Tango is not only a fascinating dance but also a fascinating philosophy, culture and lifestyle. The search of tango is the search of connection, love, fellowship, unity, harmony and beauty, i.e., an idealism that is not consistent with the dehumanizing reality of the modern world. The world divides us into individuals, but tango unites us into a team, community and species. In tango we are not individualists, feminists, nationalists, Democrats, Republicans, etc., but interconnected and interdependent members of the human family. Tango calls us to tear down the walls, to build bridges, and to regain humanity through affinity, altruism, cooperation, and accommodation. It is a dance that teaches the world to love.



December 28, 2017

The Elegance of the Milonguero Style


In contrast to some tango styles that remind me of a bustling casino, the milonguero style of tango reminds me of a Zen garden - an oasis of austerity, serenity, peace and natural beauty for quiet contemplation. The style aims at inward experiences, so the look becomes less important. In fact, it is danced in simple and natural steps, very little adornments are used in order to avoid complication and distraction, enabling the dancers to focus inwardly on feelings.

That, however, does not reduce its aesthetic value. On the contrary, the style possesses a natural, simple and elegant beauty second to none. The following is an example.




Using cadencia
The key element responsible for the elegance of the style is cadencia. The woman leans on the man with her breasts pressing against his chest, enabling him to use the connection to swing her torso, causing her hip and leg to dangle in a chain reaction. Notice that the woman does not use her thigh to move her leg, but lets the leg follow the torso and hip to sway. Her attention is on the lateral motion of the body rather than the vertical action of stepping down, allowing her entire body to take its natural course to swing gracefully.

Hip movement
In doing so she needs to swivel her hips so that her free leg can take advantage of the inertia to either swing in roughly the same direction, or reversely in the opposite direction. She needs to swivel her hips in order to dance around him while her torso is attached to his torso. She needs to swivel her hips when she does front ocho, back ocho, molinete, planeo, boleo, etc. (See Dissociation and Gear Effect.) In short, hip rotation is used all the time in her dance, highlighting the flexibility and beauty of her feminine body. The milonguero style does not emphasize footwork, so she can focus on making the rotation of her hips graceful, smooth, yet noticeable, adding a feminine touch and elegance to her dance. (See Dancing with Hips.)

Dancing slower
In order to infuse elegance into the dance, it's essential to moderate the dance tempo. Racing to keep up with the beat can result in the loss of elegance in dancing, a prevalent issue often encountered in our tango. Instead of chasing the beat, the man should provide the woman with ample time to execute each step, while the woman should focus on crafting her every movement with poise and sophistication to heighten its elegance, as demonstrated by the couple above. The following are two more examples.






Using simple and natural steps
Another element pertinent to the elegance of the style is using simple and natural steps. Some tango styles are known for their fancy footwork and showy figures, which, although may be beautiful in some way, lack naturalness and elegance. The following is an example.




As you can see, impressive may be by some standard, a display like this relies on intricate figures, exaggerated movements, abrupt turns, and hasty actions. It looks busy, garish, farfetched and beat-chasing, but lacks the confidence, serenity, ease, simplicity, naturalness and elegance of the milonguero style, and it does not match the melancholy mood of the music. (See Dancing to Melody - Poema.)

In contrast, the first three couples use austere steps to allow themselves focus inwardly on quiet contemplation. The man leads by swinging the woman's body. The woman keeps her body tall and straight while swinging it gracefully, letting its intrinsic, natural beauty manifest itself.

Audrey Hepburn Said, "Elegance is the only beauty that never fades." I am convinced of that.



December 17, 2017

Partner-Centered Leading vs. Self-Centered Leading


A leader is either partner-centered or self-centered. A partner-centered leader dances for his partner. He leads her to dance in a thoughtful, gentle, patient and attentive way. A self-centered leader, on the contrary, focuses on his own performance and tends to compel the woman do things beyond her comfortable zone. For example, he leads her to take very big steps, which a partner-centered leader would break into smaller steps; or leads her to chase the beats, whereas a partner-centered leader would allow her time to finish her steps; or leads her to do arbitrary figures, whereas a partner-centered leader would use simple steps to display her natural beauty; or shows off his skills and uses her as a foil to his own exhibition, whereas a partner-centered leader would accommodate her, pamper her, shine her and let her be the center of attention.

Here is an example of self-centered leading.




In this example, the man focused only on the routines and failed to display the woman's beauty. He concentrated on his own performance but neglected his duty to make his partner feel good and enjoy the dance. He hastily chased the beats and rushed the woman to do awkward steps and drastic turns regardless of the lamentable mood of the music. As a result, his self-exhibition overshadowed her performance.

In contrast, a partner-centered leader dances for the woman. Here is an example of partner-centered leading.




In this example the man didn't force the woman to take awkward steps, as being the case in the first clip, but led her to dance in simple and natural steps. He didn't just focus on the routines and forget about the music, as being the case in the first clip, but let her enjoy, resonate with and dance to the music. He didn't coerce her with the arms and hands, as being the case in the first clip, but kept her in the comfort of his embrace and led her very gently with his torso. He didn't lead her without thinking, as being the case in the first clip, but carefully maintained her axis and led her by inertia to make the movement easy for her. He didn't force her to rotate on a tilted axis, as being the case in the first clip, but adjusted his position to accommodate her turns on her own axis. He didn't rush her to chase the beat and do drastic actions, as being the case in the first clip, but danced slower and used more pauses to reflect the melancholy mood of the song while giving her time to finish each step before he took the next lead.

These made it possible for her to concentrate inwardly on feelings and the quality of her dance. Because the woman dances around the man, she needs to swivel her hips and pivot on one leg in order to step to his side with the other leg. After each step she also needs to pivot and turn back her hips to get ready for the next step in a different direction. This technique, known as dissociation, complicates her movement and takes more time for her to complete each step. The man must understand that and allow her time to finish the step before taking the next lead, as exemplified by this man in the video. We can tell her appreciation from the way she looked at him at the end.

Please watch the video again in playback speed 0.75 in full screen to see how beautiful a woman's dance can be when she has a good leader. I recommend using this video as a teaching tool. Every tango man, novice and veteran alike, can learn something about how to lead the woman from this video. (See The Elegance of the Mionguero Style.)