Why People Dance Tango

The reason we dance tango is deeply tied to the somber side of life. Some people claim they dance tango because they like tango music—yet music can be enjoyed at home. Others say they appreciate the elegance of the movements—but that can be found in other dance forms as well. Some argue they are drawn to the unrestrained nature of tango—but martial arts could provide similar satisfaction. Others highlight the artistic challenges of tango—though ballet arguably sets an even higher standard. If these were the only reasons people danced tango, then tango itself might not exist—because there are countless alternatives.

Tango triumphs for a unique reason. While most dances are created to celebrate life, tango serves a different purpose. It was born from the sorrows of the less fortunate, offering them a refuge. They do not come to the milonga to show off, but to expose their vulnerability and seek solace. Tango allows them to dance through their loneliness, homesickness, nostalgia, and grief. It offers a shoulder to lean on, a sanctuary for their wounds, a way to quench their thirst for love, and a chance to touch and be touched by another human being.

These are ordinary people—poor individuals, immigrants, construction workers, waiters, waitresses, shop assistants, maids, and taxi drivers. They may lack splendor in appearance, but you feel their authenticity when you dance with them. Their embrace is warm and consoling, their feelings sincere and profound, their hearts sensitive and compassionate, their movements raw and infectious, and their dance sentimental and affectionate. Tango is their catharsis of suffering, agony, yearning, and hope. Its intimate, soulful, sensual, and comforting nature reflects and fulfills their deep, innate human needs. This is the tango still danced in less affluent societies like Argentina and Uruguay.

Not everyone shares these needs, of course. The successful, the affluent, the arrogant, the superficial—they may admire the beauty of tango but fail to embrace its deeper purpose. Instead, they use tango to celebrate their lives, glorify their successes, flaunt their style, display their egos, and boast of their superiority. The traditional tango is too modest for them, so they make changes—opening up the embrace, inventing fancy steps, incorporating ostentatious tricks, and using exotic music. As a result, they created a showy version of tango that looks flashy but feels hollow. This kind of tango has now become the trend in opulent societies like ours.

Tango has weathered many challenges in the past, and it will survive this one as well, I believe. Needs, desires, yearnings, loneliness, love, interdependence, tenderness, sentimentality, and romanticism are intrinsic to human nature, even among the toughest individuals. The less fortunate people are particularly vulnerable, which is why they created tango. This may also explain why milongas are more crowded during difficult times than in prosperous ones, why more women dance tango than men, and why the revival of tango happens now when there are more travelers, immigrants and refugees in the world than ever before.

Tango will always be the dance of the lonely, homesick, nostalgic, needy, vulnerable, sentimental, and romantic. Fortunate people need tango too, provided they are not blinded by their success and arrogance. After all, we are human, and tango is for everyone who seeks to reconnect with their humanity.

Cadencia

Beginners often think that dancing to music is just about stepping on the beat, but tango demands much more. Cadencia—the rhythmic sway of the body in harmony with the music—is equally essential. As a foundational skill to tango, cadencia shapes the dancer’s expression and fluidity, yet it is frequently overlooked.

To develop cadencia, you must first master the art of swinging your leg. Begin by lifting your hip on the free-leg side until the leg hangs loose, able to move like a pendulum. Keep both the knee and ankle straight so the leg maintains a long, graceful line as it swings. Now, rather than thinking of your leg starting at the hip, visualize it extending from your chest—everything below the chest becomes part of the movement. Since the chest is your connection point with your partner, he can use it as a fixed point to swing your body. This approach not only makes your leg appear longer but also enhances your overall posture, creating a taller, more elegant presence.

Swinging the body is akin to swinging a three-section cudgel, where motion flows seamlessly through linked segments. The movement starts with the torso, which propels the hip and ultimately drives the leg. In essence, cadencia is a chain reaction. Novices often engage their thigh to move the leg, prioritizing the step over the swing—an approach that eliminates true cadencia. To generate cadencia, initiate the movement with your torso, allowing it to naturally propel the hip and leg. Maintain an upright and resilient posture to achieve a controlled, pendulum-like motion, avoiding the flutter of a loose ribbon.

The swing moves laterally, yet many students focus solely on the vertical action of stepping, overlooking the side-to-side motion. To cultivate cadencia, you must direct your attention to the body's lateral movement, generating a pulsating rhythm with each step—akin to the surging of ocean swells. Each surge propels the body into a swing, and as momentum shifts, it reverses into the opposite swing. This continuous, wave-like motion—like gliding back and forth on a playground swing—is what cadencia feels like.

Cadencia is a collaborative effort, initiated by the man. Whether the follower’s body swings in time with the music depends partly on the lead. Often, the woman fails to step on the beat because her body is led into swinging too little or too much, too slowly or too quickly, preventing her foot from landing naturally on the beat. An experienced man generates just the right amount of swing to ensure the woman’s foot lands exactly on the beat. Likewise, a skilled woman times the swing of her body to the music as well. She does her part to complement the lead.

While cadencia is used in both social tango and performance tango, it is primarily a social tango technique, designed to enhance the sensual pleasure of the dance rather than creating a visual impression. Both partners must possess matching musicality and balance control to swing together—a skill that requires adequate training. Yet once mastered, the sensation of two connected bodies swinging in perfect harmony with the music transforms the dance into something infinitely more pleasurable. (See Cadencia and the Flow of Tango.)

The following video illustrates this technique:

Related videos:

Cadencia - the pendulum effect

Tango close embrace, connection, cadencia