Tango isn’t for you, it’s for the one you dance with.
I strongly believe that tango makes sense only if you are able to dance FOR your partner. No, I don’t even accept dancing WITH your partner as many dancers believe it should be.
In this article I will explain why I think this by explaining the stages of development of every dancer. For many, those stages are not actually stages – they just start randomly choosing one, depending on their character.
But, be sure, tango is personal and it deeply reflects who you are as a person. I believe that good dancers respect the process: they go through all those stages and this provides them with the necessary skills to become great.
I borrowed the idea and the first sentence from one article I read many years ago. The form is there, but the point is completely different. I had to mention this because I feel uncomfortable stealing. Anyway, the analogy is perfect and I had to borrow.
So, here they are: the four stages of evolution of the tango dancer.
1. Self focused
This is usually where every good dancer starts. The beginner is so overwhelmed with what (s)he learns that (s)he can’t focus on other things except his/her body. Dancing is a new experience and it takes time for the body to absorb the knowledge until it becomes easy to focus on other things.
After the techniques and steps become routine, the dancer may go beyond focusing on himself/herself and start paying attention to other things.
👍 It is good to experience this phase because self analysis is necessary for everyone who wants to become a good dancer.
👎 It’s bad if a dancer gets stuck in this phase. Then, (s)he becomes a dancer who dances only for himself/herself, completely ignoring others and reality.
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2. Viewers focused
Social tango is danced in social environment and what others think about our dancing means a lot to us, especially if they are our potential next partners.
This becomes important in the second phase, when the dancer starts visiting milongas. When the beginner enters this phase, (s)he should move to the next one as soon as (s)he can, unless if (s)he has an ambition to become a performer.
Unfortunately, many beginners miss the first phase and jump directly here. They are usually in tango to show off, without even trying to focus first on their dancing. They never become good dancers.
👍 It is good to be elegant – because ugly dancing is usually uncomfortable too.
👎 It’s bad when being elegant and attractive becomes goal by itself. It is not comfortable to dance with someone who only cares about his/her posture and nice moves.
3. Partner focused
This is the crown of good dancing: it shows maturity and elegance.
Dancers who get here are those with whom you can expect the pure tango bliss. They feel the partner first, and then are able to transfer the music in their body. Their dancing is like a pleasant conversation that touches the soul and stays in the memory long after the last beats of the tanda.
👍 It’s good to get here because the process requires from you to outgrow the self-fixation and dancing for compliments. It requires from the dancer to go even beyond tango and become a better human being.
👎 It’s bad… Well, it is bad when people don’t get here… and stay here!
4. Sex focused
“Tango as a dance is a game of seduction…”, said in the intro the narrator of one of the videos I watched when I was a beginner.
It was a bad video course, but this was actually not far from the truth. Tango can become very intimate, very sensual and even very sexual… and there is nothing wrong with it – if it is the desire of both of the partners.
Every tango dancer has had a few of those “steamy” tandas and I believe that they are a part of the overall experience.
👍 It’s good when a dancer enjoys and knows how to answer if his/her partner initiates sensual (or even sexual) tanda.
👎 It’s bad when a dancer initiates sensual/sexual dancing without consent or even despite implicit refusal of the partner. This often gives tango a bad reputation and I know of many dancers (most of the girls) who gave up dancing because of this.
What do you think? Can you think of dancers that are stuck in some of the stages? Comment below or email me.
If you find this useful, spread the word by sharing it with your tango friends.
“Tango as a dance is a game of seduction…”, from ‘This is the way we dance Tango’ with Osvaldo Zotto and Mora Godoy.. …. You say it”’ was a bad video course”. No… It was one of my first videos I loved. it was great for a beginner. Don’t be harsh
I cannot agree more than the above. It is interesting our classes are currently focus those topics to our students by introducing the concept rather than sequence/ movements. Once we understand individual balance and focuse on the partner dancing with, it creates the quality in the Tango. The fulfilment is by far beyond the fancy steps. Thank you for the article.
Thank you Helen. I am glad you like the article 🙂
I think that the three steps of self, viewers and partner focused are dynamic steps and a good dancer have to move continuously from one to another, and even stay in between them, in different situation.
When you take lessons you have to be self focused if you want to understand steps and balance and all the little things that you have to do but and at the same time focus on the partner to get the feedback and understand if everything is going in the right way. In my idea something like 80% self and 20% partner, but it also depend on the topic of the lesson.
In Milongas the partner part should take the most because, I agree, you dance for your partner but not only for her/him, you have to enjoy the dance for yourself too and maintain some elegance for the public. So it could be something like 85% partner, 10% self and 5% viewers. If you stop feeling yourself you can’t transmit anything to the other.