Notes on Musicality

Tango challenges our multi-tasking abilities. Among all the tasks in tango dancing, listening to the music must take precedence. We dance to the music, not to steps. Avoid focusing solely on movements and neglecting the music. Instead, strive to express the music with your steps and let the music guide your dance.

Be calm and unhurried. If you miss a beat, wait for the next one. Take your time to complete each step—don’t rush to catch up with the beat. Embrace holding, pausing, and moving in slow motion when the music calls for it.

Tango music is in quadruple time, with four beats in each measure: 1, 2, 3, 4. The first and third beats are downbeats, while the second and fourth are upbeats. Typically, dancers step on the downbeat, but many variations exist. For example, you can step on both downbeats and upbeats, pause to skip a few beats, or take two steps on one beat.

Common rhythmic patterns include slow-quick-quick, stepping on 1 -, 3, 4; quick-quick-slow, stepping on 1, 2, 3 -; and the less common quick-slow-quick, stepping on 1, 2 -, 4. Tango music is often counted as 1-and, 2-and, 3-and, 4-and rather than 1, 2, 3, 4, giving you the option to step on the subdivision "and," allowing for two steps within one beat’s duration.

Smaller steps require less time, while larger or more intricate ones take more time. Adjust your steps to play with the music's pacing and phrasing.

Musicians syncopate or spice up music by shifting the accent (1, 2, 3, 4), extending a note (1 - - -), starting a note on an unaccented beat and continuing it through the next accented beat (1, 2 -, 4), splitting a note into subdivisions (1-and, 2-and, 3-and, 4-and), accenting the subdivision (1-and, 2-and, 3-and, 4-and), adding an accent (1, 2, 3, 4), or omitting a beat and replacing it with a rest, etc. Syncopation modifies the rhythm and makes the music interesting but more challenging to dance to (see Tango Music and Its Danceability).

Tango steps can be grouped into featured steps, such as the forward step in front ocho or the rock step in ocho cortado, and ancillary actions, such as pivots, hip rotations, weight changes, collections, unwinding, and embellishments. Beginners often focus on featured steps, neglecting ancillary actions. They may be able to step on the beat, but their pivot, hip rotation, cross, weight change and embellishments are often made too slow or too hasty. However, experienced dancers handle the music with finesse, ensuring every detail of their sequences aligns with the rhythm, melody, tempo, and mood, elevating the dance to an art form.

Dancing to music involves not only timing steps but timing the motions of the body as well. The foot must land on the beat, but the motion of the body continues until the other foot lands on the next beat. This motion of the body between two steps is called cadencia, which can be enhanced by increasing the motion of the body. It feels akin to riding a swing. Cadencia increases the sensual pleasure of the dance. The ability to do cadencia is one of the things that mark a good dancer.

Tango music reflects duality: its rhythm is masculine—robust, forceful, and steady; its melody is feminine—fluid, expressive, and moody, akin to the two sexes in the dance. Visualize playing the music with your body. The man and the woman are different instruments. Each with its unique sound, expresses a different mood. Both are indispensable and irreplaceable, and they must complement each other and collaborate harmoniously in order to create a beautiful tango (see The Characteristics of Classic Tango).

Stepping to the beat is fundamental but not the pinnacle of musicality. Beats provide structure and regulate music's speed, but they lack emotion. True expression lies in the melody—its linear, fluid quality adds beauty and sentiment. Dancing to melody feels akin to ice skating: smooth and continuous (see Dancing to Melody - Poema). Choose to follow rhythm or melody, or seamlessly switch between them, depending on your interpretation.

Music comprises phrases and movements, each expressing varying emotions—nostalgia, sorrow, romance, or joy. Dancing to music implies dancing to the changing mood of the music. A qualified dancer steps on the beat; an exceptional dancer dances to the mood of the music.

Too many students pay too much attention to steps rather than musicality, but what is invisible is more important than what is visible. Steps are tools to express music; it is your musicality that defines the quality of your dance. Musicality is an art only few have mastered. Unless you master it you can’t achieve excellence.

Mirta

At Milonga de los Consagrados, a woman caught my attention. Her body was so flexible that she could twist her hips over 90 degrees against her upper body. In such a twisted posture, she could step in any direction while maintaining a connection with her partner through her torso.

When performing the ocho, she swiveled her hips and took a step to one side of her partner, then swiveled her hips in the opposite direction and stepped to the other side. At the end of the ocho sequence, she always returned promptly to the home position—the symmetrical alignment with her partner—but she did so in a unique way. She first overtwisted her hips slightly while allowing her free leg to bend in front of her standing leg. Then she turned her hips back to face her partner, releasing the bent leg. She executed this complex movement with such style and ease that it appeared effortless. No matter how fast the music was, she remained unhurried, giving herself time to complete each movement while staying perfectly on beat. Her musicality was extraordinary.

Close Embrace and Open Embrace (III)

The feeling of dancing close embrace tango is completely different from that of dancing open embrace tango. The enchanting music, comforting embrace, and rhythmic motion of the two intimately connected bodies have a hypnotic effect to the dancers, causing them to fall into a state of dreaming, so heavenly that they don't want to wake up when the tanda ends. (See Cradle Effect.) In close embrace tango, the male partner feels his female partner’s soft, springy, flexible, sensitive and responsive body. She snuggles in his arms, surrenders herself to him and becomes an integral part of him. As they dance, her body twists in his arms, her muscles relax and tense, her torso trundles on his torso and breasts rub his chest, and her whole body adapts ingeniously and femininely to his changing posture. All these generate a pleasant sensation. He feels a real flesh-and-blood woman. The beauty of her body and her femininity excite him. He enjoys dancing with her because only she as a woman can stir the feelings within him that make him a man - strong, needed, in charge, dependable, and protective, just as only he can stir within her the feelings that she enjoys as a woman: his masculinity, strength, support, care and protection make her feel safe, loved and beautiful. In his embrace she returns to her womanhood again. Only in that moment can she fully enjoy being a woman, as in real life she has to be independent. Tango is known as a refuge and it has to be danced by the opposite sexes to have that effect. When tango is danced by the same-sex partners, something mysterious and magic is missing, and to me that is anti-tango. I know some people will argue with me about this. But, hey, that’s me. I like women and enjoy a dance that contains the beauty of both masculinity and femininity. (See Tango and Gender Interdependence.)

But that is not all. If close embrace tango is sensual and physical, it is also romantic and soulful. No one has depicted this aspect of close embrace tango better than Eugene Grigoryev in his short essay What Is Tango?. Here I want to quote his essay in its entirety because I myself cannot say any better, and the narrative of close embrace tango would not be complete without this depiction of its romantic, poetic, dreamy and heavenly feelings. The following is Eugene’s masterpiece.

“Tango is more than just a dance or a sequence of steps. It is an expression of our emotions, an inner reflection of who we are and what we experience, a way to channel what we feel through movement. Tango is a language of expressing what we feel through motion, stirred in us by music, in unison with our partner. It comes into your lives in many different ways, as simple interest, a hobby, or a fascination… and ever so slowly it becomes an addiction.

A simple look, a gesture, a smile, an eye contact, his askance to lead, her acceptance to be led, all done without any need of verbal communication. As the music compels them, she comes close to him, they embrace… they feel each other breathe, they feel the passionate song unfold, it flows through their bodies, invigorating them, stirring emotions, which they both share… They can be strangers in real life, but as long as they are in this tango moment, they can be anyone they want… You don't have to know the person or even want to know them. Time ceases to exist during this moment. Both dancers are moving to the music, listening for it to tell them what to do… They slow down, pause, accelerate, suspend, all in the moment… almost as being possessed by the music. Outside of this moment is the real world, with its everyday problems, solutions, responsibilities, deadlines… but not here, not now… Now it is only tango, a refuge, a moment of surreal experience of desire, longing… words are not meant to describe it.

The social aspect of milonga is fascinating. It holds anticipation, surprise, heavenly music, moments of contact and separation. The challenge and satisfaction of rhythmically moving in unison with another person is what lures us to Tango. The experience is both physical and surreal. In three minutes of a song, you can experience a rollercoaster of emotions, but you will not experience them alone. For in those three minutes there will be a person embracing you, sharing what they are feeling with you… all without a single word being spoken… pure, raw emotions expressed through motion.”

Close Embrace and Open Embrace (II)

Close embrace tango and open embrace tango are actually two different dances. They have so little in common in their philosophies, structures, techniques, and feelings that people who have learned one dance are not able to dance the other dance without learning it. I knew this from personal experience. When I first tried to dance close embrace tango after three years of studying open embrace tango, I had no clue on how to do it because everything, including posture, connection, axis, balance, space, movements, and the way to lead and follow, changed. (See The Styles of Tango.)

In fact, open embrace tango has more in common with ballroom dances than Argentine tango. As in ballroom dances, in open embrace tango the two dancers are apart by an arm's length with no other physical contact other than the contact of the arms and hands. Each dancer is on his/her own axis independent of the partner, so the two do not rely on each other for balance and support. In case they need such support they resort to using their arms and hands, causing heaviness and discomfort. Theoretically the man is supposed to lead the woman with his torso, but since there is no torso contact, his lead is sent through his arms and hands, and the woman receives the lead through her extremities instead of her chest. The feeling of dancing open embrace tango is exactly like dancing a ballroom dance. No intimate physical contact between partners. No exchange of feelings through direct torso comminication. No comforting sensation of the two connected bodies moving together in sync to music. No physical surrender and emotional involvement. The fun of dancing open embrace tango mainly comes from a broader range of movement possibilities due to the increased space between the partners. Each dancer focuses on their own performance. They do not enjoy the physical presence of the other person.

I enjoy dancing open embrace tango no more than ballroom dances. Yes, it is spectacular, intricate, dazzling and showy, but that is not the reason I love tango. The reason I love tango lies in its closeness, intimacy, physicality, comfort, soulfulness, sentimentality, and romanticism. In close embrace tango the two partners lean into each other, chest against chest, and cheek touches cheek. His arm encircles her body. Her breasts press against his chest and arm hooks around his shoulder. In such closeness the two partners literally feel each other's body, smell each other’s scent, hear each other’s breath, and sense each other’s impulse. They rely on each other for balance and support, and move as one cohesive body. With no distance between them, their movements are much more compact, with intense physical interaction and emotional exchange. The man leads the woman with his torso against her torso so he does not need to use his arms and hands. The woman receives the lead with her chest. She closes her eyes, surrenders herself to him, relishes the caress of his body and enjoys his attentive ride. It is a very comfortable position in which to be and to dance. (See Close Embrace and Open Embrace (III).)

Close Embrace and Open Embrace (I)

I like everything about Argentine tango: its music, sentimentalism, passion, beauty, its artistic, sportive, social and recreational functions, and its culture - milonguero legends, milonga codes, cabeceo, and even machismo. However, all of these would not mean so much if tango were not danced by a man and a woman. As Susana Miller said, “If you like tango, then you like women.” Let’s face it, after all, it is women who attract men to tango, and vice versa. Although to some degree that is true with all partner dances, tango is different. It is much more intimate, physical and personal (see Artistic Sublimation and Vulgarism in Tango).

As one BBC commentator remarked, “Tango contains a secret about the yearning between men and women.” The yearning, however, is not inherently a sexual one. I believe tango fulfills a human need for affinity with the opposite sex in a nonsexual way (see Tango and Gender Interdependence). Our society is so sex oriented that this innocent yearning between men and women is often deprived. Any physical intimacy between the opposite sexes is deemed sexual, therefore, is repressed voluntarily or involuntarily. Men and women cannot be intimate unless they want to have sex. In other words, our culture does not approve of innocent nonsexual intimacy between men and women.

But Argentine tango represents a different view or culture that endorses innocent nonsexual intimacy. Tango is a product of that culture (see Tango: Historical and Cultural Impacts). In this context tango is not just a dance. It is a way by which that innocent human desire can be met with stylized sophistication and elegant beauty under a set of rules designed to maintain the dignity and decency of the dance. That is why milonga codes are such an important part of tango. The influence of tango, I believe, is by far more cultural than artistic. Tango is becoming a worldwide phenomenon for a reason. It serves a fundamental human need to fulfill that innocent longing between man and woman.

But this aspect of tango is still new to Americans, as attested by the way we embrace tango. We dance tango as but another ballroom dance. We don't intimately engage with each other in the dance. Many still shy away from close embrace and prefer to use an open dance hold instead, which, although rarely seen in the milongas of Buenos Aires, is the dominant style in American tango. Cabeceo and milonga codes are not taught and practiced in most tango communities in the US. The general culture in our tango is still more individualistic, independent, competitive and even hostile than intimate, amicable, cooperative and accommodating. Those who have visited Buenos Aires know what I am comparing. (See Close Embrace and Open Embrace (II).)

Why People Quit Tango

People rarely quit tango because of the dance itself. Instead, their departure often stems from issues with other dancers. Dancing tango involves interacting with people, but people are far more complex than tango steps. People come with diverse personalities, preferences, skill levels, values, habits, and biases that can sometimes be difficult to reconcile. People can be friendly, kind, considerate, and encouraging, yet they can also be selfish, rude, mean, and demotivating. People can be as open-minded, tolerant, and accepting as they can be discriminatory, arrogant, and snobbish. And people have egos, they are easily hurt and difficult to forgive. It doesn’t take many negative experiences to diminish someone’s interest and drive them to quit.

Being social dancers means that we must learn about people as much as we do about tango. While improving dance skills is important, improving ourselves as members of society and developing interpersonal skills are even more essential, because an intimate dance like tango can bring as much satisfaction as it can bring hurt. The enjoyment of tango heavily depends on the relationships between dancers and the dance environment shaped by the conduct of all participants. Therefore, a friendly, welcoming, cooperative, and accommodating culture within the tango community is vital. Unfortunately, in a society that embraces individualism, that is often what's missing in our tango. (See Tango Is a Fellowship.)