To Tango or not to Tango.

April 26, 2009
Buenos Aries is the city of Tango. People have come from all corners of the world just to dance. You will not see them by day, but they will emerge as the shadows get longer and the beat of the music starts to come forth. They are passionate, un-wavering.
Hence Darlene and I had to find out in baby steps what the addition was and how infectious it could be. We were staying at a B&B that has a dance studio and each evening at 7:30 pm an instructor is there for the guests. Here not only did we dance, but we met people who share the culture of Tango with us.
Tango is a communication that begins and ends in the dance. A man does not walk up to a woman and ask to dance. Women at most dance place sit separate from men. If one is a strange, one waits and watches the dance to get the feel. Then one will look around and think about who you will want to dance with, and make eye contact. One will wait till the music is playing to decide if it is dance one want to experience. Once that eye contact is made, if the other breaks it off, that is a sign of no. No could be for any number of reasons…music pace to fast, too slow, don’t feel confident, feet are hurting. If the eye contact is held, the man will come over, never loosing that eye contact and extend his hand. The woman must be sure it is for her, and not the person behind so will wait till he is right by her extending his hand to her, then only will she rise to accept.
The man will then lead her to the dance floor and she will only step onto it when invited. The dance will now begin. Three pieces of music are played in succession; I think called stanzas, with a few seconds break between. One will dance all three with the same partner. For some, the time between the music is the social time to chat, to learn the other person’s name. For another, they will go into the starting dance pose, cheek to cheek, holding the embrace, speaking not a word, yet saying so much. It is the romance, of wanting possibly to be kissed, but not. A good dancer will always protect his partner by having her dance on the outer parameter with her back to the crowd so that she may not be accidentally kicked or stepped on, something that is easy as the floor is very crowded.
The male will always lead. The ego can be huge. If a woman asks via eye contact of another woman to dance, it is assumed that she is a lesbian, or vise versa if two males dance together then they are gay. There are clubs in BA where this is perfectly acceptable. Also, if a woman leads a man to dance, then neither will get another dance from other partners as it is assumed that the guy has no backbone and that the woman is a huge force and the egos will clash. If a couple arrives together they will be seated and if they dance more than one stanza, don’t expect to be asked to dance with some one else.
When the stanza is complete, the music will change radically. They may play rap or disco, anything that will clear the dance floor. The gentlemen will take the ladies back to the table. They will not dance with the same partner again that night. If they do, or you accept a follow up stanza, that means you will be going home with him and passionate love is assured. If he offers to buy you coffee or a drink in this period, and you accept, you will indicate your willingness to go home with him.