True Beauty Comes from Within

We love tango in part because it is a beautiful dance. Our appreciation for beauty is deeply ingrained in human nature. Just as flowers bloom and birds sing to attract mates, beauty offers an evolutionary advantage—enhancing our chances of connection, survival, and success. For this reason, beauty is sought after, admired, and often imitated. Yet, in our relentless pursuit of it, beauty has gradually shifted from something natural and authentic to something artificial and, at times, deceptive.

This fixation on appearances often comes at the expense of substance, leading to a host of unintended consequences. While a beautiful woman may enjoy certain privileges, she may also face significant challenges. She might become entitled or superficial, ill-prepared for life’s harsher realities. Her desirability may attract unwanted attention, jealousy, or competition, making trust and genuine connection harder to come by. As a result, she may become guarded, aloof, or mistrustful—living a life that is far from carefree. Everything has a cost. Beauty is only skin-deep, and it is neither the only thing nor the most important thing—in life or in tango.

Just as an obsession with appearance can blind us to inner qualities, an infatuation with flashy steps can obscure the true essence of tango: connection, emotion, and feeling. Without these, tango becomes an empty performance. True beauty in tango comes from within. It reveals itself in the commitment, understanding, musicality, agreement, and harmony between partners. If you visit Buenos Aires, you’ll see this in the way the milongueros dance. They pay little attention to showy moves. Instead, they focus on the relationship, the music, and the shared feeling—and their dance is so compelling that it’s often imitated by outsiders who fail to grasp its essence.

Tango is still young in the United States. It takes time and maturity to move beyond superficiality and to understand what true beauty really means. The more I dance with women of all ages, the more I appreciate those who are mature. Even in Buenos Aires, I’ve found that older women tend to be better dancers overall. As their youthful freshness fades, they begin to embrace the deeper, more meaningful aspects of the dance. My hope is that, as tango continues to evolve in our country, we too will move beyond surface-level aesthetics and embrace the substance of this art form—as we grow into more mature dancers. (See The Conceptual Beautify of Tango.)