Social Tango and Performance Tango

The more I reflect on the challenges facing tango, the more I recognize the need to distinguish between social tango and performance tango. Advocates of performance tango often say, “Why draw a line? They are all tango. Tango is one.” But this is not true. Social tango and performance tango are fundamentally different dances, each serving a distinct purpose. They differ in nearly every aspect, including structure, embrace, appearance, feeling, steps, techniques, leading and following methods, and philosophy (see Three Theories on Leading). Any definition that applies to one excludes the other. In fact, those who have learned only one form cannot dance the other without additional training. Instead of promoting performance tango to beginners, it is better to be honest so that students understand what they are truly getting into.

Social tango is a popular dance form designed to suit the tastes, needs, and abilities of ordinary people. It is a spontaneous and improvisational dance, typically danced in close embrace with substantial physical contact, fulfilling the need for connection and intimacy between partners. It is danced for personal pleasure in the milongas, guided by the milonga codes. While incorporating technical and aesthetic elements, its steps are simple, allowing dancers to focus on inner aspects such as emotions, feelings, intimacy, comfort, and connection. Dancing social tango is a deeply personal and soulful experience—what matters is how it feels, not how it looks (see Highbrowism and Populism in Tango).

Performance tango, by contrast, is a highbrow dance form created for stage performance. It is a theatrical rendition of tango, featuring intricate steps and techniques that exceed the capabilities of most people and are tailored to trained professionals with advanced skills. Unlike social tango, this form is choreographed and rehearsed. It is typically danced in an open dance hold to allow for expansive movements. Its steps are wide, elaborate, and often dangerous, requiring ample space. It is not intended to provide an intimate, soulful, or personal experience, but is designed to showcase flashy figures and dazzling movements to entertain an audience. Performance tango does not adhere to the milonga codes and is ill-suited for crowded dance floors. Safety, comfort, and user-friendliness are not its priorities. What matters is how it looks, not how it feels.

I believe learning performance tango—especially before mastering social tango—is not in the best interest of most students. It is a waste of time and money for several reasons: very few students will become stage performers; the bad habits acquired from learning performance tango, such as using arms and hands to lead and follow, the inability to use the torso to communicate, the focus on the look rather than feelings, the disregard of safety and comfort of others, and the difficult movements and dangerous footwork, not only hinder their own enjoyment of social tango, but also cause disturbance to others in the milongas. Moreover, without a solid foundation in social tango, high-level performance is unattainable.

For most students, social tango should be the focus of their learning. This is because their goal is to dance in milongas for enjoyment, not on stage to entertain an audience; they need a user-friendly dance suited to their abilities, not a difficult and inaccessible form; they seek a dance that fulfills their need for connection and intimacy, not a showy, uncomfortable display of ego. Furthermore, becoming a good social dancer will provide a solid foundation if they ever decide to pursue performance.

In the United States, the blending of social tango and performance tango has caused numerous problems in our milongas. In Buenos Aires, the two forms are distinct. Social tango is danced in the milongas, while performance tango is reserved for the stage (see The Styles of Tango). Professional performers who dance performance tango on stage exclusively dance social tango when attending milongas. Teachers in Buenos Aires are transparent about what they teach: those who teach social tango specify it as such, and those who teach performance tango make that clear as well. They do not “hang up a sheep’s head to sell dog meat.” Separate competitions are organized for each form. I believe this separation is how tango should be handled everywhere.

Highbrowism and Populism in Tango

Art forms that appeal to the general public's preferences, needs, and educational backgrounds are often classified as popular arts. In contrast, highbrow arts are characterized by refined tastes and exceptional skills that surpass the abilities of most individuals. For instance, highbrow music often demands a level of complexity and range that only a few performers can achieve, whereas pop songs, with their simpler techniques and narrower range, are accessible to nearly everyone.

The notion that intricate and demanding art is inherently superior to straightforward and accessible forms, however, is misguided. Painting does not inherently surpass photography, and pop songs can be just as captivating as operatic pieces. In fact, simplicity and accessibility often lead to extraordinary results. Simplicity does not imply artistic inferiority, nor does ease signify a lack of skill. On the contrary, achieving simplicity and ease often requires a high degree of sophistication. Truly accomplished artists perform their work effortlessly, and those who masterfully simplify their craft often demonstrate greater virtuosity than those who do not (see Simple Is Beautiful).

Individuals who believe in art for art's sake often overlook a crucial reality: art, particularly popular art, is ultimately created for people. What’s the value of a pop song if it is too complex for the general public to enjoy? What's the worth of a social dance if only an elite few can dance it? Argentine tango is a prime example of a social dance—it was created by sailors, gauchos, immigrant workers, and street women. It maintains its grassroots essence in Argentina even today. Most people who dance tango are ordinary people. They love tango because it is a simple and easy dance that serves their need for connection and affinity with other souls. Those who regard themselves above the crowd try to make tango increasingly intricate and challenging. I don’t think that attempt serves tango well. Tango will continue to evolve as an art form, of course, but transforming it into a highbrow dance akin to ballet is a step in the wrong direction, in my view. The vitality of tango lies in its popularity and sociability, without these qualities, it risks becoming a castle in the air.

Schopenhauer's famed observation, "Man is either vulgar or lonely," lends itself to multiple interpretations. It could be understood as an encouragement to embrace individuality rather than conforming to the crowd. It might serve as a warning against excessive aloofness that leads to isolation. Alternatively, it could be interpretated as a call to strike a balance between refined and popular tastes, avoiding extremism. In the context of tango, the latter interpretation seems most pertinent. As a Chinese proverb wisely observes, "Water that is too clear has no fish, and a man with overly high standards has no followers." Schopenhauer's words, therefore, could also be viewed as a cautionary note.

Tango and Romanticism

Romanticism is a cultural and artistic movement that emerged in the late 18th century to celebrate the human spirit, emphasizing emotion, imagination, heroism, romance, and idealism. It arose as a response to the dehumanizing effects of industrialization, which prioritized mechanization and efficiency over the complexities of the human condition. Romanticism sought to reclaim the depth of humanity, the beauty of human experience, and the power of emotions. Its enduring influence on literature, art, and culture has been both transformative and timeless.

In our postmodern world, where modernity, technology, and superficial impressions often take precedence, the principles of Romanticism hold even greater relevance. This is particularly evident in tango, a dance intrinsically tied to the expression of longing, emotion, and connection. Tango was not created solely for entertainment but as a deeply expressive medium for the yearnings, desires, dreams, and aspirations that lie at the core of human experience—capturing the very essence of Romanticism (see Tango Is the Search for a Dream).

Critics frequently lament that certain tango performances have devolved into displays of gymnastics or acrobatics, prioritizing physical spectacle over the emotional intimacy that defines true tango. While gymnastics and acrobatics showcase impressive technical skill and entertainment value, they lack the essence of tango, which is fundamentally about the relationship between partners—their connection, emotional interplay, and the communication of feelings. Tango is evocative of a beautiful romance, where the two partners face all kinds of challenges but remain united, connected, supportive, and inseparable. At its heart, tango is imbued with the spirit of Romanticism, standing in stark contrast to the athletic spectacle of gymnastics or acrobatics. Instead of focusing outwardly on physical tricks, tango dancers should turn inward to emphasize the human spirit, connection, intimacy, and emotional expression (see The Conceptional Beauty of Tango).

When stripped of these elements, tango becomes merely a sport or a show—a hollow performance devoid of its emotional depth and richness. Sadly, in a culture increasingly dominated by games over classics, sports over art, and technology over humanity, tango risks losing its essence. Many individuals raised in such a culture tend to prioritize form over substance, constantly seeking novelty and change without appreciating the timeless qualities that give tango its lasting beauty.

To preserve tango's classic beauty, we must rekindle the Romantic spirit in our teaching and dancing. This means embracing simplicity and naturalness, valuing elegance over flashy displays, and striving to convey authentic emotions through the dance. While fashion trends may come and go, Romanticism is a timeless facet of our humanity. It endures, waiting to be revived. When brought to life in tango, Romanticism transforms the dance into a profound expression of human connection and emotion, resonating powerfully across time (see Embracing Elegance).

Tango Is a Language (I)

You might not consider tango to be a language, but it truly is. Tango can be taught, learned, understood, and used to convey intentions, emotions, feelings, musical interpretations, and movement qualities such as type, size, direction, speed, variations, and more. Those who know this language can communicate effectively with each other, discerning their partner's intentions and feelings, and dancing harmoniously as a unified whole. Those who are unfamiliar with it often struggle to express themselves or respond to their partner, leading to awkward and frustrating experiences on the dance floor.

Like any language, tango has its own alphabet, vocabulary, grammar, and composition. The various parts of the body—head, arms, hands, torso, waist, hips, legs, and feet—form the alphabet of tango. Using these elements, we create steps, which are the vocabulary of tango. Musicality and communication serve as the grammar, guiding the improvisation of steps into a coherent dance. Choreography, which combines steps into an artistic performance, represents the composition of tango.

As with learning any language, the study of tango should begin with its alphabet and grammar. Without the alphabet, words cannot be formed. Without grammar, words cannot be properly used. One of the problems in our tango learning is that we focus only on studying vocabulary and don't pay nearly enough attention to the alphabet and grammar. We don't embrace correctly. We don’t understand the functions of verious body parts and often use them incorrectly in dance (see The Functions of Various Body Parts in Tango). Our posture is ugly. Our connection is broken. Our body is stiff, heavy and inflexible. We are unable to dissociate the upper body and the lower body. There is no balance and stability in our movements. We don't listen to music. We don't step on the beat. We don't follow the sentiment and mood of the music. We don't communicate well. Our lead is unclear and follow is clumsy. As a result, although we've memorized a lot of steps, we can't put them together in a meaningful, musical, harmonious and beautiful way.

Like any language, tango has a vast vocabulary. No one masters all the steps in tango, just as no one knows all the words in a language. Fortunately, mastery of the basics suffices for effective communication. For instance, the Chinese language includes over 60,000 characters. The most complete Kangxi Dictionary contains 47,000 characters. The most commonly used Xinhua Dictionary contains 8,500. Yet, only 950 of these characters account for 90% of those used in popular literature. Adding the next 2,800 most frequently used characters increases coverage to 99.9%. Most Chinese characters are rarely used.

Tango is the same. There are only limited steps that are essential in tango, such as walk, salida, resolution, switch between parallel system and cross system, cruzada, pivot, dissociation, cadencia, front ocho, back ocho, molinete, giro, rock, and traspie. These basic steps form 90% of the steps used in social tango dancing. More complicated steps, such as ocho cortado, sacada, sandwich, boleo, rulo, parada, barrida, corrida, carpa, planeo, lapiz, calesita, enganche, volcada, americana, media vuelta, media luna, arrastrar, zarandeo, etc., form the other 9% less common, optional and dispensable steps in social tango. In addition to the above are steps used primarily in performance tango, such as enrosque, giro-enrosque-lapiz combination, high boleo, castigada, back sacada, gancho, colgada, single axis turn, soltada, patada, sentada, kick, lift, flip, etc. These steps are mainly used by professional performers for special effects only. They lack the friendliness of the social tango steps, are difficult, uncomfortable, dangerous and requiring a lot of space to do, therefore are not suitable for social dancing (see Social Tango and Performance Tango).

It's unwise to focus on stuffs that are of very little use, while neglecting the essentials that can benefit you most. Yet, many tango students do just that. A better approach to tango is to focus on the alphabet, grammar and basic vocabulary of tango instead of jumping into big fancy words without a solid foundation. Frankly, for most people, the basics are all they need to enjoy social tango. If you understand that, then tango is really a simple and easy dance. Those who are particularly talented and want to become stage performers can go further to learn performance, but that should be pursued after they have laid the foundation, not before, and certainly not at the milonga where even the professionals dancers dance sociably. (See Tango Is a Language (II).)

Driving and Synchronization

Raul Cabral is a tango master, a brilliant thinker and teacher of the milonguero style of tango. He published a series of essays on http://www.raultangocabral.com.ar. The following is a brief summary of his key message on achieving synchronization through proper embrace.

The most important qualities of a dancer have nothing to do with steps. What are essential for the leader are his musicality and his ability to drive the follower. What are essential for the follower are her abilities to be weightless and to synchronize the movement.

The leader is the driver in tango, who uses his body to effect the movement of the body of his partner. Every step of the leader should be expressed through his partner. Driving does not mean that he moves and waits for his partner to follow. Tango is synchronization, or moving exactly at the same time. This suggests that the word “follow” is an incorrect notion because “follow” implies a moment later. Even if the moment is minimal, there is no synchronization. What is correct for the follower is to enter the moving car of the leader and allow herself to be transported by him on their musical journey.

The unique and magical essence of tango, two bodies moving as one, is achieved solely by the ability of the body to communicate the message of its movement through the embrace. Many people, through tango, are beginning to discover the importance of the embrace, which takes us back to the first years of our lives, to the protection of the chest of women. It is the need of that connection that brings people into tango. The embrace is the reason that tango has triumphed in the multitude of societies in the world.

Driving and synchronization are achieved through proper embrace. Since the beginning of tango, there is only one communication in this dance and it is corporal, from body to body, not arms to arms. The two partners make contact through their bodies, which are weighted slightly forward on the balls but supported by the entire feet on the floor including heels. Each partner is responsible for his/her own balance. The man spreads his chest, offers it to the woman and welcomes her into his body. He embraces her firmly, but puts no pressure on her. There is nothing tense or hard in his body. He leads her with his whole body but his main message comes from his chest, from which he communicates the feelings, the direction, the size of the step, the timing, the cadence, the pause, etc. He never loses his contact to her, not even an instant, and he never cuts the flow of communication.

The woman settles into the man’s embrace, molding herself on him until it feels as if he were wearing her. She leans her body slightly forward against him and properly positions her chest so she can receive every minute message from his torso. She stretches her body from the waist on upwards, as if she were the string of a violin vibrating at his slightest touch. Her body is soft and relaxed. It is upon relaxation that her extremities, legs, arms and head, become void of matter, and her torso, especially her chest, becomes the main focus. This allows her to feel the messages from the body of the leader and move in unison with him. Her weight is on the inside of the ball of her foot, but her whole foot including the heel is in contact with the floor. Her arm lands gently and weightlessly on his shoulder. She doesn't hang on him or use the embrace to stabilize herself, but keeps her own balance, thus she is light. She is supple but toned, soft but with nothing loose (hips, for instance). Her presence is notable with subtle but assured pressure of her chest against his. She does not efface herself or break the connection, knowing if she separates herself from him she won‘t get the information from his body. She is continuously tuned to the messages he emits from his chest. Until the tango is over, her chest is permanently in contact with his. This is the most exact way to achieve synchronization.

Tango Embrace

Tango can be danced in a variety of ways. For example, it can be danced in a "virtual embrace," in which the two partners dance at a distance without any physical contact. The man leads with visual signals to indicate movements, while the women interprets these cues to execute each step. A visual lead is difficult to perceive because it cannot be felt and must be seen. The differences between signals often are so subtle that they are difficult to discern with the eye. It's quite a challenge for the man to send a clear visual signal and for the woman to apprehend it. Also, a virtual embrace lacks the physicality, touch, sensation, and comfort of a physical embrace, disabling movements that require physical support. Despite these, the virtual embrace highlights an essential distinction between leading and following: one is ploting the dance, and the other is beautifying the dance. It also underscores that leading and following are not only physical processes but also psychological, requiring mental focus and understanding. This awareness is crucial, as we cannot dance well with our legs unless we can dance with our hearts.

Tango can also be danced in an open dance hold like that in ballroom dancing, where the dancers connect only through their arms and hands. Arms and hands are extensions of the body, so even without direct torso contact, dancers can still sense each other’s intentions through their arms and hands. The open dance hold, also known by its fine-sounding name “open embrace,” provides more space for dancers to maneuver, making it popular among movement-oriented dancers who enjoy performing elaborate figures. It is arguable, however, that in an open embrace dancers still lead and follow with their torsos as they theoretically should. In reality, the absence of torso contact often leads dancers to rely on their arms and hands for signaling, which is not as seamless as leading and following with torsos. Also, the open embrace lacks the intimacy, comfort, and soulful quality of the close embrace.

Tango can also be danced free from using arms and hands, but with only the contact of torsos. Direct torso communication is unique and essential to Argentine tango, making it an intimate, feeling-oriented, and soulful dance. However, beginners often feel shy about intimacy and adhere to the habit of using their arms and hands to send and receive signals. To help students overcome this hurdle, tango teachers may ask them to dance with only torso contact, without using their arms and hands. Some teachers even place a piece of paper between the students' chests, instructing them not to let it fall as they dance. While people don’t actually dance tango this way, the skills developed through this training provide students with a solid foundation for their tango.

The most comfortable and communicative embrace is the close embrace, in which partners lean into each other, chest against chest, and cheek touches cheek. His left hand and her right hand hold at shoulder height, his right arm wraps around her body, and her left arm hooks over his right shoulder. This close embrace provides the most intimate connection and effective communication, making it favored by feeling-oriented dancers who enjoy the intimate, cozy, and soulful interactions between the partners more than gymnastic movements. This close embrace is the most common embrace used in social dancing in crowded milongas where space is limited.

Beginners may find close embrace hinders their movements, but that is only because they are novices. Dancing in close embrace requires skills different from those used in the open embrace style. These include dancing in a compact way, using small, simple, rhythmic and synchronized steps, the command on dissociation, the mastery of cadencia, the ability to do spot dancing, the knack in floorcraft on a crowded dance floor, the focus on feelings rather than steps, and the emphasis on the elegance rather than flaunt of the movements, ect.

Experienced dancers may also use some variations of close embrace to increase movement possibilities. One variation is the V-shaped embrace in which the two partners are connected with one side of their torsos and leave the other side open. Another is increasing the lean of the body to allow more space between their legs. The combination of the two is yet another option. These variations are a compromise between intimacy and movement possibilities, requiring greater stamina of the body and are less comfortable than the classic close embrace.

In actual dancing, dancers often alternate between different embraces as they see fit. For example, while dancing ocho, the woman might switch between a standard chest-to-chest embrace and a V-shaped embrace. The choice of embrace dependends on many factors, including physical conditions (flexibility and stamina of the body), dance styles (movement-oriented or feeling-oriented), purposes (social dancing or performance), environment (floor density and milonga codes), music (fast or slow tempo), movements (complex or simple, large or small steps), maturity (age and experience), and genres (tango, vals or milonga). Every embrace has its merits and limits. In the milonguero style of tango, close embrace is used to facilitate the communication of feelings. In the Villa Urquiza style of tango, a loose embrace is used to ease fancy footwork. In stage tango, open embrace is used to deliver intricate performance (see Three Theories on Leading).

The close embrace earned tango a reputation as the "dance of the brothel" and led to its rejection by "polite society." The emergence of the open-embrace style contributed to the spread of tango. Some young generation dancers saw an opportunity for more elaborate performance in the open-embrace style and launched the tango Nuevo movement, which gained particular momentum outside Argentina, where intimacy between the sexes is often culturally discouraged. As tango moved in this direction, it began to lose its original feel. Gymnastic tendencies, antisocial behavior, breaking of the embrace, adoption of non-tango elements, shifts in gender roles, alternative music, same-sex partnerships, and other efforts to reform the dance emerged in succession, transforming tango into a hybrid form. The old guard in tango's homeland, the Argentine milongueros, strongly defend its roots. Their style of tango, known as the milonguero style danced in close embrace, remains the dominant style in Buenos Aires today. Still, the battle between traditionalists and reformers continues. (See The Fourteenth Pitfall of a Tanguera.)

The Signature of Tango

Music plays a crucial role in tango. Mediocre, unfamiliar, eccentric, or outlandish music has never produced a beautiful tango. Well-performed tangos are always danced to excellent, classic tango music, an indispensable source of inspiration that brings the dancers’ skills into full play. Good classic tango music excites the dancers, stirs their emotions, kindles their creativity, generates synergy, and leads to what Argentinians call duende—an elated state in which dancers perform exceptionally well. Without good music, even a master’s abilities are limited.

There are tens of thousands of tango songs on the market, but only a small fraction are high-quality, danceable pieces. The remainder are either of mediocre quality or composed for listening rather than dancing. CD makers are well aware of this and mix tracks strategically to avoid selling just a few songs. As a result, a cassette with twenty tracks may contain only a couple of good, danceable songs, with the rest being subpar. Argentinians who grew up immersed in tango culture know their music. They might buy a CD for one or two good songs and discard the rest. American tourists, however, often buy a CD and play every track. Lacking adequate knowledge of tango music, they collect tango songs as indiscriminately as they collect tango steps. Many even favor novel, rare, or exotic pieces, ignoring their undanceability.

Experts agree that familiarity with music is essential for an exuberant tango experience. Argentinians play only well-known classic tango music in their milongas, avoiding even unfamiliar tango songs, let alone outlandish or alternative music. Playing such music disservices tango—it is peculiar, lacks the richness and depth of classic tango, and transforms the dance into a hybrid form catering to the tastes of foreigners. This, however, alienates the milongueros, who are the mainstay of the milongas. In Argentina, these seasoned dancers are held in high regard, receiving discounted admission, the best seats, and their favorite Golden Age music in the milongas.

Classic tango music is the signature of tango, created and developed alongside the dance and for it. People recognize and associate it with tango the moment they hear it, as there is a profound sentimental bond between the two. In fact, tango dance and classic tango music are two aspects of one thing called Argentine tango, inseparable as body and soul. While tango can technically be danced to other music, it does not remain intact when done so. One could dance tango to the music of Beijing opera, but that would no longer be tango.

Alternative music from different cultural backgrounds lacks the rhythmic structure and sentimental richness of classic tango music. The latter is passionate, multi-layered, dynamic, sentimental, and moody, enabling dancers to interpret and improvise freely (see The Characteristics of Classic Tango). Any music that shares this rhythmic structure and emotional depth will be recognized as tango, not as alternative music. By definition, alternative music is the music that lacks the structural and emotional intricacy of tango, therefore is not the best music for tango dancing. It appeals only to novices with underdeveloped taste, individuals seeking novelty for its own sake, and those who cater to such preferences for commercial gain.

Those who love tango more than money can contribute significantly to the art form in one simple way. A three-hour milonga typically consists of 15 tandas, or 60 songs. By carefully selecting the 600 best classic tango songs and playing them repeatedly in our milongas—just as the Argentinians do in the milongas of Buenos Aires—we can transform our tango culture and elevate the quality of our dance in ways we cannot yet fully imagine. After all, tango is intrinsically connected to its music. The better the music, the more enjoyable the dancing, the more fulfilled the dancers, and the more successful the milonga. (See My Two Cents on Music Selections.)

Simple Is Beautiful

In societies of scarcity, simplicity and frugality are necessities. In contrast, in societies of abundance like ours, luxury and waste have become the norm. Tasks others complete with a simple kitchen knife are, for us, delegated to a myriad of specialized tools: one for chopping eggs, another cutting meats, another slicing tomatoes, another peeling apples, another shredding cucumbers. Our kitchens overflow with clutter, as do our houses, shopping malls, governments, and tax codes. Our national debt has soared past $14 trillion, with $350 billion paid annually in interest alone, yet we spend as if resources are infinite. Our commercial culture relentlessly vies for attention, resulting in increasingly bizarre advertisements. It’s no coincidence that many young people conflate eccentricity with beauty. Consider the prevalence of punk hairstyles, tattoos, nose rings, lip and eyelid piercings, and sagging pants—these trends are more about grabbing attention than embodying genuine beauty.

The way we dance tango mirrors this cultural excess. Tango is actually a simple dance, but we insist on complicating it. In Argentina, tango is danced with natural, unpretentious, and fluid steps. By contrast, our version is burdened with exaggerated, showy, and awkward movements. Simplicity and naturalness are acquired tastes that we frequently overlook, favoring instead a view that equates complexity and peculiarity with beauty. In Argentina, tango celebrates music, feeling, harmony, and physical connection. Here, it is dominated by flashy footwork, dramatic figures, revealing costumes, opulent venues, and extravagant festivals. We’re too focused on superficiality over substance.

Let me champion an aesthetic that values simplicity and naturalness. Nature's beauty lies in its simple elegance. A light touch of makeup appears far more comfortable and authentic than heavy, artificial layers. A home with simple, uncluttered decor is more inviting than one overrun with ostentatious ornaments. Concise writing is more effective than redundant prose. Silence often communicates more than words. Excess can detract rather than enhance, and this holds true for tango. Simple steps radiate elegance, allowing dancers to connect deeply with the music and each other, fostering meaningful, inward-focused communication. As I’ve elaborated elsewhere (see The Advantages of Simplicity over Flashy Movements), artistic simplicity unlocks unexpected, often superior, outcomes. The dance video that recreates a classic Chinese painting is a striking example of this principle in action.

The same aesthetic applies to tango. A master dancer can convey profound beauty through simplicity, embodying the ideal that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” This subtle artistry eludes those fixated on surface appearances. Tango should not be an extravagant luxury, but a simple pleasure—an intimate, personal experience that doesn’t demand exorbitant expenses. As dancers, we must resist the tide of commercialism and frivolity, shifting our focus from the superficial to the essential. Just as a seemingly ordinary woman with inner refinement captivates more than mere outward beauty, so too does authentic tango. It is a dance for feeling, not for show. When we strip tango of its performative elements, it becomes simpler, deeper, better, and more fulfilling (see The Conceptional Beauty of Tango).

True Beauty Comes from Within

We love tango in part because it's a beautiful dance. This affinity for beauty is intrinsic to our nature. Just as flowers bloom and birds sing to attract mates, beauty serves as a natural advantage, enhancing the chances of survival and prosperity. Consequently, it is coveted, revered, and imitated. Yet, the relentless pursuit of beauty has led to its transformation. What was once natural and genuine has become an artificial and deceptive illusion.

In our fixation on this illusion, substance often takes a back seat, leading to a myriad of issues. While a beautiful woman may enjoy certain advantages, she may also face drawbacks. She might become entitled, superficial, and unprepared for the tough realities in real life. She might demand more and be hard to please. A likely prey of men, jealousy of women, and heart breaker to many suitors, she may have more enemies than she can handle. Consequently, she can be arrogant, aloof, suspicious, mistrustful, and overly protective. She may live a less worry-free life. It is crucial to acknowledge that everything has a cost. Beauty is only a skin deep. It is neither the only thing nor the most important thing in life and tango.

Just as an obsession with appearance blinds us to inner worth, an infatuation with flashy steps obscures the essence of tango - connection and feelings. However, without these tango becomes an empty show. True beauty emanates from within. It lies in the shared commitment, understanding, musicality, agreement, and harmony between the partners. If you visit Buenos Aires, you will see that is how tango is danced by the milongueros. They don't care much about fancy steps. They concentrate on the relationship, music and feelings, and their dance is so beautiful that it is imitated by superficial foreigners without understanding its essence.

Tango is still young in the US. It takes maturity to overcome shallowness and to understand true beauty. The more I dance with women of all ages, the more I appreciate mature women. I found that, even in Buenos Aires, mature women are better dancers overall. Their youthful freshness is fading, and they start to focus more on the true essence of this dance. It is my aspiration that tango in our country will also overcome its superficiality and focus more on the substance as we become more mature dancers (see The Conceptional Beautify of Tango).

Women’s Role in Cabeceo

When a man finds a woman attractive, the first thing he does is gaze at her. His eyes are captivated, and he cannot look away. The woman may respond by ignoring him if she doesn’t want to engage, or by meeting his gaze if she is also interested. Encouraged, the man may wink or nod at her to signal his intent to approach, or he may look away if he decides not to pursue her. This silent game between men and women plays out every day, everywhere.

In the milongas of Buenos Aires, this is also the game men and women play. A man scans the dance hall in search of a partner. If he spots a woman he wishes to dance with, he fixes his gaze on her. The woman who is also looking for a partner will soon notice his attention. If she doesn’t want to dance with him, she averts her eyes. If she does, she holds his gaze and waits for him to invite her. He does so with a nod of his head, and she responds with a nod of her own to accept his invitation. This entire exchange happens in silence, without a single word spoken.

This method of inviting a woman to dance is called cabeceo. Cabeceo became a standard practice in the milongas of Buenos Aires primarily because tango is an intimate dance. Argentine tango is danced in close embrace, with significant physical contact between partners. For a woman to engage in such an intimate experience, it must be of her own volition. Otherwise, even if she reluctantly accepts an invitation, she will be reserved, detached, and unengaged. She will not surrender herself to the man and dance with passion and emotion. This is why cabeceo is considered an essential part of tango. A milonguero will not dance with a woman unless she shows a clear desire to dance with him by meeting his gaze and responding to his cabeceo with a smile and a nod.

Cabeceo offers an advantage over verbal invitations because it empowers women. For tango to be a fulfilling experience, a woman needs a partner who matches her in skill and musicality. To find such a partner, she cannot sit idly waiting for someone to invite her; she must actively participate in the matching process, and she must select from all the men in the room, not just the few who approach her table. An Argentine woman does not wait passively for someone to pick her. Instead, she takes the initiative by showing her desire to dance with the man of her choice. In that way she invites him to cabeceo her and prevents herself from unwanted invitations.

For men, cabeceo is also a better way to invite a woman to dance. To verbally ask a woman to dance, a man must traverse the room to reach her. If she declines, not only does he have to swallow the embarrassment, but he also has to make the return journey. By then, other potential partners may already be taken, forcing him to wait until the next tanda for another opportunity. But with cabeceo, he can quickly and discreetly secure a dance partner without the risk of public rejection.

For cabeceo to work, women must participate. If women do not actively search for partners, men cannot cabeceo them, even if they want to. But for women to be proactive, tango must be an intimate experience so personal to them that they don’t want to do it with anyone other than the men of their choice, just like they don’t want to sleep with anyone other than those they love. The reason cabeceo doesn’t work in the US is that our tango has not yet reached that level. Most women here are novices to tango and are unable to dance tango in a deeply personal way. They do not surrender and intimately engage themselves with men in the dance. They use an open dance hold to avoid physical contact. They focuse on the steps and neglect their partner. They sit chatting with each other, seemingly indifferent to the men around them. They avoid eye contact with men for fear of giving men ideas. They ignore men who stare at them because they do not understand the custom or how to respond. As a result, they can only wait for someone to come and accept any verbal invitation.

It is ironic that in macho Argentina women get to decide with whom they want to be intimate by using cabeceo, while in feminist America women have so little control on a matter so personal to them. Cabeceo is a hallmark of mature tango communities. It results from women's active participation in the partner matching process. Most importantly, it is an indication of their tango education and experience. This, by the way, is another reason why milongueros only use cabeceo to invite women to dance.

Tango Is a Relationship

Tango is an intimate dance. It invites your partner to touch your body, share your snug embrace, and experience your gentle obedience, attentive leading, loving protection, and accommodating following. It also grants your partner access to the innermost parts of you, enabling them to listen to your inner voice. Indeed, much can be learned about a person by dancing with them. How you connect, move, communicate, respond, and adapt reveals your somatic, psychological, ethical, artistic, and aesthetic qualities. The way you dance unreservedly reflects who you truly are: whether you are friendly or aloof, shy or open, emotional or impassive, spontaneous or rigid, musical or unmusical, sensitive or sluggish, calm or irascible, agreeable or disagreeable, coordinated or clumsy, yielding or demanding. In tango, everything is laid bare.

Tango is a relationship. Like any relationship where the well-being of both individuals is intertwined, you must strive to be your best self in order to bring out the best in your partner. In tango, as in relationships, the ego is the greatest obstacle. It is the ego that makes one self-centered, arrogant, controlling, inflexible, irritable, rude, or uncooperative. Tango can only be fully enjoyed when two partners act as one, moving in complete harmony and agreement. This requires letting go of your ego, surrendering yourself to your partner, listening to their inner voice, and following their intentions. You must accommodate yourself to them, subtly complementing their strengths and compensating for their weaknesses, ensuring they feel entirely comfortable and able to enjoy the dance with you. If you focus solely on yourself and neglect your partner, the dance will fail, no matter how many fancy steps you can execute.

Ultimately, tango as a social act demands good manners. Learning tango is far more than mastering steps; it is, alongside other things such as acquiring a taste, a new set of values, and a different culture, learning to be one with another person. Unfortunately, this crucial perspective is often overlooked.

Tango as a Philosophy

Tango means different things to different individuals. For men, it is leading; for women, it is following. For beginners, it is about learning steps; for seasoned dancers, it becomes an expression of music and emotion. For lovers, tango is a relationship; for attention seekers, a show. For heterosexuals, it stands as gender expression; for homosexuals, it offers a space for gender-neutral play. Social dancers view tango as a personal escape; professionals see it as their craft to entertain audiences. Casual enthusiasts treat it as recreation; devoted milongueros embrace it as a lifestyle. To foreigners, tango might represent a simple interest or fascination, while for Argentinians, it is a deeply ingrained symbol of their history and culture. Each of us dances tango differently, shaped by who we are and how we understand it.

Tango philosophy explores the issues that make us distinct as dancers and individuals. Below is an incomplete list of such issues—each with the potential for multiple answers. Some answers may lean more correct or incorrect, others might simply reflect personal preferences that are neither right nor wrong. Collectively, these varying views and choices shape the way we dance, behave, and categorize ourselves. By studying and exchanging perspectives on these issues, we can deepen our understanding, learn from each other, improve our dance, and, hopefully, achieve mastery through a holistic grasp of all aspects of tango.

1. What is tango
2. Why people dance tango
3. Tango styles
4. Embrace-oriented style vs. step-oriented style
5. Close embrace vs. open embrace
6. Social tango vs. performance tango
7. Artistic sublimation vs. vulgarism
8. Cultural bias and impacts
9. The relationship of the two sexes
10. The gender roles in tango
11. Gender neutrality vs. gender expression
12. Independence vs. interdependence
13. Feminism and its impact on tango
14. Individualism and its impact on tango
15. Individual performance vs. teamwork
16. Tango as a skill vs. tango as a fellowship
17. Elitism vs. populism
18. Movements vs. feelings
19. Steps vs. chreography
20. Romanticism vs. gymnastics
21. Prioritizing look vs. prioritizing essence
22. Imitating steps vs. developing skills
23. The unity of form and content
24. The danceability of tango music
25. Classic tango music vs. alternative music
26. Dancing steps vs. dancing music
27. Dancing to rhythm vs. dancing to melody
28. Three theories on leading
29. Self-centered leading vs. partner-centered leading
30. Active follow vs. passive follow
31. Simplicity vs. complexity
32. Elegance vs. fanciness
33. Progressive dancing vs. spot dancing
34. Reliance vs. lightness
35. Reform vs. tradition
36. Comfort vs. beauty
37. Creativity vs. standardization
38. Liberty vs. milonga codes
39. Cabeseo vs. verbal invitation
40. The freedom in tango
41. Tango and the outlook on life
42. A dance that teaches the world to love

Walk

The traditional pedagogy of tango places significant emphasis on walking. In the past, tango masters dedicated extended periods to teaching walking before progressing to any figures, and for good reason. First, tango is fundamentally a walking dance—no other dance form incorporates walking to the extent that tango does. Second, there is a strong correlation between walking and dancing: challenges dancers face in walking often manifest in their dancing. Those who walk well generally dance well, while those who struggle with walking often encounter issues in other movements. Third, walking is the simplest of all tango steps, yet it serves as the foundation for more complex movements. If dancers cannot execute a basic walk correctly, it is unlikely that they will perform advanced steps effectively, as many problems can often be traced back to a weak walk.

Lastly, because walking is such a straightforward movement, it provides an excellent opportunity to develop other foundational skills, such as embrace, posture, connection, communication, balance, dissociation, and musicality. Beginners cannot effectively focus on all these elements while learning complex movements; they must first master the basics before advancing to intricate steps and figures. To achieve this, exercises need to remain simple, and practicing walking serves as the perfect means to this end.

The subpar quality of our tango can be attributed, in many ways, to inadequate training in walking. American culture holds that learning should be fun and effortless. Our schools are designed to provide the most entertaining environments with minimal homework. Teachers often avoid boring students with repetitive drills, while students are eager to try advanced moves before mastering the basics - believing they already know how to walk.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. You may look normal—until someone sees you learning to walk in tango. In fact, everyone appears clumsy and amusing during their first tango walk. This is because walking chest-to-chest with a partner in close embrace is an uncommon experience. You feel awkward and uncomfortable being in such close proximity to a stranger, leaning into them while stepping backward. Your body feels heavy, stiff, and unbalanced. You may struggle to keep time with the music, extend your leg far enough backward, or avoid being stepped on by your partner.

Your posture may also be misaligned, with your butt sticking out, knees bending excessively, or bouncing and wobbling. Many also find it difficult to dissociate their upper and lower body while walking alongside their partner, resulting in an unsteady embrace and unintentionally pulling their partner off balance. (See Women's Walk in Tango.)

Until you find comfort in the embrace, you are not ready to move on to the next steps. This is why walking is so crucial. It is simple, it keeps you grounded, and it helps you focus on the essentials. In fact, it’s not just about walking—it’s about everything foundational: embrace, posture, connection, musicality, balance, stability, flexibility, lightness, dissociation, communication, elegance, and harmony. Walking forms the bedrock of your tango.