Tango, Soul and Psyche

Towards a practice of individuation through Argentine Tango

A special 4-week workshop series with Dr Suzanne Cremen
and Dianne Heywood-Smith of The Tangueria—Sidewalk Tango

ACA Accredited — 10 OPD hours (Australian Counselling Association)

The next workshop series will be scheduled
for the sunshine coast in winter 2025.

Please contact us if you would like to be put on the waiting list and notified when enrollment is open.

The dance of Argentine Tango facilitates a wondrous dialogue with the psyche, or the soul.  Within a safe ritual container of intimate/social relationship, it is an artform allowing for touch, listening, improvisation and creative expression.  

In this inspiring workshop series, presented by depth psychologist Dr Suzanne Cremen and professional Tango teacher Dianne Heywood-Smith, we will explore how the dance of Tango has not only much therapeutic potential, but offers a path and a symbolic field in which to experience wholeness.

All the symbolism of Tango reflects the process of individuation (the term coined by the psychologist CG Jung to describe the process of becoming whole and growing into one’s authentic self).  

Participants in this workshop series will:

• gain an embodied understanding of key Jungian psychology concepts through the observation and practice of Tango  

• explore through theory and practice how Tango allows us to celebrate the feminine and masculine principles in their primordial force and in reciprocal relationship, where receptivity is essential

• bring attention to connecting with soul through musicality, image, embrace and affect

• discover how Tango naturally presents opportunities to work with our own Shadow, and to heal the wider state of Eros in our society.

Together we shall experience and reflect upon Tango as a creative art which connects us at a level beyond words with a source of creativity and authenticity, offering moments of beauty and connection (sometimes even transcendence) amidst life’s perpetual dance of opposites.

The workshop series is presented as a series of 2 ½ hour sessions conducted over 4 weeks:

Week 1 – Tango as Symbolic Ritual

Week 2 – Tango as a Dance of Complementarity

Week 3 – Tango as Inner Work

Week 4 – Tango as Alchemy

Each week consists of a lecture, selected readings, dance instruction and practice, guided reflection and discussion. 

Will this series on ‘Tango, Soul and Psyche’ suit me?

This workshop series is designed for people at all levels of Tango experience, from experienced dancers to complete Tango beginners. No dance experience is necessary! – nor do you need to have a dance partner to attend. The workshop offers a healing and compassionate space, especially after so many people have felt the effects of social isolation during the pandemic.

Tango newcomers will be invited to take a pre-workshop introductory class* with Dianne Heywood-Smith to gain an orientation to the dance and familiarity with basic steps.

Experienced dancers will find this series invaluable to deepen their appreciation of Tango as a guiding metaphor for life, relationships and their own psychological development.

Above all, this workshop series is designed for people who are ‘psychologically mindful’ and who appreciate metaphor and symbol as modes of understanding. The readings and lectures are at a level suitable for adults with a tertiary education (any discipline). A list of readings and resources will be provided.

This series is particularly recommended for those in the helping professions (including therapists, psychologists, counsellors, and social/community workers). It will provide personal and professional development and insights, coupled with healthy physical and social recreation. 

The workshop series is accredited for 10 OPD hours with the Australian Counselling Association and a certificate of attendance will be provided.

What people say:

"The sessions with Suzanne and Dianne were wonderful. The environment was both supportive and stimulating. The lecture component increased my understanding of intriguing depth psychology concepts and the practical element increased my appreciation of movement, my body and dance. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in depth psychology or dance, even if you are new to either or both of these fields.” – Dana Kabaila, Mentor and Workshop Facilitator, Under the Oak Training

“I absolutely loved the course and have told several others about it… I love Jung as I find his ideas seem like unwrapping an uninspiring present and finding it like a pinata, full of treasures. In these difficult times, for me it is useful to feel that there is space to see patterns and find a way out of projection and fear or at least recognise some of the forces at play, within as well as without…

I loved the way you and Dianne entwined the body and the mind within the soul. It made me feel that there was both a protective conceptual boundary in which to explore the alchemy of inner work as well as the physical expression within dance. So much to say and yet I won't carry on too much. The dance was wonderful as it was encouraging me to be in and with my body and its sensitive cleverness in a totally different way. Because I had your interpretations, I understood the 'leader' and 'follower' in a way that didn't automatically arc up my weary feminism aghast in the current tsunami of entitled power. This brought home the power that we each have in every moment of: do I trust, will I follow and how am I leading?” – Frances Murrell, Melbourne

About the Workshop Presenters

Dianne Heywood-Smith is a passionate, dedicated professional tango teacher and performer embracing all that Argentinean tango has to offer. She is classically trained in Cecchetti Ballet Adv L3, HC and with over 20 years of tango experience has a rich and deep understanding of dance movement and the embodied connection with others.

Being one of the first Australians invited to perform in Buenos Aires and having performed in theatres and arts festivals across Australia and overseas, Dianne’s stage career is vast. In 2010 the Argentinean Embassy to Australia proclaimed her dance company at the time, Sidewalk Tango, as Australian Tango Ambassadors in acknowledgement for contribution made to the Tango in Australia and overseas.

Dianne has worked with La Trobe University on research into the benefits of tango and Parkinson’s disease and conducted therapeutic tango classes for dementia patients. She embraces the principles of the energetic connection with the other and promotes a path whereby internal energy circles and ripples can be expressed externally through Tango.

Dr Suzanne Cremen is the author of From Career to Calling: A depth psychology guide to soul-making work in darkening times (Routledge 2020). She lectures and teaches on applications of depth psychology through the Life Artistry Centre in Australia, and serves as the only Australian-based faculty member of Pacifica Graduate Institute (Santa Barbara, USA). Suzanne holds a PhD, two Masters degrees (in Jungian and Archetypal Psychology, and Engaged Humanities and Mythological Studies) as well as degrees in Law and Arts. Her background includes working as a lawyer, conference producer, screenwriter, publisher and holistic career counsellor for adults in midlife. Suzanne’s research is published in international peer-reviewed journals, she has chaired international symposia and spoken on the applications of archetypal psychology at major conferences. She is a past president and honorary life member of the CG Jung Society of Queensland, and an advocate for the therapeutic power of the humanities and the arts – including Tango – and the archetypal imagination in transforming and healing the cultural psyche.

WORKSHOP DateS AND TIMES

Sundays 2:00–4:30 pm (AEST) - dates for the Sunshine Coast to be advised in 2025.

Please contact us to add your name to the waiting list for the next Tango, Soul & Psyche series.

We also hold this series in other locations and online. The lectures, conversation and discussion groups all translate extremely well to the Zoom platform. Even Tango instruction, music and practice can happen online and be experienced in the comfort and safety of your own home.

Venue

Drycraft Studio East
Box Hill Community Arts Centre
470 Station Street Box Hill, VIC 3128

Fee and registration 

AU$575 single for the 4-week workshop series
AU$545 single for Jung Society members and concession card holders
OR register with another (friend or partner) and pay only AU$495 each.

AU$495 Early bird single (save AU$80)

No partner required. A certificate of attendance will be provided upon completion.

A limited number of partial scholarships may be available for people who would benefit from this workshop series and are unable to participate for financial reasons.  Please email us to discuss in confidence if this applies to you.

To register* please 1) complete the Workshop Registration Form and

2) arrange Payment as below. A confirmation email will follow.

* Life Artistry's Standard Terms for the provision of educational services are available here.

* PLUS - An optional pre-workshop Tango lesson for beginners (or those keen to reconnect!):

Dianne Heywood-Smith will offer this pre-workshop tango class in October at a time and place to be determined. Cost $30 per person – payable in cash at the lesson.

We will touch base on the history, the music and the underlying structure of Argentinean Tango. Plus dance a little Tango. Please wear comfortable clothing and leather souled shoes if possible, as this makes pivoting easier. We can also work in socks.

Please mention your interest in this optional lesson on registration, or contact James Davidson at hello@lifeartistry.com.au.

Workshops Payment by Credit Card:

Workshops Payment by Bank Transfer:

A $15 discount is offered for payments made by direct deposit or SWIFT transfer. Please deduct $15 from the relevant amount and transfer with email confirmation to:

BSB: 313 140 (Bank Australia, Kew, Victoria, Australia)
Account number: 14073170
Account name: eContent t/a Life Artistry

Confirmation email: hello@lifeartistry.com.au

Cancellation Policy:

• An AU$70 fee applies to all refunds

• No refund available after one week before the event.