Simple Is Beautiful

In societies of scarcity, simplicity and frugality are born of necessity. In contrast, in our world of abundance, excess has become the norm. Tasks once accomplished with a simple kitchen knife, we delegate to a multitude of gadgets: one for chopping eggs, another cutting meats, another slicing tomatoes, another peeling apples, yet another shredding cucumbers. Our kitchens overflow with clutter, just as the complexity of our homes, shopping malls, governments, and tax codes. Our national debt has surged past $14 trillion, with $350 billion paid annually in interest alone—yet we continue to spend as though resources are limitless. Commercial culture bombards us with increasingly bizarre advertisements, each one vying louder than the last for our attention. It's no surprise that many young people now confuse eccentricity with beauty. Punk hairstyles, tattoos, piercings, sagging pants—these aren’t so much statements of aesthetics as they are cries to be noticed.

The way we dance tango mirrors this cultural excess. Tango is actually a simple dance, yet we insist on complicating it. In Argentina, tango is danced with natural, unpretentious, and fluid steps. Here, it’s often overburdened with flashy, exaggerated, and awkward movements. Simplicity is an acquired taste that we lack. We tend to equate complexity and peculiarity with beauty. While tango in Argentina honors the music, feeling, connection, and harmony, our version is dominated by flashy footwork, revealing costumes, lavish venues, and grand festivals. We’re too focused on superficiality over substance.

I advocate for an aesthetic grounded in simplicity and authenticity. Nature’s beauty lies in its quiet elegance. A light touch of makeup looks more genuine than heavy layers. A home with simple, uncluttered decor is more inviting than one overrun with ostentatious ornaments. Concise writing is more effective than verbose 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 principle applies to tango. A master dancer can evoke profound beauty with minimal movement, 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 joy—an intimate, personal experience that doesn’t demand exorbitant expenses. As dancers, we must resist the pull of commercialism and frivolity, shifting our focus from the superficial to the essential. Just as a woman with inner grace captivates more deeply than one relying solely on outward beauty, authentic tango moves us not through spectacle, but through feeling. When we strip away the performance, what remains is something truer, deeper, and ultimately more beautiful (see The Conceptual Beauty of Tango).