Simple Is Beautiful

In societies of scarcity, people are accustomed to simplicity and frugality. In contrast, in societies of abundance like ours, luxury and waste are the norm. Tasks that others complete with a simple kitchen knife, we do with multiple specialized tools: one for chopping eggs, another for cutting meats, another for slicing tomatoes, another for peeling apples, another for shredding cucumbers, and so on. Our kitchens are crammed with clutter. Our houses are increasingly crowded, and the same is true for our shopping malls, governments, and tax codes. Our national debt has surpassed $14 trillion, with $350 billion paid in interest each year, yet we still spend as if there’s no tomorrow. Our commercial culture is obsessed with catching attention, which explains why TV ads are becoming increasingly bizarre. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our young people confuse weirdness with beauty. Just look at the punk hairstyles, tattoos, nose rings, lip and eyelid piercings, and sagging pants - they’re all about grabbing attention rather than conveying genuine beauty.

The way we dance tango reflects this culture. Tango is actually a simple dance, but we insist on making it complex and difficult. In Argentina, tango is danced with natural, normal, simple, and comfortable steps, while our version is cluttered with showy, gaudy, exaggerated, and awkward movements. Simplicity and naturalness are an acquired taste we often lack. We regard complexity and oddity as beautiful. In Argentina, tango focuses on music, feeling, harmony, and physical pleasure, whereas our tango emphasizes fancy footwork, showy figures, dramatic performances, revealing costumes, luxurious hotels, and costly festivals. We’re too focused on superficiality.

Let me champion an aesthetic that values simplicity and naturalness. Nature is simple and beautiful. Light makeup is more comfortable than heavy, unnatural makeup. A house decorated simply is more pleasant than one cluttered with ostentatious ornaments. Concise writing is superior to redundant expression. Simple movements look more elegant than intricate steps. Empty space adds design and depth to a painting. Silence often says more than words. Too much can be worse than not enough. A kung fu master practices his skill with great ease; the best way is often the simplest (see The Advantages of Simplicity versus Flashy Movements).

Artistic simplicity is a key principle in aesthetics, capable of achieving unexpected, often superior, results. The video below, in which dance recreates a classic Chinese painting, is a prime example.

The same principle applies to tango. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication - a quality those who focus only on the surface lack. Tango is not an extravagant luxury; it is a simple pleasure and a personal experience that shouldn’t cost an absurd amount of money to enjoy. As tango dancers, we must keep ourselves free from the commercialism and frivolous customs of our time. We must turn our attention from the superficial to the internal. An ordinary-looking woman with refined inner qualities is much more attractive than a pretty woman without them. Tango is the same. It is for feeling, not for show. When tango stops being a performance, it will be simpler, deeper, better, and more enjoyable (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).