmic musical stimuli on movement disorders were also studied by Thaut and colleagues who concluded that: “one of the most exciting findings in this area of research …may be the evidence that the interaction between auditory rhythm and physical response can be effectively harnessed for specific therapeutic purposes in the rehabilitation of persons with movement disorders”. [Thaut, M.H., et al. 1999. The connection between rhythmicity and brain function: Implications for therapy of movement disorders. IEEE Engineering in medicine and Biology. 18 (2), 101-108] In a similar line of thought, Mollinari and colleagues point out that “rhythmic stimuli probably affects motor effectors in the cortex of the brain, or at the spinal levels”. [Molinari, M., et al., 2003. Neurobiology of rhythmic motor entrainment. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 999, 313-321.]

It thus appears that there is a general consensus among specialists in that music plays an important role in promoting movement among patients with motor dysfunctions. [Robin L. Brey, M.D. editor of Neurology Now [www.neurologynow.com/pt/re/neuronow] ]

There is a wonderful scene in the film “Awakenings” in which Robert De Niro does a magnificent performance of a man who literally shakes all over the place, but the minute he starts dancing his tremors pass and he moves normally. [Robert De Niro in "Awakening" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQPI0BIkOkE] ]

Today, Boston’s Beth Abraham Hospital’s Institute for Music and Neurological Function of the prestigious Berklee College of Music continues exploring the contribution of music to the rehabilitation of neurological patients. ["Musical Prescriptions" [http://www.berklee.edu/news/2002/02/brain.html] ]

Recent studies show that, of all types of music, those with a strong rhythmic beat are excellent in getting nervous disorder patients to initiate movement. As Dr. Oliver Sacks, M.D., a pioneer on the subject and an internationally recognized neurologist, says: “There is something about rhythm that compels one to move with the beat. This is an exclusive human propensity. No animal does so”. ["Oliver Sacks - Musicophilia - The Power of Rhythm" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHb_aqP4JgY&] ]

“Music always helps”, says Ivan Bodis-Wollner, M.D., who adds: “…some patients say if they listen to music and walk to the beat, they walk much better and have less freezing” [Ivan Bodis-Wollner, M.D., Director of the Parkinson Disease and related Disorders Clinic Center of the State University of New York] .

Coordination, strength, and stretching

Being a partner workout, Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) claims it also provides for 1) better coordination; 2) more strength; and 3) improved stretching.

1. Coordination

It is generally agreed that Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) requires more coordination as one exerciser has to coordinate not only his own movements but those of the person working in front of him or her.

2. Strength

Again, there is a general consensus on that two people working together can exert more strength than one.

3. Stretching

Finally, it is also argued that one person by himself/herself can stretch only so far, while the partner working by his/her side may help his/her partner stretch a bit farther. This is called “assisted stretching”.

Use It or Lose It

According to Chen Daofen-Chen, Ph.D., it is just a “use it or lose it” problem and it is all about brain plasticity. Referring to exercises or dance classes for patients with dysfunctions of the nervous system, he says: “brain plasticity has a lot to do with the success of dance classes, for it allows the brain to rewire after an injury”. [DR Chen Daofen-Chen, Ph.D., Program Director at the national Institute of Neurological Disorders]

Legal Situation

“Tangolates” is a registered trademark both in Argentina and the United States. This assures, among other things, that the method is protected. It also means that the quality of the practitioners who teach it is excellent as there is no possibility for untrained or under-qualified practitioners might capitalize on the name. Its drawbacks are that instruction can be costly and that a student must acquire a license to incorporate to their Studios. Trainees are given close, personally tailored supervision until they develops sufficient knowledge to teach their own clients.

"Tangolates", "Tango Pilates" or "Pilates Tango" in Argentina

Tangolates, a method of conscious, mind-body exercises, is also known in Buenos Aires as "Tango-Pilates" and "Pilates-Tango". Being a different, distinctive and unique method, is popular in Buenos Aires since 2004 and becomes even more popular as Tango grows all over the world. “Tangolates”, “Tango-Pilates”, “Pilates-Tango” and all its possible variations, exist in various European countries, such as Italy, Spain and Greece; as well as in the United States of America where many Tango professionals or amateurs are already performing the official version of this Argentine copyrighted method which was born in Buenos Aires.

Tangolates Today

In recent years Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) has transcended the hospital environment and worked itself into the mainstream as more and more healthy people enjoy performing its new workouts. The music exerts an irresistible attraction. Hollywood has “pushed” Tango in movies starring Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez and Antonio Banderas, and Tangolates has adopted many of the same movements and choreographies. As a result, Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) has been transformed into a fashionable, highly sophisticated method of exercises preferred by Hollywood stars.

Today Tangolates (Tango-Pilates) has its own celebrities. The American Ballet Theatre idol Julio Bocca; and the internationally renowned singer, Sting, and his wife, Trudy, have become devotees. [“We love Sting doing Tamara Di Tella Tangolates!!" in YouTube [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk955GdYG_w] ]

Yet, the science behind it and the fact that it has demonstrated success in both hospital and exercise studios are Tangolates best credentials.

References

Books

*cite book|author= Pilates, Joseph |year=1928|title=Pilates' Return to Life Through Contrology |publisher=Presentation Dynamics (December 31, 1998)|location=New York, NY|id=ISBN 978-0961493790
*cite book|author=Blandine Calais-Germain|year=1993|title= Anatomy of Movement |publisher=Eastland Press|id=ISBN 978-0939616176
*cite book|author= Di Tella, Tamara |year=2005|title=Tangolates |publisher=Tamara Di Tella Pilates & Tangolates|
*cite book|author= Di Tella, Tamara |year=2003|title=Tamara Di Tella Pilates |publisher=Blue Series, LUMEN|

External links

* [http://www.tamaraditella.com Tamara Di Tella Pilates]
* [http://www.tangolates.com Tamara Di Tella Tangolates]
* [http://www.utdt.edu/ Universidad Torcuato Di Tella]
* [http://weblogs.clarin.com/tamaraditella Tamara Di Tella's Blog] in Clarin.com
* [http://lacomunidad.elpais.com/tamaraditella Tamara Di Tella's Blog] in ElPais.com
* [http://pilates.hairdownfeetup.com/ Pilates Guide]