Driving and Synchronization

Raul Cabral is a master of tango—an insightful thinker and renowned teacher of the milonguero style. On his website, http://www.raultangocabral.com.ar, he published a series of essays that delve deeply into the essence of tango. The following is a brief summary of his key message about achieving synchronization through a proper embrace.

The most important qualities of a tango dancer have nothing to do with steps. For the leader, what matters most are musicality and the ability to drive or guide the follower. For the follower, it is to move with lightness and to synchronize fully with the leader.

In tango, the leader is the driver—he uses his body to generate the movement of his partner. Each of his steps should transmit to hers, or be expressed through her. Driving does not mean that he moves first and waits for her to follow. Tango is synchronization: moving together, at the same time. In this light, the word “follow” is misleading, as it implies a delay—even the smallest lag breaks synchronization. A better metaphor is that the follower steps into the moving car of the leader, allowing herself to be carried along with him on a shared musical journey.

The magic of tango—the unique experience of two bodies moving as one—is made possible through the embrace. It is the embrace that allows the body to communicate intention, energy, and emotion. Many people, through tango, are beginning to discover the importance of the embrace, which takes us back to the first years of our lives, the earliest experiences of human connection, and the protective warmth of a woman’s chest. It is this deep need for connection that draws people to tango and gives it universal appeal.

Driving and synchronization are made possible through the quality of the embrace. Since the beginning of tango, there has been only one true form of communication in the dance: corporal, from body to body—not from arms to arms. The partners connect through their torsos, each leaning slightly forward, balanced over the entire foot, including the heels. Each dancer maintains their own balance. The man opens his chest and offers it to the woman, welcoming her into his space. He holds her firmly but without pressure—his body is relaxed, never tense or rigid. He leads with his entire body, especially through the chest, from which he communicates everything: feeling, direction, step size, timing, cadence, pauses, and more. He maintains uninterrupted contact with her, never breaking the flow of communication.

The woman settles into the embrace, molding herself to him as if he were wearing her. She leans slightly forward, aligning her chest to receive every subtle message from his torso. Her upper body extends from the waist like the string of a violin, ready to vibrate at his slightest signal. She remains soft and relaxed. Through this relaxation, her extremities—legs, arms, and head—become light and almost immaterial, while her chest becomes the center of perception. This attunement allows her to feel the leader’s intentions and move in perfect unison. Her weight is centered on the inside ball of the foot, with the whole foot—including the heel—anchored to the floor. Her arm rests gently and weightlessly on his shoulder. She doesn’t hang on him or use the embrace for support; she holds her own balance, making herself light. She is supple yet toned, soft yet without looseness (such as in the hips). Her presence is felt through the subtle but assured pressure of her chest against his. She does not retreat or break the connection, knowing that any separation will cut her off from his signals. She remains continuously attuned to the messages that come from his chest. Until the music ends, her chest remains in constant contact with his. This is the most precise path to true synchronization.