Revealing Her Beauty in Tango

The fact that more women dance tango than men may have something to do with their beauty. I don't think it’s a coincidence that many women who dance tango have elegant figures. Tango is well-known for its fitness benefits. It provides women an opportunity to display their beauty. Women's relying on their chest to receive the lead in tango encourages a tall and upright posture. Their highly developed sense of beauty undoubtedly contributes to the beauty of this dance.

Because in tango women dance around men, they need to rotate their hips to step to the man’s side while maintaining torso contact in the embrace. This results in a twisted body posture (TBP) that highlights the suppleness of their bodies. TBP is different from contra body movement (CBM) in that CBM is turning the right side of the body towards a left moving leg or turning the left side of the body towards a right moving leg, which are heavily involved in ballroom dancing. In tango, however, the woman must also dissociate her upper body from her lower body—turning her upper body without moving her lower body, or vice versa, or combine dissociation with CBM by turning her upper body in one direction while swiveling her lower body in the opposite direction to project even more the flexibility of her body.

TBP occurs in the following scenarios:

While keeping her torso parallel to his, she swivels her hips to the left and steps forward to his right side with her right leg.

While keeping her torso parallel to his, she swivels her hips to the right and steps forward to his left side with her left leg.

While keeping her torso parallel to his, she swivels her hips to the right and steps backward to his right side with her right leg.

While keeping her torso parallel to his, she swivels her hips to the left and steps backward to his left side with her left leg.

These scenarios occur in many tango movements, such as the front ocho, back ocho, ocho cortado, walking on the partner’s side, molinete, rock turn, zigzag, enrosque, planeo, boleo, gancho, back sacada, and more. TBP is a key reason why women’s feminine beauty is so prominently displayed in tango.

This offers a clue on how to make her look stunning on the dance floor. For instance, we can emphasize the suppleness, pliancy, and grace of her body by incorporating steps that involve TBP and hip rotation. These might include making her step to our right and left, frequenting direction changes, alternating front and back ochos, increasing turns, using zigzags to make her rotate her hips continuously, making her twist her body more in front and back ochos by stepping more to the side, have her move forward with the back ocho, or move backward with the front ocho, combine different steps to increase the variety of her pose, suspend her TBP with slow motion, or pause when she is in a twisted body position to highlight her curves, etc.

It’s important to remember that women’s bodies are much more flexible than ours and can achieve incredible movements if we know how to lead properly. However, it’s essential not to overdo it. Tenderness, comfort, and soulfulness are equally important for women. In fact, feminine beauty often shines more in small movements than in large ones. This is why in some cultures women are taught to walk in tiny steps. For example, in ancient China, women’s feet were wrapped from a young age to keep them small, causing them to walk in a delicate manner. Wearing high heels serves a similar purpose. In other words, we can reveal women’s beauty regardless of step size, as their femininity—and perhaps even more so in small movements—is the source of their charm. This is why milonga, danced in smaller steps than tango, excels at showcasing women’s feminine beauty.

Therefore, dancing tango isn’t about endlessly performing large ochos and turns, as is a common misconception in American tango. Instead, it’s about combining noticeable and subtle movements, big and small steps, fast and slow motions, fluidity and suspension, pauses and poses, and so on, to express the music and emotions. I believe the number one reason women love tango is their sentimental nature. Tango is a soulful dance, and women, being particularly emotional, are more attuned to subtle intimations and capable of expressing deep feelings. Tango allows women to release and express themselves. Feminine beauty, therefore, lies more in a woman’s psyche than in her appearance. Relaxing her, helping her resonate with the music, stirring her emotions, encouraging her to let go, and bringing out her inner beauty are the leader’s most challenging and rewarding tasks (see The Conceptional Beauty of Tango).

Dancing around the Man

Tango masters Alberto Pas and Valorie Hart discussed this important concept back in 1998: the man dances around the dance floor and the woman dances around the man. But many students today still don't know what that means. Simply put, it means that in his responsibility to follow traffic the man may need to step away from the woman, and it's the woman's job to stay close to him.

Many women think they dance close enough to the man but in fact they do not. Women who are shy about intimacy often use an open dance hold to replace the embrace, or lean back to distance themselves from their partner. Women influenced by feminism want to maintain their independence and refuse to surrender to men. Women who like to show off tend to dance with great strides, which take them away from their partner. Many have never learned to dance in close embrace and don't know how to move around the man in a compact way.

Tango is an intimate dance. To truly enjoy tango the woman needs to dance really close to the man. Close does not mean within an arm's length. It means integrating into his body and being one with him. The man who dances around the dance floor has to follow traffic, the woman who dances around the man must stay close to him and not separate from him.

To do that the woman needs to keep her torso connected to the man's torso and swivel her hips so that she can step on the side of the man or around him (see Dissociation and Gear Effect). A woman who cannot dissociate her lower body from her upper body tends to turn her whole body instead, causing the rupture of the embrace and the incoherence of the movements. That's why dancing with a novice woman often feels uncomfortable.

Here is a good example of how a woman should dance around the man.

Dancing around the man also involves molinete, a routine in which the woman revolves around the man who serves as the anchor for her rotation. Since their torsos are connected in the embrace, the woman has to swivel her hips side to side to make a forward step, a side step, a back step, and a side step, circling the man. Every tanguera knows this figure but executing it flawlessly so that it feels smooth, musical and comfortable is not easy. In fact most women can't do molinete well because of the lack of training in dissociation.

Where she places her foot is also crucial. A common problem is that she places her foot too far away from his foot to avoid touching his leg. In fact, touching is what she should do to make the movement compact. The woman must not be afraid of touching the man's leg when dancing around him. However, she needs to imagine a circle around his foothold with a radius of about half to one foot and always place her foot on that imaginary circle when she rovelves around him, because while stepping too far apart from his foot will take her away from him (see 6:20-8:00 in the following video), stepping too close to his foot will cause her to lose the leaning position when the turn is completed.

In short, four things are critically important regarding to dancing around the man. First, understanding that the woman's job is not to dance around the floor but to dance around the man. Second, maintaining a good embrace in a slightly leaning posture to secure the torso connection and mutual support while dancing. Third, spending a lot of time to practice dissociation in the molinete sequence until you are versed in swiveling your hips side to side in that leaning position. Finally, focusing on being one with the man rather than on your own performance, and being careful about how to keep the movement compact and where to place your foot so that the two of you may always remain a cohesive one in the dance. For a woman, learning tango is not primarily learning steps but learning to be one with the man. Tango is an intimate dance. How you dance it can make a big difference.

For Milongueras

To me milonguera is an honorary title for a tango woman, even though she is not a professional performer but just a social dancer. Dancing with a milonguera is a great pleasure because she knows how to dance for her partner. Her prowess enables her to focus on him rather than herself. Her well-trained body and extensive experience allow her to maintain cohesive and harmony with her man during even the most complex movements, and her refined musicality turns dancing with her into an indulgence.

A milonguera has transcended the narrowness of egocentric popular ideas like individualism and feminism. She understands that tango is teamwork, that the gratification of tango comes from cooperation and sharing, that her own enjoyment of the dance hinges on her partner, and that unless he is happy she cannot be so. Therefore, she gives her undivided attention to him, just as he does to her. Tango is an altruist dance, and a milonguera is an altruist.

A milonguera connects to her partner by leaning into him with a gentle yet firm pressure of her torso against his, tuning to the signals emitted from his chest. She elongates her body upwards until it feels like the taut string of a violin that can vibrate at his slightest touch. With her head nestled tenderly on his cheek, she remains weightless, entirely relaxed and pliable in his embrace. Her weight rests on the ball of her standing foot, maintaining stability with the entire foot including the heel in contact with the floor. Her right hand lies calmly in his left hand without weight, while her left arm hooks over his right shoulder to secure a solid connection. But she does not rely on him for balance, thus she feels very light (see Raul Cabral, Driving and Synchronization).

A milonguera dances beautifully, but for her tango is not a show but an expression of music and feelings. Steps are the means she uses to stay connected, express herself, interact with her partner, and bring contentment to him. They are a part of what makes tango an inward-facing, intimate, loving, soulful, and comforting dance.

Her body is so well-trained that she can dance freely without causing any incoherence or discomfort to him. She twists her body in his arms in such a seductive way that it pleases to the senses of his body. She can dissociate her upper body and lower body to such an extent that the two partners are always seamlessly connected in even the most challenging maneuvers. For her, to tango is to pamper the man in her arms, and she is equipped with an educated feminine body to do that.

She has danced tango for at least ten to fifteen years and has amassed extensive expertise and experience. Her mastery is such that she can dance intuitively, without the need for conscious consideration of the steps. This enables her to focus on her partner and ensure his enjoyment. She knows all the tricks to please him - caressing him with her body when she twists it in his arms, letting her chest trundle on his torso when swiveling her hips, massaging his chest with her breasts in ocho cortado, wrapping his body with her body in molinete, and entangles his leg with her leg in sacada... She is a master of the art of seduction.

A milonguera knows the music inside out. She knows the story of every tango song. She knows how to express the emotions of each song with her every move. She is moody when the music is moody, passionate when the music is passionate, sentimental when the music turns blue, and affectionate when the music becomes tender. She accelerates, slows down, softens, reinforces, syncopates and suspends as the music tells her. She can express the sentiment of the music so well that you feel like you are dancing with the music itself. Dancing with a milonguera is a pure enjoyment of music without slightest disharmony.

A milonguera is versed in the milonga world. She follows the protocols about personal hygiene, dressing, seating, mirada, cabeceo, navigation, and all the dos and don'ts of the milonga (see Milonga Codes). She is polite, easygoing and charming. She greets everyone, respects everyone, is friendly to everyone, and does not have an attitude that scares men away. She always lets men know her appreciation and love for them. Milonga codes have been a part of her life for so long that they become her second nature. She might have been an egocentric, individualistic, independent, arrogant, aggressive, and feminist ultraist. She might have possessed all the attitudes, habits and imperfections many did when they started tango. But tango has changed her and transformed her into a marvel - a milonguera treasured by all milongueros.

P.S.
I've just returned from Newport News Encuentro, one of the milonguero gatherings I have enjoyed. The women that I danced with in that event inspired me to write something about them. My special thanks to Liga Losseva, Sherry Chou, Olimpia Stein, Eva VonEsse, Flo Woodreuff, Yemiko Yagui, Marina Aleshker, Sandra Angel, Emily Mooney, Shirley Putnam, Gloria Swindoll, Pamela Ruth, and many others whose names I don't know or remember. Special thanks also to Andy Stein, the organizer of the event, and to Raul Cabral, whose writings are always an inspiration and whose appreciation for milonguera women I deeply share.