Simple Is Beautiful

In a scarce society people are used to frugality and simplicity, while in an affluent society such as ours, lavishness and extravagantness are the norm. For tasks that other people do with a simple kitchen knife, we created one equipment to chop eggs, another to cut meats, another to slice tomatoes, another to peel apples, another to shred cucumbers, etc. Our kitchens are crammed with junks. Our houses are more and more cluttered, and so are our massive shopping malls, huge governments, and gigantic tax codes. Our national debt has reached $14 trillion (an annual interest at 1% of which is $14 thousand million!), and we still spend like there is no tomorrow. Our commercial culture is all about catching and impressing. That’s why TV ads are made increasingly weird. I don’t think it is coincident that some of us confuse weirdness with beauty. Just look at the punk hairdos, tattoos, rings on noses, lips and eyelids, and pants that are about to fall down… Everything is about catching eyes rather than genuine beauty.

The way we dance tango reflects this culture. Like life, tango is really simple, but we insist on making it fancy and complicated. While in Argentina tango is danced in normal, natural, comfortable and simple steps, our tango is cluttered with showy, gaudy, farfetched, overdone and awkward movements. Simplicity and naturalness are acquired taste that we don’t have. We regard complexity and bizarreness as beautiful. While in Argentina tango is all about music, feeling, relationship and physical pleasure, our tango is all about pretty dresses, expensive shoes, fancy footwork, thrilling acts, luxurious hotels and pricey festivals. We are too focused on the superficial things.

Let me proclaim a different aesthetics that values simplicity and naturalness. Nature is simple and it is beautiful. Light makeup looks better than heavy and queer one. A house simply decorated is more pleasant than that cluttered with ostentatious ornaments. Concise writing is superior to redundant expression. A kung fu master performs his skill with great ease and simplicity. It is same in tango. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. It is an inner quality that those who focus only on superficial things do not have. Tango is not a luxury. It is a simple pleasure that should not cost an absurd amount of money to enjoy. People who love tango should keep it original and free from contaminations of the commercial world and the frivolous custom of the time. There is no need to spend on fancy steps and flashy dresses to enjoy tango. Tango can be danced in a simple, moderate and natural way, like the Argentines dance it. We need to change focuse from what is without to what is within. An ordinary-looking woman with refined inner quality is much more attractive than a pretty woman without it. Tango is the same. It is for feeling and not for looking. When tango stops to be a show, it will be simpler, deeper, better, and more enjoyable.