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A Touch of Tango Philosophy
Reading Material
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Let’s start with terminology. For non-Tango dancers (Ballroom, for one), I have to use the qualifier “Argentine”. But if you learn the history of Tango, you will find out that all Tango variants (American, International, Ballroom, etc.) as well as all smooth couple dances were derived from Tango — thus, no qualifiers are necessary!
I wrote this Introduction to Tango hoping to save new-comers some of the frustrations I had experienced over my first few years — and that’s after having danced Ballroom for 25 years. I have observed that learning Tango consists of alternating between frustration/despair and exhilaration. My goal is to save you the frustration part. Although the material here only covers the tip of the iceberg, it can still keep you busy for a long while. So far I have taken 2000+ lessons with 200+ different teachers, and I am saying this here so as to give you a good idea of what it takes to plunge a little deeper into Tango.
The music you will hear in most Milongas is “Traditional” whose origin was in the Golden Age (1920-1950). Astor Piazzolla originated the Neuvo Tango music in the 1930’s. His music makes up a unique, original branch of Classical Music; he composed about 3,000 pieces of which I consider about 5% to be danceable. I will expand on the subject of Tango music in another write-up.
Referring to Tango as yet another “dance” sounds semi-offensive to me because Tango has much more in common with Tai-Chi, Meditation, Aikido, Ballet, and Yoga than with any of the Ballroom Dances. I can say this as a 25-year "veteran" of Ballroom Dancing and of other physical-activity modalities. First, having Ballroom expertise isn’t necessarily helpful because there are too many technical aspects of Ballroom that a Tango dancer would need to unlearn. Second, Tango originates from the Music and not from the Dance. Third, it’s as much a Culture, Attitude, and Philosophy (about Human nature, needs, desires, inhibitions, etc.) as it is an art comprised of Music, Poetry, and Dance. For a Ballroom dancer, it’d be insightful to find out that all couple-based, lead-follow, Smooth Ballroom dances (except for Viennese Waltz) were derived from the Tango!
“Those Arms embraced Tango. They embraced pain, repentance, desires, hopes, longings... In every embrace there’s a story, and that’s what we dance to.”: Ciempiés in the Movie Fermín.
My own definition of Tango is: “A Magical Human Experience”. Tango takes many years to, first, “discover”/“understand”, and then to master, and it’s the most difficult dance of them all — in my opinion, and comparing it to all other dances I practice. However, if you start with the right teacher(s), and patiently proceed and learn — IN THE RIGHT ORDER, A to Z, as opposed to the other way around — you WILL keep on making progress, and you will NOT get frustrated.
Tango Bliss
Quoted from Naomi Hotta’s “A Tanguera’s Journey” Fermín: The embrace is magical. A tango is more or less 3 minutes per song. In a Milonga, we come together to embrace someone for 3 to 4 of these 3-minute songs.
To be able to embrace someone is a gift. We all come from different walks of life; some younger, some older, and from all around the world. When we embrace, we share a part of ourselves, our lives, and the stories we have lived. For these precious 3 minutes, we share “the moment”. The meeting of two people’s energies in an embrace, for me, is one of the most beautiful things in the world. If we are open to giving and receiving, the moment can be intense, the moment can be profound, the moment can be life changing, and it is magical. There are times, when the song comes to an end, and we linger… because we don’t want that moment to end.
And there! That is the beauty of tango; it does come to an end. For that reason, it’s important to be so fully present in the moment of the embrace. To embrace with everything you have, to give and then to be completely open to receiving from the other. The two energies flow and then merge. And once in a while, you encounter those unforgettable embraces, of a sensation of eternal connection; where it feels like the drapes that cover the heart sway open with the embrace, and the light comes flowing through to bring the inside and outside world together. Where the boundaries of yourself and the other don’t exist anymore, where everything in the room disappears and location and time don’t matter anymore, where everything else is forgotten, and what is present is just simply that “moment”. That beautiful sensation of being “exactly and simply present” in complete unity. That is the magic of the embrace. That is the magic of tango. What a blessing and joy to be able to dance tango every single day. Sharing our embraces. Sharing our stories.
Please read the attached “Tango History” by Christine Denniston (also her website) which is the first “Class” material to be studied prior to even attempting a single step. Then, I suggest, read "In Strangers' Arms" which I reviewed on Amazon: Fascinating book about falling in love with Tango. I also reviewed ”The Meaning of Tango: The Story of the Argentinian Dance” which I consider a Must-Have-and-Study book to learn the basics of the Tango Technique from. Yet, another little book I just discovered, and certainly recommend is “Tango Zen: Walking Dance Meditation“.
Technique means: posture, balance, connection, lead and follow, body lead, body angles, Contra-body postures and motions, Geometry, Kinematics, Energy transfer, Body Twisting, and a lot more. Only after you have mastered the basic Technique you will be able to focus on the Art!
Along your studies, you will want to refer to the “Tango Terminology” which is the Spanish-language list of most Tango moves and postures explained in English. Here is another excellent source, replete with photographs, on the Figures of Argentine Tango.
Here is a link to my Tango Videos Folder in which I keep a small sample of my lesson videos (sorry, it's 170 by now). That's the best way for me to "send" a video to those who request some specific ones.
In this section I list some videos that I consider essential for getting the Flavor and Atmosphere of the Tango:
Most beginners will — unknowingly — have to contend with the Tango Maze as is lovingly sketched below. I inserted this cartoon here, just prior to plunging into the nitty-gritty — so as to give you the last chance OUT.
Tango has some very-specific elements, principles, and ideas in it that don’t exist in other couple dances. In the following, I'll try to summarize the most-basic principles for Men and for Women. In Tango terminology the Leader is referred to as the Man and the follower as the Woman; these are names of roles, e.g., two Men dancing are still referred to as Man and Woman; and that’s how Tango actually started — Men dancing with Men (while waiting for Female "Services")!
I cannot emphasize this strongly enough: Tango is ALL about principles and technique — not about steps!!!
Since Men need to, first, learn to follow before they learn to lead, this material is as applicable to Men.
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From pg 167 of “The Meaning of Tango“ by Christine Denniston (pls see Reading Material above): If the torsos are completely vertical then the forces between the two bodies are completely horizontal, and even if the two dancers are actually leaning on each other the position remains comfortable. If one dancer slumps the shoulders even slightly, this introduces a downward component of the force between the two bodies, and the relationship can become almost intolerable to the other dancer. This is true whether the slumped person is the leader or the follower. The person slumping will almost certainly be completely unaware that they are becoming heavy and uncomfortable to dance with. |
The Man can “convert” that leg into either, 1) a “dead weight” dangling like a tail from your hip; it then responds to your hip motion that amplifies your chest motion — as it is lead by the man’s chest, or 2) lead you to PREPARE to take a back or a side step.
If the Man leads you to take a larger step (longer than your normal reach), both He and You will slide the Working legs horizontally on the floor PRIOR to shifting your weight. Some teachers refer to this kind of sliding by "Projection".
The right side (sometimes, the front) of your forehead might lightly press against the right side of his forehead/cheek/chin so that the heads become a part of the Connection and thus a part of his lead.
Keep your Left elbow at about the height of your own left shoulder so that your left hand lightly touches his right Lat (Latisimus Dorsi) from behind (not in front of his shoulder). Depending on your arm flexibility, you can turn your hand at the wrist so that it’s either your palm, or the thumb-side, or the back-side of your hand that’s touching his Lat. You can also stretch that arm out in the air to your Left side and not touch him at all. Avoid putting pressure down on his right arm. First, it's painful to the Man's shoulder; second, this means that you aren't maintaining your axis!
Fun video: Five Worse Argentine Tango Habits for Followers.
NO RUSH! RELAX! THINK and SAVOR EACH STEP as if it’s an adventure all by itself!
Remember? All the Women’s Principles also apply to Men. So the list of issues below applies to you in addition to those listed for Women.
Choosing the right teacher(s) is CRUCIAL! Otherwise, you learn and practice on reinforcing bad habits that will take you the rest of your life to undo. My current teachers are Andrea Monti and Adrián Durso. They aren’t only TOP performers, but they are also superb teachers, and that is a rare combination to find.
Another excellent teacher to learn the fundamental technique from is Igor Polk. It’s very important to understand that Tango cannot be learned in a class format alone! It requires private instruction, and Igor — I believe — is excellent to take private lessons from for the first 3-4 years.
For general info about Tango activities in the SF Bay Area, see TangoMango. There are 10-20 Milongas and lessons every day of the week, but I don’t necessarily recommend taking lessons in every venue (and teacher) you go to.
The “tragedy“ of Tango is that it takes the average beginner about 3 years to figure out the obvious — which is that they actually need to start from the beginning and not from the end (by learning complicated figures). This is analogous to the "Chicken and Egg Paradigm": what happens first? You dance Tango before you know how to — and frustrate yourself — or, you fall in love with Tango, and only then you make the logical decision to start learning/building it from the Ground UP?
Controlling your weight in the R-L plane is well-explained in the Women's Principle No. 1, so I won't expand on it here except for introducing one essential exercise.
Exercise (R-L): Stand on your Right leg; relax (unlock) the Right knee; try to reach the ceiling with your stretched Right arm while stretching your Left arm to your Left. This will cause you to stretch the entire Right side of your body from the waist and up to your fingertips while still keeping your shoulders level. Your purpose is NOT to get taller but only to stretch your Right side from the waist up. (To make this exercise even more poignant, repeat the same while sitting!)You will notice that your weight is now 100% on your Right leg and that there is no weight at all on the Left leg. Now, while you maintain your body in this exact position and you take note of how your stretched body feels, drop both arms. Make sure to keep your shoulders Level throughout. This is how your body should feel after having taken EACH and EVERY "Slow" step in Tango (Slow, in terms of timing equals two Quick steps). Repeat the same on your Left side. If all you do is switch your weight between Right and Left, you will notice that your chest/head describes a trough-like arc in the vertical plane. Your head will be about 2 cm higher at the two ends of the arc as compared to the arc's center point.
Women's control of their own balance in the F-B plane is well-explained in the Women's Principles No. 2 and 3; here is one essential exercise for that.
Exercise (F-B): Stand balanced on both legs. Tilt your whole straight body Forward — from the Ankles and up — until you almost fall forward. You will notice that your heels come OFF the floor. Now, similarly, tilt your body Backwards so that your toes curl upwards. Switch between these two extreme tilts so as to make yourself VERY AWARE of where your weight is with respect to the vertical. Also, notice that your head will move back and forth within a span equal to the length of your foot (heel to toe)!In the sequel, I will sometimes just refer to the previously-listed Principles for Men (Men Principle No... ) and for Women (Women Principle No...), e.g., controlling your weight in the F-B plane: see Women's Principles 2-5.
(1) Shift your weight 100% to your Right leg; twist your upper body so that your Left shoulder rotates about 30° Counter-Clock-Wise (CCW). With almost-locked Left knee, point your Left foot Forward and to the Right of your Centerline. This will result in stretching the whole Left side of your body — from the Left Big Toe to the Left Shoulder. At this point, you can still reverse/undo the twist and return to Neutral standing position. Make sure to keep your knees together throughout.
(2) To actually take a step, you propel yourself Forward by gradually pushing off your Right leg so as to shift your weight onto the Left, forward-stretched leg. Think UP so that you end up transferring 100% of your weight onto your left leg. While you do that, you relax the Left knee, undo the initial upper-body twist, and leave the Right leg trailing behind.
(3) Collect the Right leg — first the knee, then the lower leg — so as to complete one step and return to Neutral.
(4) At this point, you are back to the starting position, except that you will now repeat the same with your Right leg.
Stand on the 4th step (counting from the bottom) of a Staircase while you face, and slightly tilt your body FORWARD towards upstairs. Shift your weight to your Left leg/axis and bend it until you can reach one step lower with the ball of your stretched Right leg and without changing your forward tilt. Carefully, and controllably shift your weight to your stretched right leg on the 3rd step. You do that by pushing off your left leg and gradually shifting your weight 100% to establish your new axis on the right leg on the lower step.
You can do this exercise with any number of stairs you want; even going down one step will do. It's OK to initially also push off the railing with your arm/arms which, in this case, substitute the Man's chest (the Man can wait for you at the bottom to catch you in case you fall ❦ ).
I believe that the above list provides you with a sampling of, both, the material I teach, and the teaching methods I use. Actually, each one of the Women's and Men's Principles listed earlier spawns a few exercises meant to drill the corresponding issue.
Milonga means two things: 1.) A Dance/Music form — under the general umbrella of Tango, and 2.) A Tango Dance Party. Here, I am talking about the Party.
The Rules (Etiquette) for Milonga are quite elaborate — AND they are absolutely necessary!!! Ballroom Dancers, please beware: these are NOT the Etiquette Rules you see posted in the Men's Room of most Ballroom venues. The Milonga Rules have sprung out quite naturally because, without them, dancing in a Milonga would have become UNPLEASANT; in plain English: a Mess!
The music is served in Tandas. A Tanda is a series of 3-4 songs of the same type/mood which are usually performed by the same Orchestra/Conductor (e.g., the Orchestra of Carlos Di Sarli). The reason is that people often make up their minds — about dancing or not dancing the coming Tanda — while hearing the beginning of the first song. You dance the whole Tanda (8-12 minutes overall) with the SAME partner — which feels like a mini marriage. At the end of the Tanda, say “Thank you“ (plus mutual compliments); Men escort their Women OFF the Dance Floor. It's considered OFFENSIVE to break off in the middle of a Tanda. In case your dance becomes intolerable for any reason, just suffer quietly until the end of the current song and then pretend as if you mistook the end of the song for the end of the Tanda; say "Thank You" and walk away. Please remember NOT TO SAY “Thank you“ unless it's the end of the Tanda or you are very uncomfortable and can't continue dancing with the current partner. Here is a detailed essay about the Do's and Don'ts of Inviting and Accepting in a Milonga.
Between Tandas, the DJ would play a Cortina (Curtain Time in Theater productions) which is a 40-60-seconds piece of music that is clearly NOT a Tango song. Dancers clear the floor during the Cortina.
A Cabeceo (Head Nod) means creating an eye contact between prospective partners, and confirming the eye contact with a Head Nod. Depending on the lighting, this eye contact can span across the length of the whole dance floor. This is why people need to VACATE the floor at the end of each Tanda so as to “Start afresh“.
Both Men and Women watch other dancers on the dance floor and make up their minds about which partners they would want/agree to dance with — in advance! Women usually sit at a table and keep themselves “busy” by talking with each other, working a plate of food, consulting their cellphones, or by whatever other distraction that keeps them from appearing interested in dancing. In other words, they only look OUT towards the floor when THEY want to create a Cabeceo with one of their pre-qualified Men.
Men walk around the perimeter of the floor looking for a Cabeceo from one of THEIR pre-qualified “list”. Although it would APPEAR as if it's the Man who is asking the Woman for the next Tanda, IT IS THE WOMAN WHO INITIATES THE CABECEO — NOT the Man!!! She does that by LOOKING in the direction of the Man she wants to dance with, hoping that He will notice her gaze and Cabeceo her. SHE, IMPLICITLY, ASKS HIM TO ASK HER! This Tactic works well because, vision-wise, a person can notice someone looking at him from a Field-of-View of almost 180 degrees. Noticing, however, doesn't mean acknowledging. Thus, ignoring a peripheral-vision gaze from someone you knowingly prefer to ignore won't offend that Man or Woman because there was no acknowledgement. Yet another important tip: the eye contact part of the Cabeceo is a VERY-FLEETING MOMENT; meeting someone's gaze in mid-air might literally last less than ONE SECOND! Be alert during the Cortina so you don't miss this precious split-second! (This is very reminiscent of playing Musical Chairs.)
In a Milonga, the dancers move in a single circle — the Line-of-Dance (LOD) — in a Counter-Clock-Wise (CCW) direction. One compelling reason is that the Men's vision is mostly restricted to about the 90-degrees segment he can see over the Woman's right shoulder (depending on their relative heights). Whenever the Man notices a vacant space in front of him he should fill up the "gap" so as to allow everyone behind him to move.
As the floor becomes more crowded, parallel inner circles are formed — analogous to driving on a Highway with multiple lanes. Ideally, no one should pass a slow couple in front of them. That's why experienced Men learn to dance basically in place and without progressing along the LOD at all. Please watch Dancing on a Table to understand the concept.
The following Chart summarizes the above principles:
Q-3: Is a Man expected to buy the Woman a drink, or anything at all?
Q-4: What's the difference between Milonga and Practica?
Q-5: Is a Teacher running a Milonga supposed to dance with any of the attendees?
Q-7 (from a Woman): I sat the whole night hoping to be asked to dance but no one did. Why?
I'll post more QA's as they come up.
