We often hear that steps are tango's "vocabulary." As the word suggests, steps serve as the medium through which music and emotions are expressed—just as words are tools for conveying thoughts. At its heart, however, tango is not about the steps themselves but what those steps express. As someone famously stated, "Tango is a feeling that is danced."
Defining feelings is no simple task; they encompass a vast range—sentiments, emotions, moods, daydreams, euphoria, sorrow, excitement, and even the elusive duende. Put simply, the experience of tango represents a unique state of mind. In this state, we feel most exuberant, creative, fluent, eloquent, and fulfilled. Yet this state of mind is ineffable and often beyond deliberate control. It may come unbidden, unpredictably, or not at all, even when we yearn for it. Nevertheless, anyone who has experienced it knows its power. For many of us, that feeling is what makes tango so addictive (see The Psychology in Tango).
One of tango’s most potent keys to evoking deep emotions is its music. High-quality tango music is indispensable to a profoundly satisfying experience. Music catalyzes our originality, imagination, and fluency on the dance floor. The most compelling tango music—characterized by lucid rhythms, evocative melodies, and profound sentiment—does much more than facilitate movement. It resonates deep within us, stirs our emotions, sets our moods, ignites creativity, and elevates us to an extraordinary state of mind. When we reflect on a memorable milonga, it is not the sequence of steps that lingers in our memory but the emotional resonance created by exquisite music and meaningful connections.
While music is vital, it is not the sole creator of these emotions. The embrace is equally significant. Tango’s uniqueness lies largely in its embrace (see The Fourteenth Pitfall of a Tanguera). Contrary to what beginners may think, the embrace is not merely a frame or hold. It is the connection that unites us, the communication that links our hearts, the intimacy that comforts our souls, and the physical touch that sparks resonance and chemistry. The embrace fulfills profound human needs, providing connection, belonging, and a sense of completeness. It brings us back to the cradle of infancy—the nourishment and warmth of a mother’s chest, the support of a father’s arms, the safety of home. Tango reminds us that we are not at our best when alone but when together. In its truest form, tango is a longing for “home,” found in one another as we dance, becoming whole through unity. Without the embrace, tango loses its essence and becomes merely another dance.
If the embrace is crucial, so too is the partner. That transcendent feeling is elusive when dancing with someone who does not understand how to embrace (see The Connection between Partners). Unfortunately, a tango pedagogy focused solely on steps often produces such dancers. They avoid the embrace, lean back to create distance, clutch their partner as if gripping a shopping cart, and remain emotionally disengaged. These individuals miss the heart of tango. Dancing tango is akin to holding a baby in your arms, singing a lullaby while gently rocking her to sleep, or resting comfortably in a parent’s embrace, swayed tenderly by a hymn into a dream. Tango is warm, safe, intimate, and shared. The music, embrace, and rhythmic movement of tango create a hypnotic effect, transporting us to a state so blissful that we are reluctant to awaken when the tanda ends (see Cradle Effect). While steps are necessary, their purpose is to facilitate the embrace, enabling us to remain unified in motion. Tango resembles the relationship in real life where we face all kinds of challenges but keep on united, connected, supportive, complementing and inseparable. It requires love, trust, surrender and devotion (see Tango Is a Relationship).
If you can see tango from this perspective, I guarantee you will experience a totally different dance—intimate, romantic, comforting, dreamy, soulful, and deeply satisfying (see Tango and Romanticism).
