Modern Tango World #8 (Moscow)

Why there is so little dance in people dancing tango
Veronica Toumanova
The most difficult thing for a tango teacher is not teaching the correct movement, it is getting people to
dance. So what is it that we teachers (and dancers) find so difficult? Common dictionaries define dance
as moving rhythmically to music, typically following a set sequence of steps. On the surface this definition is
correct and according to it every single person on the dancefloor is dancing. But soldiers marching to
a military song are also moving rhythmically to music. Intuitively you always recognise people who are
dancing and who are just moving rhythmically when you are in a milonga. You will always prefer to watch
those who dance.
Let’s first see what it is not.
Dance is not technique. You don’t need the perfect technique
to dance, it is actually the other way around. You
need to dance to build a skill. Dance does not come from
the understanding of shapes, balance and dynamics, nor
from the physical ability to create those shapes, balance
and dynamics. You need the technique to make your
dance effortless and expressive, but even a small child can
already dance. In great artists you admire the technique,
but it is the dance that touches you emotionally.
Dance is not physical movement. Or, to be precise, it is
not ONLY physical movement. A purely physical exercise
is common in sports, for sports are about getting
a result. Dance does not strive for a result, it strives
for expression. Like pushing piano keys is not necessarily
music, so moving in space is not necessarily dance.
Dance is not effort, either, it is effortlessness, which simply
means effort that is adequate to the task.
Dance is not the embrace, the embrace is where dance
is created. Tango is known as “the dance of passion”
and historically shows a sensual play between
a man and a woman. Sensual or
sexual tension is not necessarily present
between the dancers, it is merely
expressed. A common confusion in
tango is that this sensual connection, or
in simpler terms a flirty attitude is the
source of the dance. However, embracing
a man or a woman sensually will not
create a dance. The connection in tango
goes much deeper than a sexual connection
between a man and a woman, it is a
profoundly human connection. Sensuality
can enrich the dance, but not replace
it. This is why tango is possible between
two men or two women or between a
female leader and a male follower.
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