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).