Tango Is a Feeling

We often hear people say that steps are tango's "vocabulary." As the word suggests, steps are the means used to express music and feelings, just like words are the tools used to convey thoughts. In its essence tango is not about steps, but what the steps express. So much so that someone famously stated: "Tango is a feeling that is danced."

It is difficult to define feelings, which encompass everything from sentiment, emotion, mood, daydream, euphoria, sorrow, excitement, to duende. Simply put, what we experience in tango is a state of mind. As ineffable as it is, we are most exuberant, creative, fluent, eloquent and satisfied when we are in that state of mind. How this state of mind comes into being is a mystery. It may not come by will or effort. It may not come always. It may not come at all even when we try hard to find it. But everyone has experienced it at some point. We are addicted to tango mainly because we have experienced that feeling. (See The Psychology in Tango.)

A key factor in tango’s ability to evoke deep emotions is its music. High-quality music is essential for a truly satisfying tango experience, serving as a catalyst, unlocking our potential for originality, imagination, skill, ability, and fluency on the dance floor. Excellent tango music, characterized by lucid rhythm, beautiful melodies, and deep sentiment, not only facilitates dancing but also resonates deeply within us, stirring emotions, setting moods, sparking creativity, and transporting us to a heightened state of mind. When we reminisce about a memorable milonga with captivating music and buoyant spirits, or a dance partner with whom a special connection was felt, it is the emotional resonance that we recall, not merely the sequence of steps.

Certainly, music isn't the sole creator of emotions. The embrace holds considerable significance as well. Tango is unique and different from other dances largely because of its embrace (see The Fourteenth Pitfall of a Tanguera). Unlike what novices may think, tango embrace is not just a hold or frame. It is the connection that makes us one, the communication that links up our hearts, the intimacy and coziness that comforts our souls, and the physical touch that sparks chemistry and resonance. It fulfills the needs lying deeply in our humanness, giving us a sense of connection, belonging and completion. It takes us back to our earliest memories, to the cradle of our infancy, the nourishment and comfort of our mother’s chest, the support and protection of our father’s arms, and the warmth and safety of our home. Tango reflects our longing for a “home.” It reminds us that we are better not when we are alone, but when we are together. In the end, we find "home" in each other because we belong to, need and complete each other. We dance to become one with each other, thus make ourselves whole. Without the embrace, tango is not tango but another ordinary dance.

If embrace is important, so is the partner. We cannot find that feeling when dance with someone who doesn’t know how to embrace (see The Connection and Harmony between Partners). The problem with a tango pedagogy focusing solely on steps is that it produces just such amateurs. They shy away from the embrace, lean back to keep distance from the partner, grab the partner like grab a shopping cart, and are emotionally disengaged. Such people completely miss the point of dancing tango. Dancing tango is like holding a baby in your arms, singing a lullaby and gently rocking her to sleep; or resting comfortably in your parent’s arms, listening to the hymn and being tenderly swayed to a dream. Tango is the warm, safe, comfy and intimate feeling that we experience and share with our partner. Indeed, the beautiful music, comforting embrace and rhythmic motion of tango have a hypnotic effect, lulling us into a state of meditation or daydream, so blissful that we don’t want to wake up when the tanda ends (see Cradle Effect). People need to know steps to dance tango, but the whole point of steps is to facilitate the embrace so that we may remain one 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).