Tango: The Art of Togetherness

Claudia and I met at a tiny bohemian shop of Buenos Aires. We both share the same passion: Tango. She had come all the way from Switzerland to grasp on Tango to overcome a broken heart. For me, Tango is the door to fully feel my emotions and let go.

Is Tango a lost art as it is the art of living in company?

Dancing Tango walks ourselves intimately into quixotic conversations with those inner spins in need of amatory ballads that can only be possible through an intimate shared encounter of body, mind, and heart. 

Tango biggest challenge is to reach harmony by embracing the music in connection with the bodies. It is all about where the music takes you, how your senses are moved at the beat of its rhythm, and how you interpret the piece to create a deep but smooth dialogue with your partner.

The precision of its technique only comes with practice!

The woman and the man torsos need to be always facing at the same level, leaving enough space between each other to be able to create steps.  Feeling each other movements is the most significant skill in generating leading responses. Both bodies must be slightly leaning, supporting the weigh on each others’ hands at heart line.  This unnoticeable support, but yet crucial, is the axis from where both always depart and come back, and will secure the balance of each dancer needed when direction changes. 

Adornos or  firuletes (adornments) are what makes the Tango more attractive. However, it is essential to differentiate fantasy Tango (only danced in shows) from real Tango.  Fantasy Tango is filled with colossal and hypnotic movements that appeal at creating adrenaline shots to mostly attract the attention of the audience. On the other hand, every day or real Tango incorporates magical adornments but does not merely depend on them.

Each adorno or firulate must be performed with intention and determination. The man ‘marca’ (or leads) and the woman interprets the marca to perform a caresses (a gentle stroking with leg), an enganche or scoop (a little hook with the legs around the man’s thigh), or a cruzada or ocho (a figure in 8 shape where the man and woman mirror movements). None of these movements should entangle the dance; they should always appeal at pleasing the body need for expression and suiting the codes created by the couple. These codes are the guiding energy of the dance and they are generated from the complicity of the conversation the dancers have through the sentiment of the music.

From time to time, there may be amagues. Amagues are steps that threaten to move some direction but go the opposite, or threaten to advance but stay still. The amagues are meant to bring spice, assortment, or even glamour to the dance; but, if an amague is not understood as such by your partner, then the dance can perish.

Tango is the dance born from togetherness and the need to express its passion. Togetherness is the art to tango and its need of uniqueness and space for creativity within individuality.

What support do we stimulate or find so as to build genuine and long-lasting connections in this Internet-network culture that simultaneously facilitates getting lightly connected and easily disconnected with our emotions and other beings? How do we dance in a culture that does not value the art of being in company?

“The relationship to one's fellow man is the relationship of prayer, the relationship to oneself is the relationship of striving; it is from prayer that one draws the strength for one's striving. The indestructible is one: it is each individual human being and, at the same time, it is common to all, hence the incomparably indivisible union that exists between human beings.” (Franz Kafka)

Inés