02 Mar It Takes Two To Tango Even With An Ostomy

Have you ever heard tango music or seen a couple dancing a tango? It’s extremely intense, passionate, sharp…  So many words could be used to describe a tango. The tango is a very intimate dance where partners have to be extremely close to one another. This closeness allows them to feel the music as one; it allows them to feel a connection to one another.

There are many movies that have used a tango to show that intimacy between couples.  Anjelica Houston and Raul Julia in “The Adam’s Family Values,”  Gabrielle Anwar and Al Pacinio in “Scent of a Woman,” and who could forget Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenegger in “True Lies”?

When my wife and I met, we hadn’t ever talked about dancing but we ended up on cruise where they offered ballroom dancing classes. So, Janeen (my wife) and I thought this would be fun to try it out. At the end of each class, the instructors were pulling aside a couple of other classmates and handing them an envelope. Though curious, we never realized what they were doing… until the last class. The instructors approached us and told us that we were invited to participate in the final show of the cruise where we would be dancing in front of all of the other passengers in a “Dancing with the Stars” type show.  Though a little nervous, Janeen and I agreed, keeping in mind that as long as we had fun, it didn’t matter. Though we had no other dancing experience, the show ended up being a lot of fun. Ultimately, I came in last place (as far as the scores were concerned,) but who’s keeping track?

This experience inspired Janeen and I to take actual dance lessons so that during our wedding, we wouldn’t look awkward during our first dance. We ended up learning a little mix of a foxtrot and rumba. Ultimately, these dance lessons lasted beyond our wedding date and continued over the course of 3 years. We’ve now learned multiple dances, tango being one of our favourites! 

2 years ago, we performed a cha-chat routine for one of our showcases. The cha-cha is very similar to our personalities; very upbeat with lots of character, fast and fun. While we enjoyed it, this year, we decided to do something a little different and chose to dance a tango. We’ll be performing this Sunday (March 5th).

While the tango is very personal, I knew that I would be in close proximity with my wife while dancing our routine.  With the thought of how close we would be during our routine, I wondered if my ostomy would be an issue. Thankfully, during all of our lessons and all of the time practicing our routine, I never once ran into an issue. While holding my wife close to me as we dance around the floor, the thought of my ostomy actually escapes my mind and I no longer realize it’s there.

Prior to my ostomy, I wouldn’t have had the energy or enough time away from the bathroom to be able to dance during a lesson, let alone a routine in front of a crowd.  I’m excited to say, my ostomy has not only given me life, it’s allowed me realized how it takes 2 to tango.