Text, tacit knowledge, and the tango

Abstract

As technical writers, we are typically quite comfortable with moving between tacit and explicit knowledge, having made careers out of first analyzing and then documenting that which has not been previously codified or captured in text. Yet not all types of knowledge are easy prey; indeed, I will argue that much of what we know defies the pen and taunts the page. The goal of this workshop is to explore one such type of elusive knowledge: that which pertains to our kinesthetic sense, the knowledge we have and rely upon daily about bodily position and movement. After this exploration, we will discuss the kinds of knowledge one must acquire to dance a tango and we will critique systems for recording dance movements in print. Finally, we 'II consider what we *ve learned about the tango and ballroom dance and consider its application to writing and reading.