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 a large percentage of women who dance tango have elegant figures. Tango is well known for its fitness effect. It gives women an opportunity to display their beauty. Women's relying on their chest to receive the lead in tango helps them form a tall and straight posture. And their highly developed aesthetic sense certainly contributes to the beauty of this dance.

Because women dance around men in tango, they need to swivel their hips in order to step around men, resulting in a twisted body posture (TBP) that highlights the flexibility of their body. 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 - both are frequently used in dancing. But in tango the woman also has to dissociate her upper and lower body - turning her upper body without turning her lower body, or turning her lower body without turning her upper body, or combine dissociation with CBM - turning her upper body in one direction while swiveling her lower body in the opposite direction to project even more the suppleness of her body.

TBP occurs in the following scenarios:

While keeping her torso connected to the man, she swivels her hips to the left and stretches her right leg forward to the right side of the man.

While keeping her torso connected to the man, she swivels her hips to the right and stretches her left leg forward to the left side of the man.

While keeping her torso connected to the man, she swivels her hips to the right and stretches her right leg backward to the right side of the man.

While keeping her torso connected to the man, she swivels her hips to the left and stretches her left leg backward to the left side of the man.

These scenarios occur in many tango movements such as front ocho, back ocho, ocho cortado, rock turn, walking on the side of the partner, molinete, zigzag, enrosque, planeo, boleo, gancho, back sacada, etc. TBP is the reason why women's feminine beauty can be fully displayed in tango.

This gives us a clue on how to make her look stunning in the dance. For example, we can display the suppleness, pliancy and grace of her body by using steps that involve TBP and hip rotation. We can make her step to our right and left, frequent the change of direction, alternate front and back ochos, increase turns, use zigzag to make her rotate her hips continuously, making her twist her body more in back ocho by stepping 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.

Keep in mind that women's body is much more flexible than ours and can do amazing things if we know how to lead them. But beware not to overdo, as tenderness, comfort and soulfulness are equally important to women. In fact, feminine beauty is shown more in small movements than in big movements that in some cultures women are taught to walk in tiny steps. In ancient China, for example, women's feet were wrapped from a very young age to prevent them from growing bigger so that they had to walk in that way. Women's wearing high heels serves the same purpose. In other words, we can reveal women's beauty regardless of how small the steps are, because that beauty lies in their femininity, and perhaps more so in small movements. That is why milonga, which is danced in smaller steps than tango, is so good at displaying the feminine beauty of women.

Therefore, dancing tango is not doing big ochos and turns endlessly, which is a common delusion in American tango. Rather, it is using a combination of conspicuous and inconspicuous movements, big and small steps, fast and slow motions, fluxing and suspension, pause and pose, etc., to express the music and feelings. The number one reason why women love tango, I believe, is their sentimentalism. Tango is a soulful dance and women are particularly emotional, susceptible to intimations and capable of expressing feelings. Tango gives women an opportunity to release and express themselves. Feminine beauty, therefore, lies more in a woman's psyche than in her appearance. Relaxing her, letting her resonate with music, stirring up her feelings, letting her let herself go, and bringing out her inner beauty are the leader's most challenging and rewarding test (see The Conceptional Beauty of Tango).