Women's Walk in Tango

The tango walk is performed in a close embrace by two dancers in a chest-to-chest posture. The man walks forward while the woman steps backward, and they must maintain matching alignment, CBM (Contra Body Movement), dissociation, timing, and pace, achieving perfect coordination, balance, elegance, and harmony. Many students struggle with the work because they lack the required stability, flexibility, and technique. Their posture and habits fall short of tango standards. Their legs and feet are not strong enough to sustain balance, and their individual practices conflict with one another, leading to instability and disharmony in their walk.

There are more exercises designed for women than men in tango, just as there are more fashions, shoes, jewelry and cosmetics designed for women than men. This is not surprising given the significance of beauty to women and the fact that, while men lead women, it's women who beautify the dance. How women walk, therefore, matters more than how men walk in tango. (See The Gender Roles in Tango.)

Muscle Development
To walk well in tango, it's essential to develop the muscles that allow your feet to suck the floor and stay grounded. While dancing a lot helps, targeted exercises can be highly effective. One exercise that I found particularly helpful is demonstrated by Vanessa Gauch in the following video.

When practiced slowly, this exercise can effectively build foot muscles and improve stability and elegance. The routine can be broken down into six steps: (1) Stand on one leg, stretching the other leg forward. (2) Shift your weight forward so it rests on the heel of the front foot and the toes of the back foot. (3) Rock your weight back and forth a few times in this position. (4) Transfer your weight fully onto the front leg. (5) Start the next step by swiveling the hips to move the leg—this adds feminine grace to women's walk. (6) Repeat the sequence with the opposite leg.

Walking Backward
In tango, women mostly walk backward, which is not natural and thus takes a lot of practice to master. The following video, demonstrated also by Vanessa Gauch, can help you understand how it should be done.

Walk in Leaning Position
The type of embrace greatly influences the walk. Walking in close embrace, or an A-shaped frame, differs significantly from walking in open embrace, or an H-shaped frame. A woman using an open dance hold cannot extend her leg back far enough because, without leaning on her partner, it is difficult to maintain balance on one leg while the other leg stretches as far back as possible. Here is an example.

The two teachers are competent dancers, I believe, but the H-shaped frame hindered their performance. In contrast, walking in a close embrace provides greater stability and elegance, as demonstrated by Jennifer Bratt and Ney Melo in the following video.

Note that Jennifer leans on Ney with an increased incline. She slightly bends her standing leg and incorporates a bit of dissociation—tilting her hips upward and downward to allow the free leg to extend further back. Rather than using the ball of the foot, she touches the floor with her big toe. Additionally, her leg is swayed slightly sideways from the hip, in contrast to the forward walk, where the leg is swayed toward the center, as demonstrated by Vanessa Gauch in the first video. All these elements contribute to a distinctly feminine touch.

Hip Sway
Experienced tangueras use the hip, rather than the thigh, to initiate leg movement. Here is a good example danced by Mariana Montes and Sebastian Arce:

While their style is too exhibitionist to suit the milonga, in my humble opinion, the opening walk (0:15–0:28) is absolutely gorgeous, appropriate in social dancing, and worth studying. The walk is done in close embrace that enables Mariana to stretch her leg far. Her beautiful hip sway, with a subtle dissociation and very straight leg line, contributes to the unequivocal beauty and elegance of her walk. Note that her leg is also swayed slightly sideways as a result of using the hip to move the leg.

Balance and Lightness
As comfortable as it is to lean on your partner, it is crucial to stay light and avoid placing too much weight on him. To achieve this, you need to maintain your own balance by slightly bending your standing leg when you extend the free leg back, as explained by Vanessa and demonstrated by Jennifer and Mariana. This ensures that most of your weight is supported by your standing leg rather than your partner. Additionally, this technique allows you to extend your free leg farther. Personally, I found that when a woman leans lightly with her chest rather than heavily with her stomach on me, she becomes lighter.

Pushing with the Standing Leg
While leaning on you partner, you stretch your free leg back as far as possible until the big toe touches the floor. At that point, you should not simply wait for your partner to push you. Instead, activate yourself by pushing with your standing leg. This small action adds lightness and responsiveness to your walk. However, be careful not to push so hard that you lose torso contact with your partner. Apply just enough force to make yourself feel light while preserving the connection.

Walking with Straight Knees
Many beginners tend to walk with bent knees, which looks inelegant. While the standing leg should bend slightly to support the backward extension, the free leg must remain straight until the weight is fully transferred. Moving the leg from the hip—not the thigh—helps maintain this straightness and adds elegance to the walk.

Contra Body Movement (CBM)
CBM is the natural rotation of the torso toward the moving leg. For example, when the man steps forward with his left leg, his torso naturally rotates to the left, while the woman's torso simultaneously rotates to the right as she steps backward with her right leg. The same principle applies in reverse. Maintaining synchronized CBM is crucial for stability and harmony in walking.

Dissociation
Dissociation refers to the torso's spiral-like movement toward the partner. When walking side by side, their torsos must face each other while their hips remain aligned with the direction of movement. They need to adjust their torso positioning when transitioning from walking on one side of the partner to the other.

Alignment
When walking backward in the parallel system, the free leg should travel in line with the hip, not across the standing leg. Crossing distorts your line and affects balance. Even walking in the cross system, excessive crossing will cause a winding path. Instead, keep the hip rotation minimal—you are simply walking backward along the line of dance in the cross system, not performing a back ocho. Overturning the hips can disrupt stability.

Synchronization
Tango walking is a synchronized movement. The two partners walk not as independent individuals but as one cohesive unit. Their legs must start, travel, and arrive together with exactly the same timing and pace. The woman should closely mirror the man's movements and avoid landing her foot too early, before he completes his step. A common issue is that she walks on her own and lands her foot on the floor before he lands his foot, causing him to step on her toes. The correct way is to hold the free leg extended, allowing the man to push her, along with the push of her own standing leg, so that their active legs land on the floor at the same time and with the same pace.

The Key to Improve Your Dance
Your walk defines your tango. The following video, dedicated to Andrea Misse, a brilliant tango dancer died too young in a car accident in 2012, is a good example. Notice how Andrea’s elegant walk is central to her overall dance. Walking is not just a part of tango—it is the foundation. All other steps are variations of the walk. For a woman, elegant walk is a guaranteed eye catcher and proof of her ability. By learning to walk elegantly, your tango can be improved in more ways than you can imagine. (See Walk.)