There’s no real tango if there’s no real embrace.
Yes, I am one of those hard core huggers: if there is no real embrace I prefer not dancing at all.
Let me start this with the question what is the origin of the embrace? Why is it the way it is?
Well, there are many stories about this and not real evidence for any of them, so you can pick and choose. Me own choice is the story that Osvaldo Natucci told to Monica Paz’s “Practimilonguero”: that the embrace was created so close and so intimate because tango was created by lonely emigrants. They arrived in Buenos Aires alone, leaving behind their country, their wifes or girlfriends, their mothers and fathers… Most of them were disappointed: they dreamed wealth, but ended up not even having money to get back home.
Alone and abandoned, they needed the warmth of the human touch… as well as most of us today in the society deprived of real human interaction.
But, hey, this article is not about why the embrace is like it is! It’s about what does it mean when I say embrace?
Of course, you might like the answer or not. It works for me.
I don’t enjoy dancing with her!
“I don’t like to dance with her!”, I answered without thinking.
He was surprised. I don’t know what was going on in his head, but he was probably confused or thinking that I am too choosy.
She had perfect technique and elegant movements. She was also a gorgeous young brunette and everyone in the marathon wanted to dance with her. She even had to stay out of the venue from time to time to get away from constant invitations.
Why I didn’t like the dance with her? What’s wrong with me?
Well, because we had different approach to dancing.
IMPORTANT NOTE: this article represents what I believe is the right way. Tango is not standardized dance, so there’s really no right way. When I say “the right way”, it means the right way I choose to achieve deep connection.
1. Real close embrace
The real embrace comes from the heart. Metaphorically and physically. The torsos are connected as one, the hearts beat as one (they are very close).
You achieve this by using apilado. Dancers share their axis and never “fight” for their independent balance. The man controls her axis and leads her body by shifting her balance. Dancers almost never use their hands for communication – it’s all achieved by the torso.
The secrets of apilado dancing
2. Fake close embrace
I know – many of you will disagree with me on this. It is considered “the right way”, but, as I said, there is no right way in tango.
This is the most popular way, mostly because this is the way the show dancers teach in their seminars. They call it tango salon approach, but I disagree with this.
This was the way of the brunette from the example above – and I didn’t liked it.
There is basically no difference in technique between this embrace and open position (yes, there’s no such thing as open embrace). Dancers have tendency not to put pressure on each other, keeping their balance independent all the time.
In my view, they don’t dance together – they have parallel dances which are coordinated by the leader.
Hey, sorry to interrupt…
Do you like reading my articles? If you do please consider a small contribution to the existence of this blog.
I don’t sell a book or run ads: I share these articles for free. Unfortunately I also have to pay my bills, so if you see value in my work please consider a small donation/gratuity (the same way you tip your favorite bartender).
From my heart to yours!
Ivica
Securely processed via PayPal
3. Open position
We all know what is an embrace – and open position in tango is not an embrace. Try to embrace your loved people like that and they will ask you “What’s wrong with you?”
This is why I call it position, not embrace!
Since there’s no physical contact in torsos, the only way to communicate is by using hands. The axis are separate at all time and dancers keep their balance.
I know that this could be quite controversial topic and I expect a lot of comments and messages on this, but I am willing to take the hits. Feel free to comment or drop me a line. I would love to hear your arguments.
And also, if you agree with me share this article with your tango friends.
The following article is my answer to everything that happened after I published this. Please read it before any reaction you might have.
Apilado!
Great information by all contributors. For me it is ratio of height. I cannot dance apilado with a short follow. I’m 6’3”. It was very difficult to learn this style but thanks to Marcela Duran who refused to allow me to dance any other way.
Ah Terry, you’re one of those who’re lucky to meet good teachers along the way…
On your note about the height… In my experience as a teacher and a dancer, it can be achieved even with big difference in height.
1. Its not that important to lean on each other (not in a visible way) – my point in this article is that the energy should go inside, not outside. This usually happens when she expects you to lead with your right hand and leans back.
2. The “apilado” I usually use in my dancing is very subtle and it’s usually not visible from outside. I would describe it as this tendency to push from the torso of both partners. The position is not that important if you can achieve that exchange of energy.
3. The difference in height can sometimes be a problem, but with little adaptation one can do that. In fact, one of my favorite dancers is much smaller than I am. Her height is around 2/3 of mine, but she has one of the best embraces I ever felt. It’s because her energy goes inside – doesn’t escape around.
I don’t agree at all… And I know you’ve stated that if we shouldn’t read something that we don’t like, but I think a lot of beginner dancers could read this and misinterpret or have a false sense of what the embrace is…
Whenever I think about tango, I always have something on my mind that I believe a lot of people forget. Tango is a traditional dance of a particular nation, or region, which is Argentina, or the Rio de la Plata region. The history of the dance and the music is directly related to their own country’s history, their people and traditions. The songs talk about their neighborhoods, their jobs, their family, their city… I don’t understand how easily people forget this.
Even though there’s no standardized tango dance, you can track almost all of the steps, sequences and milonga codes, to the original creators of the steps. The turns, were developed by petroleo and his friend Cacho Lavandina… the more elaborated steps and turns were created by a lot of traditional dancers from the golden age… Almost every step you see on the dancefloor today, has a very direct or indirect relation to this old dancers. You can look them up on youtube…
I’ve never seen any of those great dancers, maestros and creators, dancing to apilado… or what you call “closed embrace”.
For me, apilado is what is commonly known as milonguero dance. Close embrace is having as little space as possible between dancers, but there’s no chest to chest connection. And open embrace is having more distance in bewteen.
I won’t say those are “styles”, I interpret them more as techniques. I’ve dance to both of them and I can say one thing. The apilado embrace is very limiting, for both leader and follower. More often than not, leaders or followers that dance to this technique are not able to maintain their own axis; you have very little disassociation, and steps are more of a consequence than a controlled movement.
In my experience, apilado dancers are the less experienced, and often they don’t like what you call “salon embrace”, simply because they can’t maintain their axis, or carrying their own weight. There’s no step you cannot do with a “salon embrace”.
I’m sure of one thing. If you ask an apilado dancer to follow the “salon embrace”, the majority of time they can’t, they have a hard time controlling their axis because they’re used to rely on their partner. On the contrary… if you as a “salon” dancer to do an apilado technique, it might be difficult at first, but believe me, it will be easy for them to learn and master it in no time.
Thank you Saddam for taking time to write long explication.
I agree with you on some things, and disagree on others 🙂
The beginners SHOULD read this and similar articles – because they’re exposed to no-axis-sharing dogma as the one true tango – but there other ways as well.
1. Yes, tango was created in Rio de Plata region and it’s tightly connected to that region, but as Cacho says:
“The tango is Argentine, but it belongs to all those who understand its feelings and its codes.”
2. By what you’re saying I can understand that in the center of your tango life are the steps. Steps are not important – what matters is what you have to say with them.
3. There are no creators of steps – they belong to no one. We all have two legs and one body and I believe it is not just one dancer who invented a step – it is tradition and it’s the collective that created everything in it.
4. Yes, you’ve never seen them do apilado because many of them danced in barrios where close embrace was not alowed for puritan reasons. It was considered immoral to do such things 🙂
There’re other reasons as well.
5. No, milonguero is not the same as apilado. You can dance milonguero even in open embrace. Milonguero means tango for milonga (opposed to tango for the stage) – the difference is WHY do you dance: to get pleasure connecting with your partner or to amaze the audience.
6. Yes, apilado is a technique. I agree. Even some show dancers do apilado sometimes – Gavito is an example, videos we see of him are mostly show dancing. Apilado is not that drastic it is subtle and you can barely see it.
7. You never seen those maestros you talk about dancing with apilado because it is limiting for them. It limits their freedom to do steps. But as I say, steps are nothing – connection is everything.
8. When we say limiting – what does it mean?
For you it means limiting the ability to do complex steps. For me it means limiting the ability to connect in a deep way. For me distance is limiting.
The same goes for the technique. Dissociation is unnecessary because it disrupts the sweetness of the embrace.
Therefore – the embrace you refer to as “salon embrace” to me feels like fake embrace – it looks like close embrace, but there’s no much difference (as you also mention) between it and open embrace. It’s just a question of distance.
btw. Saying open embrace is nonsense. It is embrace or it is not. I prefer using the term open position.
9. You’re wrong about the axis – it’s way harder to merge the axis and create one out of two. Dancing apilado without one being able to control his or her own axis is impossible. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if a dancer is not able to control his or her own axis and say he/she is dancing apilado – it’s just an excuse for bad dancing.
10. And again. I completely disagree with your last point (I also disagree with your use of the term salon – please check my answer to your first comment), that one is better than the other. Mostly it’s not connected to dancing – it is mostly the question of character. Some people you can rely on and therefor trust them you can lean on. The same as life. So, learning tango is also learning to become a reliable person. It is also very hard for some women to open up and put down their shield and “surrender” completely.
I really appreciate you being open for debate. I think tango would benefit a whole lot if there were more discussions like this.
Similarly, I agree in some points and disagree in a few others.
You’re totally right, connection is one if not THE most important part of tango.
I’ll begin by saying that stating that anything is or isn’t the “true tango” isn’t a correct approach. I agree that tango has evolved to be a more comprehensive dance that has reached beyond its place of birth. But I stand by my first statement: tango is the traditional dance of a nation and it’s people. Just as you would want to follow the codes, customs and traditions of Irish dance, and trace its roots to Ireland; or samba to brazil, flamenco in Spain, or any other national activity for that matter; people should have present and appreciate where tango comes from.
That being said, I don’t believe steps belong to anyone in particular, but you do can trace almost any step to its creator. A lot of the times this refers to the person who came up with the steps or the dancer who was named after. This obviously doesn’t apply for every single step, but most of them come from the same root. Turns were definitely developed by Petroleo and Cacho, and to this day we still dance the same way, with very little differences. I’ve learned that during the golden age, even though dancers could be doing the same steps, they were proud to the fact that almost every dancer had its own style, and you would almost never see the same style or technique twice; because they had their own essence.
Honestly, I’m not well informed in the milonguero style. But from what I know, this was a style that was mainly popularized in the US in the 90s, by Susana Miller and Tete Rusconi. There have been different styles through tango history that modify the embrace, tango orillero was danced with a really closed embrace, for example, before the golden age of tango.
I don’t agree that tango milonguero is for the milongas and its counterpart is stage tango. Tango salon, or the tango Villa Urquiza for that matter, is the style that was mainly danced in the Golden Age of tango, and those dancers called themselves milongueros, way before the style came up in the 90s; meaning they were the people that go to the milongas, not that dance “milonguero style”. These were the dancers that were actually opposed to stage tango, tango fantasia, or what at the time was known as tango for export; meaning that it was the way for argentinians to show their national dance to the world. There was a dispute back in the day as to what should be considered tango; and stage tango had its difficulties being accepted as it is now.
Different from other dances, tango is not standarize, we can agree on that. And it’s hard to give a neutral opinion about what tango is or is not. It gives us an opportunity to evolve the dance.
Connection is the key part… but I’m sure you’ll agree with me, that no matter what style or technique you’re using, it’ll not guarantee a feeling or perception of connection. You’re right, my main focus is on steps; maybe because for me connection with my partner is intrinsic to tango. I don’t believe connection is something that you have or you don’t; but more something that you can achieve and loose in a single second. You could be connected to your partner and not do a single step. But with that idea, connection is what makes tango such a beautiful dance, but a dance non the less. Steps are what make the dance.
Apilado embrace is limiting, maybe not on its connection, but it is on steps. It limits the ability, not to make complex steps, but to make any step seem like an easy one, because the both dancers are in so much control.
Obviously apilado embrace is a refined technique and I’m sure there are amazing dancers that can really connect with their partners, but the axis is still shared. Maybe it has been my experience, but you’re right, the followers that I’ve dance with that use an apilado technique, are not able to control their axis on their own; if they can, is because they can use the salon technique as well.
I stand by my theory, that if you take an only apilado dancer and make the follower or leader dance with salon embrace, it’ll be more than difficult, they almost have to relearn to dance, but not the other way around.
I read that for you feels like a “fake embrace”. I think that’s what sparks controversy. I’ve realized that people who think that way have a really hard time controlling their own axis, so they don’t.
You can see it as painting. Yeah, you can do a really great monochromatic picture; and it’ll look amazing black and white, connect with the viewer in a really profound way; but if you use color is another different level of shading, countering and mixing lights and shadows. Both of them are painting, both of them could be really amazing techniques of art; but the most important art pieces in history, have color.
BTW, I totally agree with your term of open position instead of open embrace.
I fully agree with Ivica. You state correctly that you don’t know that much about (Susana Miller’s for example) milonguero style, and so it is difficult to explain what goes on in that close, heart-to-heart embrace. I live for encuentros, where everyone dances that way. It is hard to explain what goes on but I would gladly throw all ‘steps’ into a bin for a true milonguero, heart to heart embrace dance. What you may not see – and therefore describe as ‘not having colour/being monochromatic as opposed to the more colourful salon style (let me just call it that for simplicity’s sake) – are the hundreds of minute, breath-like movements between the dancers, like ripples in the ocean, sometimes led with just the breath. It may not seem much from the outside, but in-between me and my partner lies the whole universe.
When i dance like this, time stops, I forget where I am, I am dancing in a liminal space, I am fulfilled, I am glowing, I am in love with whoever I’m dancing with – IF they have a true embrace like Ivica explains – and when I open my eyes after the tanda, I’m often disoriented, like waking up from a sweet dream. Dancing ‘steps’ can be a lot of fun, I started out dancing like that 10 years ago…. but when I started dancing milonguero style, I was hooked. I could never trade it back. (BTW, I have excellent balance, and never lean on my partner in order to keep it, contrary what you have posited.)
This is where we disagree… for me there’s no such thing as “milonguero style”. This is a fairly new invention developed in the United States and in no way represents traditional tango. The word “milonguero” often confuses people to think that it is based on “the real” or “authenthic” tango that was dance during the golden age of tango.
Just as a reminder, my response to this post was about the description of “real” and “fake” embrace, stating that the apilado or more inclined embrace is the true embrace of tango. For me this is a very ignorant statement. And I don’t want to offend anyone by saying that, but this is historically inaccurate.
For almost a century, tango was danced with each person in charge of their own axis and never led with the chest/torso. Every single video of milongueros you can find on youtube show this. Every maestro that has learned from milongueros has been taught this. None of the real “milongueros” considers their dance “milonguero style” because it is not a style, is a word to refer to people that frequent the milonga a lot. Just as you would say “futbolero” or “metalero”. The sufix “ero” in Spanish refrers to someone that does an activity a frequently.
I don’t agree with stating that something is “real” or “fake” when talking about any form of art, because ultimately it is subjective. But at the same time Tango is a culture, not just a dance. It goes hand in hand with the history and the development of a region and its people.
I want to clarify that this is i no way related to how tango feels. Every person is going to have a different experience, no matter the level or technique. I have danced to both styles and I have experienced the connection my self. I can understand the feeling you’re talking abut in which connection is a priority which can be enhanced by chest to chest embrace.
But this doesn’t make it more or less authentic, it’s just a preference. Just like it could be my preference to dance tap with crocs instead of tap shoes or practice karate using a shorts… it could be my preference and I could feel amazing doing it, but that doesn’t mean I can state that my way is the true way of doing it, just because it feels amazing to me.
What people call “Milonguero” is a very particular style of dancing that was standardized and marketed by Susana Miller. It is mainly based on the style of Tete Rusconi. This has been corroborated by other milongueros that have explained how every milonguero would have their own style. One of the codigos was to not do the step exactly the same as the next dancer. “Milonguero style” is practically a massive copy of a single dancer.
Also… my comment about balance is not universal, of course it’ll depend on the person. But in my experience, the people that only do apilado embrace, or any kind of embrace in which the person is leaning an using their partner as support, usually have a harder time dancing like that simply because they’re so used to use the leverage of their partner’s axis, and not their own core strength. Of course this is not a rule, it is based on my own empirical evidence, but I can see the logic behind it. There are some people that are just not used to having control over their axis and they don’t know how to balance their weight. It could go similarly that a person that knows how to be in their axis has a harder time adjusting to chest to chest, or leaning and sharing axis, but usually the adjustment comes quickly.
Ultimately, tango is this constant changing thing that we cannot describe with an absolute and universal definition. But I surprises me how much people can infer about how tango “is” or “should be” without reading a bit about its history first. If you do that, you’ll know that “milonguero style” is a new invention that has barely a few decades of existence and is no representation of authentic tango and specially not of the way that milongueros actually dance.
“Up until about 15 years ago, almost all of the tango being taught was stage tango. It was taught by professional performers who used the time between shows to give classes. Then in 1990s there was a tango boom, and people in Argentina began to rediscover the milongas—but the opportunity to learn tango in the traditional way was almost gone. Social tango had gone to sleep, and for the previous 35 years tango had existed mostly in the form of exaggerated street performances and stage shows for tourists. The old ways of slowly learning how to dance were almost gone. There just weren’t enough people left who could carry on the traditions of practicing at home with family members, playing with tango on the street corners, and serving apprenticeships in neighborhood clubs. So a few people began to try something new. They decided to teach the social tango of the milongas by giving classes.
The new classes were based on responding to the cadences of the music, connecting closely with a partner, and moving smoothly around a crowded floor. Admittedly they only scratched the surface—but they did cover basic technique, and because they were so different from the dramatic figures and complex choreography being taught by the performers, the new teachers needed a way to make a clear distinction between their social tango, and the classes that already existed. The problem was that many of the performers already used the label “tango salon” to advertise their classes—so some of the new instructors decided to call their classes “tango milonguero”. They simply replaced the word “salon” with “milonguero”. “Tango salon” means tango for dancing socially in a dance salon (which is a milonga), and “tango milonguero” means the kind of tango danced in a milonga. Technically they are exactly the same thing. But since the stage teachers had already grabbed the “tango salon” label, the new teachers had to come up with a new name.
This is probably where the confusion began—but the important thing to remember is that “tango milonguero” is not some separate “style” of tango danced by the old milongueros.
Tango milonguero = tango for a milonga = tango salon.
Tango milonguero ≠ a special type of tango danced by old milongueros.
Old milongueros don’t dance differently than any of the other social dancers in BsAs. They are simply the ones who’ve been dancing the longest. This means they may dance better than most… but they dance the same rhythmic, flowing, tango as everyone else who knows the right way to dance in a milonga.”
source: https://www.tangoandchaos.org/chapt_4music/16generationgap
Hi Ivica,
Thank you a lot for this post. I totally agree with you. It is really sad and disappointing to see that open embrace is the one that dominates the milongas nowadays.
Regards,
Ahmed.
After reading your dogmatic, even snarky, responses to the comments below, I’m sorry I even made a comment. Any true conversation – tango? – requires vulnerability that a closed mind cannot see or understand.
Hey Paul, thanks for the comment… Do you think people have right to express how they feel about way others dance with them? Is it possible to talk about how we feel dancing with dancers with different approach?
I believe we do! We have to! 🙂
Calling “on Balance” dancing as “fake” is a disservice. Both/All are legitimate ways to dance tango – even if you prefer “closed” embrace dancing.
I myself use apilado embrace whenever possible, but it is NOT the only true tango embrace and it is NOT true that other embraces use hands to lead. Rather, non-apilado embraces are supposed to use “frame” to lead, same as ballroom dances like Viennese waltz. Using “hands” is a degraded method by dancers who don’t understand what a frame is or who have a bad frame.
Technically, follower takes lead from hands even when using frame, but feel is completely different. With frame, arms are rigidly connected to core. With hands alone, arms feel like limp noodles, so no connection to core.
I think apilado is better if mostly dancing “sistema paralelo” (just simple mirror steps), whereas apilado doesn’t work in “sistema cruzado” (ochos). So if you do a lot of ochos, apilado just adds difficulty, since you never stay in it very long. I mostly dance sistema paralelo myself, while playing with musicality, so apilado is perfect for me, but most dancers like ochos, which is why apilado is seldom taught or used.
I mostly agree with you Frank – you should not lead ochos (or any other pivots) in apilado, and ladies should not do them – instead of ochos they have option to just do back crosses.
I wrote more about this in this article (check point 3) https://tangomentor.com/secrets-apilado-dancing/
This is a very deep problem. A lot about this was written on http://www.tangoandchaos.org. I am even more straight while talking about this. The problem is that people from Europe and USA have psychological problem with close physical contact during the dance. Also they afraid of straight emotions that flow directly from body to body. I can call it Gringo Tango but I think that is rude. Dancing Argentine Tango requires emotional and physical strength and people do not feel it nor understand it.
Quotation:
“We are not like Porteños. We are very shy. Dancing is hard for us.” Maybe this was the answer.
http://tangoandchaos.org/chapt_1tangochaos/12uruguay.htm
“Abrazos” from Poland
Sincerely
Marcin
Those with fear of embracing or being embraced in the true sense of milonguero tango close embrace, should get a protective dog and stay at home.
“There is no real tango if there is no real close embrace.”
it’s difficult to be more dogmatic and easy to be more tolerant than that. and yes I read the whole thing including the part where you say “there is no right way in tango”…so not real, no right way, which is it?
that YOU prefer to dance in close embrace is fine, but that you deny those who dance differently the right to call it real tango is in my books problematic.
Tango is a lot about connection and there are plenty of ways to connect, just as you can dance in (“real”) close embrace and feel nothing.
Tango is not only about embrace, tango is a dance, an art, it’s conversation and many other things, too.
I started tango thinking the “real embrace” was the only tango worth dancing, mostly because of reading articles like these but also because I started very early to dance in BA. While (“real”) close embrace is still my default embrace, it is not everyone’s and I enjoy dancing with dancers in a variety of embraces and in what you call “open position”. You may not consider it “real tango” but I do!
Hi Aimee, that is nice if you enjoy dancing in variety of embraces… But, there are out there people who have different approach! This article is meant to help them, not you! 🙂 Please feel free not to read the articles if you don’t like them, no hard feelings.
Fake close embrace, so true !
I have myself used this term in some tango conversation and described it as: it’s not because their chests are touching that they are dancing in close embrace, they are just standing in front of each other with no connection.
I am a huge “core hugger” too, I laugh with myself that I stick to my partner like a glue hahha, but I like that and many of my partners love my embrace. Many times I ve been heard that those what make my dance special is my embrace at first…
Note: English is not my language, so I used an online translator that I hope reflects what I want to communicate. Also, I add the original in Spanish.
I do not agree with your proposal. The stacked style is not the true embrace, neither by history, nor by dance quality, not even to bring hearts closer; do not. The stacked style “forces” an artificial posture off your axis, moving the hips away from the couple. You lose “land”, the discharge of your own weight to the ground. It forces the couple to support each other’s weight, artificially complicating the dissociation of the torsos, indispensable for a really soft and container-like embrace. The hug should allow the expression of the couple for each dance, and the stack is good only for certain moments. The stacked way is not good for health or dance quality for most of the circular and enveloping movements, which are a great part of tango and make a great effect on the feelings of the embrace, in the connection of the dancers. The stacked style is just a style and I would never propose it as a real hug, that it serves you personally so that your partner is obliged to fall on you does not mean that the feeling of that hug is deeper.
Lucas Ezcurra
ESPAÑOL:
No estoy de acuerdo con tu propuesta. El estilo apilado no es el verdadero abrazo, ni por historia, ni por calidad de danza, ni siquiera para acercar los corazones; no. El estilo apilado “obliga” a una postura artificial fuera de tu eje, alejando las caderas de la pareja. Se pierde “tierra”, la descarga del propio peso al suelo. Obliga a la pareja a soportarse el peso mutuamente, de manera artificial complicando la disociación de los torsos, indispensable para abraso realmente suave y contenedor. El abrazo debe permitir la expresión de la pareja para cada baile, y el apile es bueno solo para ciertos momentos. La manera apilada tampoco es bueno para la salud ni calidad de danza para la mayoría de los movimiento circulares y envolventes, que son gran parte del tango y hacen un gran efecto en la sensaciones del abrazo, en la conexión de los bailarines. El estilo apilado es solo un estilo y jamás lo propondría como verdadero abrazo, que te sirva en lo personal para que tu pareja esté obligada a caer sobre ti no significa que el sentimiento de ese abrazo sea más profundo.
Lucas Ezcurra
Hi Lucas, thanks for the comment. English is not my language either 🙂 You obviously dance different style and you have different vision what tango is… so if I explain you will not understand.
And history… oh apilado has great history… Gavito, Nestor La Vitola, Horacio Prestamo, Cacho Dante… to mention few dancers… so please, if you don’t like what I write about please don’t read, just don’t tell people that like it (the articles and this way of dancing) that it is wrong.
If you bring up the concept of right, you obvious set a wrong.
Tango has a very long tradition and it didn’t start with emigration and it didn’t end with golden age.
With such a close minded focus you miss most of tango history.
It’s not wrong, it is just smalm part of Tango
Gavito, Nertor La Vitola, Horacio Prestamo, Cacho Dante… all of the are from a different generation of dancers; I don’t think they’re the best representation of “history”… Gerardo Portalea, El “Turco” Jose, Antonio Todaro, Raul Bravo, Petaca, Petroleo… All of them are the dancers who created the steps that are still danced to, and all of them danced with a “salon embrace”, maintaining their individual axis. Most of them are the teachers of the dancers you have mentioned.
Hi Saddam… thanks for the comment.
I understand that you don’t think that they are the best representation of history of tango… But I do!
But it doesn’t matter what do we both think – because they are a part of the history. There is no one true tango and even in the Golden Age there were different approach in different barrios. The dancers you mentioned came from different branch or different style of dancing – and some of them developed tango as a product to be sold to strangers/tourists (so called Yankee tango or tango for export)
The problem is when the “no-axis-sharing” way is propagated as the right way of doing things. You say, those people created steps – and that’s fine, but creating steps is not what social tango is for – social tango is not about steps – it’s about embracing and connection. It’s about meeting people and having joy on the dance floor. Saying tango salon means saying milonguero – tango for milonga.
On the other hand, the term “salon” is being (mis)used and sold around the world to label a style which is mix of escenario, nuevo and social tango… I would rather say it is adapted show dancing.
History shouldn’t be subjective. Either something or someone is part of it or not.
You’re right, the dancers you mentioned are part of history; but is a more contemporary one. Many of them are the students of the teachers I’ve mention. You are correct, there were different styles from barrio to barrio. From what I understand, you couldn’t find two persons who would dance the same back in the Golden Age era. Interestingly enough; the most prolific and recognized dancers were from the same neighborhood (Villa Urquiza). A lot of the greatest dancers, as well as musicians and singers, lived blocks from each other in this Barrio. The style that was danced in this barrio is the style that predominantly stayed during the golden age era and the future. An upright posture, independent axis, close embrace, good clothes, among others were the characteristics of this neighborhood.
I think you are mistaken about the “Tango for export”. Most of the tango dancers I’ve mention, if not all of them, had a really hard time accepting what is now know as stage tango; professional dancers who learned tango to transport to the stage. Tango was then was going trough a hard time, given that rock and roll came along, WWII was over, and Argentina was starting to produce other types of music instead of focusing on tango. Tango “for export” had the intention to bring out tango to other countries in an effort to keep in alive. There you have shows like “Tango Argentino” which had a huge success and the same show Rodolfo Valentino would watch later an emulate for his movies -sadly what I call “Hollywood tango” and the kind of tango is still in most people that don’t know the dance.
The milongueros from back then didn’t agree with the “choreographic part” of tango. The battle, was not between close or apilado embrace; it was improvisation vs choreography. There’s a really good documentary that talks about this called “Tango baile nuestro”.
Nowadays stage tango is very respected within the tango commuity. But it is very different from tango salon. Depicting a “no-axis-sharing” as a propaganda is far from accurate. Petrelo him self never danced apilado, and “The milonguero day” is celebrated september 29 every year in Argentina, because of his birthday.
I’m not sure how you use the term salon, but for me is a synonym
of social dancing. I don’t have the facts straight on this, but maybe you could help me out… when was what is called “milonguero styled” created? You could say is not important, when it was created, but I think it is, given that the discussion you’re suggesting is about “real” or “fake” embrace. Which one was created first? From what I’ve read, asked and researched thru documentaries and movies; tango was danced with the salon embrace and the lead came from the arm, for a over a hundred years, until de 90’s probably. Until that time, Milonguero was a term of respect for the old and hardcore dancers of the milongas, not a “style”. Tango just has three different styles: Tango, Vals and Milonga. Everything else is just technique and personal preference.
Lastly, talking about connection and steps. I don’t think one is opposite to the other. For the the better dancer is the one that can keep connection to any and every step. Not achieve connection just because you do the steps are comfortable for that connection. Let’s take the example of a beginner dancer. I’m sure just as you when you were starting, or me or anyone else; the connection would not be something that would be clear at first glance. Not that it could not happen, but that connection is what every dancer is striving for. At first you get seconds of it, little by little, with more experience, you manage to keep connection through the whole song, to even help your partner connect back with you if they’re not achieving it. And again, there’s a million things that could affect that connection in every moment. And what about dancing with leaders or followers that have a hard time giving that point to connect: at the end of the day, connection would logically mean that the two dancers need to be in it (It takes two to tango right?). What if you’re dancing with a beginner? Do you decide not to do it? What about the connection there? Is it not a good dance just because you can’t connect? Have you been always able to have that connection?
Connection is a really in depth subject that would require its own debate, specially because it is subjective and for every person could mean something completely different.
For me, as a dancer and a leader. I would want to learn, not necessarily steps, but to be in control of my body and my partner, so that I then can make any step I want, without loosing connection. That way I would have so many more resources, steps and nuances to make my dance richer and expand that connection to its limits.
Such ignorance of the open embrace. When you find your perfect partner physical contact is not required. You are connected via your souls and the music and movement of your torso. The dance is a union of both of us. It is not a dictatorship
HI Julian, thanks for the comment. I agree with you that it should not be dictatorship.
… and by the way, very nice poetry and metaphors – but in reality doesn’t work like that.
I love it… Real close embrace It’s the true !!!
Thanks