Tango Mentor

Let's talk about milonga dancers. If you've ever been in a gym, you've probably heard the joke about "skipping leg day." Guys love building their upper body, but many hate working on their legs. That's why we have the cliché of the "chicken legs bodybuilder" - strong arms and chest, but skinny legs. This meme is so strong that I even once saw a 404 error page (the one that tells you the webpage doesn't exist) that read: "This page has skipped leg day." Why am I telling you this? Because I can't help but think of that joke every time I see a mostly empty dance floor when the DJ plays a milonga tanda. In my opinion, skipping the milonga tanda is the tango version of skipping leg … [Read more...] about The most underrated dancers in the room

We were drinking macchiatos at a busy café, enjoying the shy sun of the late winter afternoon. Earlier that day, we had two private classes. Our chat was a continuation of what we’d worked on. Rafael was basically my first formal tango teacher - all I had before were informal instructions from more experienced dancers I met or asked to teach me. And there, in that moment, he taught me one of the most important things I needed to hear at that point: to slow down. But what I heard then was that he was suggesting I dance less. Dance less? It took me years of experience to understand that he wasn’t suggesting I dance less, but telling me that "not moving" is also dancing. It means … [Read more...] about Five ways to dance with pauses

When you start dancing, many things get into the bucket labeled “tango,” and a lot of them have little or no connection to the thing that evolved to be danced at milongas. With time, as you learn, the definition becomes more nuanced for you. However, I don’t think a clear definition exists - only guidelines. We can forgive beginners since they don’t know - but I’m less forgiving with the more experienced. For example, what most teachers and dancers today call tango salón should actually be closer to what we know as milonguero. Another thing is that many people think tango is an art form. No wonder: if you take stage performance as the example, then yes - it is art. But stage tango is … [Read more...] about The Street Soul of Tango

I know exactly what a good connection in tango feels like, but if someone asked me to define it, I wouldn’t know how. It reminds me of that old paradox by Thomas Aquinas about time: I know what it is, but when asked to define it, I can’t answer. Most tango dancers have one or two unforgettable tandas in their lives - I can recall a few myself. All the other dancing feels like searching for that feeling, trying to relive something similar. Last week I received an email with request for article with some practical tips and exercises to improve connection. Although I already wrote an article called "How to achieve good connection?" I have more to share - this is my second attempt, and it … [Read more...] about Better Connection: What Can You Actually Do?

I like blueberries. The thing is that I didn't know what they really taste like until later in my childhood. The taste I had recognized as blueberry up to that moment was the artificial aroma used in fruit juices: strong and sharp, with even stronger coloring. It would hit you right in the nose the moment you opened the juice box, trying to allure you from afar. On the other hand, the taste of real blueberries was gentle and subtle. You could feel them only once you put them in your mouth, and even then it took some time. There’s a deeper, much better aftertaste of flavors and smells compared to the one-dimensional artificial aroma. When you taste real blueberries, you recognize right … [Read more...] about To Dance Like You

There's a monster hiding in the corner of every milonga, stalking in the shadows of every festival, coloring every tango performance video you watch; and it slowly eats tango away. And many of us are not even aware of it. ... or just don't care because they're there just to have good time. But I do care! We live in a world of consumerism. We live in societies where everything becomes a product to be sold - and tango is no different. I decided to write this article to share some of my thoughts on the topic of the commercialization of tango and what impact it has on how it's danced and the overall culture surrounding it. As always, I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but I … [Read more...] about Monsters That Eat Tango