Feeling and Beauty in Tango: A Dancer’s Choice

In tango, which matters more—movement or feeling? Movement dazzles with impression, creativity, complexity, and beauty. Feeling, on the other hand, offers intimacy, comfort, harmony, and emotional connection. Dancers often lean toward one or the other. Aesthetic-minded dancers may sacrifice feeling for appearance, while feeling-oriented dancers do the opposite.

Ideally, of course, the two should be in harmony. As one master once said, “Whatever is comfortable should also be beautiful, and whatever is beautiful should also be comfortable.” Yet most dancers, before reaching that level, must choose between them. Mencius once said, “Fish—I desire it; bear’s paw—I also desire it. If I cannot have both, I will give up the fish and take the bear’s paw.” When unable to balance movement and feeling, most dancers sacrifice what they consider secondary in favor of what they value more. That is why we often see dancers perform difficult movements even at the expense of their partner’s comfort.

But that is not my choice. Personally, if one movement would leave a deep impression but make my partner uncomfortable, while another would offer comfort but leave no impression, I would choose the latter. For me, feeling outweighs movement. The purpose of social tango, in my view, is not to please the audience but to please one’s partner.

Observe the milongueros and you’ll see this philosophy in action. Unlike stage performers, milongueros at the milonga do not dance with large, showy gestures. They dance with small, simple, and comfortable steps. What they emphasize is musical expression, emotional connection, and inner feeling. This does not mean that milongueros disregard the beauty of movement; rather, they value the feeling and appropriateness of movement more than its flashiness.

Do social dancers need to pursue beauty? Certainly. Within the bounds of their partner’s comfort, mature dancers continually explore and refine their sense of beauty. But they will not pursue beauty at the cost of their partner’s experience. Their goal is the perfect unity of beauty and feeling—with feeling carrying the greater weight.

This principle extends beyond dance. In life, mature adults understand that a partner’s inner qualities are more important than outward appearance. If forced to choose between the two, the wise choose character; only the foolish choose looks.