Dancing to Melody - Poema

Stepping on the beat and dancing to music are not the same thing. The former represents the basics of musicality, but it is not the most sophisticated form. Beats are rhythmic stresses that dictate the pace of the music. They are discrete and unemotional. Stepping on beats is akin to jumping, with a focus on the accents; the movement is vertical, sudden, fragmented, and dry.

The most important aspect of dancing is to convey the feelings of the music, which reside not in the beats but in the melody. Melody is the sweet, emotional, and continuous tone that captures the sentiment, beauty, and fluidity of music. Dancing to melody is like gliding on ice; the focus is on the flowing tone, resulting in movement that is horizontal, smooth, uninterrupted, and even-paced.

In dancing, we can choose to focus on beats or melody, each leading to distinct styles of dance. When focusing on beats, we wait for the beat to arrive and step on it forcefully, producing movements that are interrupted, brief, and disjointed. Here is an example.

The song Poema, like most tango compositions, is nostalgic and melancholy. "Tango is a sad feeling that is danced," said Enrique Santos Discépolo. The lyrics were written by Eduardo Bianco, who played first violin in the orchestra of Teatro Apolo in 1927. Bianco discovered that his wife had cheated on him with the orchestra's pianist and, in a fit of jealousy, shot his rival to death. The lyrics reflect his regret, grief, and pain. Below is the English translation by Alberto Paz.

                        It was a dream of sweet love,
                        hours of happiness and loving,
                        it was the poem of yesterday,
                        that I dreamed,
                        of gilded color,
                        vain chimeras of the heart,
                        it will not manage to never decipher,
                        so fleeting nest,
                        it was a dream of love and adoration.

                        When the flowers of your rose garden,
                        bloom again ever so beautiful,
                        you'll remember my love,
                        and you will come to know,
                        all my intense misfortune.

                        Of that one intoxicating poem,
                        nothing is left between us,
                        I say my sad goodbye,
                        you'll feel the emotion,
                        of my pain…

The music was composed by Mario Melfi in 1932 and arranged by Francisco Canaro in 1935. In Canaro's version, only the last two stanzas were sung, performed by Roberto Maida.

When dancing Poema, you need to put yourself in the lyricist’s shoes, as if you are overwhelmed by the pain of saying goodbye to a lost love. While you still need to step on the beat, it should not be done in a sudden or fragmented way. Instead, focus on the emotions of the melody, allowing your movements to remain fluid, even-paced, and continuous. Here is an example.

Note that this couple is not chasing the beat but dancing slowly, as if they cannot bear to be separated from each other. Their steps are much simpler, softer, smoother, and more melodious, perfectly matching the melancholy mood of the music (see The Elegance of the Milonguero Style).

I often find that my partner still focuses on the beat when I try to lead her to dance to the melody. This is not surprising, given that most students are only taught to step on beats. The next time you dance Poema, try to focus more on the melody. The key is to control the speed of your movement, allowing your steps to be even-paced rather than sudden, short, or disjointed—especially if you are a woman, who represents the melodic or feminine essence of the music (see The Characteristics of Classic Tango).