Let's talk about sex!

... or the lack of it in Tango. 

Why? Because it‘s one of the most obvious and most avoided topics in our favourite pastime or profession. And because there seems to be a tiny spark of a psychologist in me after all. ;-) 

We‘ve all made up our minds! Contrary to the image displayed in Tango shows, bad movies or in the heads the uninformed, Tango is not a sexual or erotic dance. It is sensual - at the utmost! How often have I explained this to Non-Tangueros, in order to avoid their pitying or lecherous glances and remarks! And even amongst Tangueros, people tend to make it very clear, that they‘ve got nothing to do with the antiquated notion of Tango as the most erotic dance in the world. 

Let‘s have a look at some typical opinions and statements. 

There are for example the ones who prefer to dance in an open or flexible embrace - often dancers of a younger generation. They focus on the possibilities of the movement and the music. I‘ve heard heard quite a few snide remarks coming from this group, like: „Dancing in a close embrace is for the old and unattractive ones. You know, those who do not find a partner in real life and use Tango as a replacement for sex or as a hunting ground. We do not need that.“ 

Huh.... 

Those who cherish the close embrace might answer: „These young ones! They‘re afraid of real relationships and nearness. They hide behind complex movements in order to avoid intimacy. We experience a real connection, but will of course not try to exploit it. It will only last for a Tanda and then it‘s over! We would never, ever... We‘re sophisticated and spiritual beings, not Salseros, who only dance in order to pick up a man/woman. We do not need that.“ 

So, what all these people want to tell us, is that they will not use Tango to make sexual or romantic advances to another person. Everyone who dances in a close embrace with someone he/she finds attractive will know, that this is not the whole truth and that the dance itself can become very sexy. But if you restrict this activity to a set of four Tangos and restrain yourself from taking it any further, this will definitively have consequences. 

Because, if you take into account that: 

- a lot of Tangueros are singles,
- Tango is their major or only pastime - the only place where they could find a partner,
- and that they spend most of their nights dancing, coming home exhausted physically and mentally...
... the question imposes upon one: Are those people ever going to find a partner for life or the night? They must all be celibate! 

And let‘s have a look at those, who do have a steady relationship: They will not show their affection during a Milonga out of fear of not being invited by someone else, they will spend lots of communicative energy to embrace strangers all night, they come home late and exhausted... How much energy will they have left to connect to their partner, in whatever way? 

So what, Tangueros in general don‘t have sex and Tango is their substitute for it? 

At first glance, scientific research seems to back up this idea. In the context of my psychological thesis („Sex-roles in Argentine Tango“ - now please think Sandra Bem and not Naughty Nurses) - I interviewed 170 German Tango dancers. The majority of them (100 persons) were single. Now, this was in 2001 to 2003 and I‘d probably develop a totally different questionnaire nowadays - but nevertheless some of the results are interesting:
68,3 % of the respondents associate Tango with passion and erotics.
80,5 % of the respondents see Tango as an opportunity to experience physical nearness to other people.
56,7 % of the respondents see Tango as an opportunity to be near to a man/woman in a non-committing way.
But only 14,2 % of them comprehend Tango as an opportunity to find a partner. 

So again: people make connections, rather important ones to opposite-sex partners in Tango, but they will not take it any further and go home solo. But why is that so? 

There are several explanations, that I‘ve heard over the years:
- Most Tangueros have relational issues or are just too shy.
- They are afraid of loosing a particular person as a dance partner.
- They are afraid of endangering their standing as a Tanguero by getting a reputation as a slut or a womaniser.
- Tango itself is a sanctuary. You do not desecrate it by profane actions. 

Well... I don‘t know.... I don‘t believe in all of that. Not even in the results of my studies. When I look around, I see many people finding partners for life or having love affairs in Tango. Very often, they just don‘t tell, which is a little strange for me, because I used to move in circles, where people talked openly about their sexuality or at least did not try to repress this primal need. But if you take Tango seriously, sex seems to be a taboo. 

And now I come to the point, where I want to introduce Argentina as a „good“ example, because there, Tango is a normal part of everyday life. People go there to have fun with their spouses, they bring their family, eat, chat and yes, use the environment to find a partner for the night or for life. Sure, they will abide to rules of discretion, if they still want to dance with other people, so they won‘t leave the Milonga with their lover or sit with a partner - but apart from that, it‘s no secret, that Milongueros and Milongueras use the Milongas as a „hunting ground“. And why should they not? 

We‘re all confident grown-ups and if we don‘t want to accept a polite invitation, we just say no, don‘t we? 

(Note for the over-zealous: This is not a post to encourage transgressive behaviour in the dance or "sexy" Milongas. I‘m discussing an interesting phenomenon from an analytic perspective and making a small leap into the question of a „natural“ attitude towards Tango. That's all!)

Post in between posts 2 - cocooning issues

Today is not a good day for me. My private sphere is being invaded by two nice young men, who are ripping apart some of our windows in order to put new ones in. Generally, this might be a good idea. But it is freezing cold outside, I have to sit in the kitchen (instead of my usual workplace), there‘s lots of noise and - worst of all - social behaviour is expected from me. At home! 

And this is really becoming an issue: By travelling all around the globe and teaching social Tango, I have transformed into a very unsocial being. BT (Before Tango) I used to spend time in cafés and cinemas or at my friends, meeting people, partying, always being a group-person. Now, I exhaust all my interactive energy by travelling, teaching, constantly being with people, so that I drop into heavy cocooning mode, when I‘ve got a few days at home. I usually don‘t leave the house, order whatever is possible on the internet and even have to force myself to meet my friends. Don‘t misunderstand me - I love them and am always happy, when I‘m there. But it just costs me so much to leave my computer, dress properly and maybe even get out of the house. Watching a DVD, reading a book or writing on blogs are my preferred pastimes... I don‘t even remember when I last visited a real party... Sad...

But it‘s not only me and my wish to counterbalance the strenuous life of a travelling person!

Actually all of my friends describe the same problem, even those with regular jobs. Even the non-tangueros. So is it age? Are we mutating into old bores? And then I look at the younger generation and discover the same mechanisms: Teenagers preferring the TV or computer to the disco, young people spending the time at home with their elders playing cards instead of chatting up girls!

What‘s wrong? Is it a trend in society? Scientists tell us, that cocooning derives from the wish of fleeing the unstable and perilous world, especially after 9/11. But I'm not so sure. My personal life is not so frightening. My hometown Saarbrücken is a relatively nice and calm smaller city and I've never experienced war or terrorism. Almost none of my personal acquaintances have... So what is it?

I‘m gonna keep an eye on this.... most likely by reading articles online and not by talking to people. ;-)

What makes music danceable?

Recently... I was already about to go to sleep, when I started thinking about his question: What makes a Tango danceable?

As a Tango-DJ, this is the most relevant issue, when choosing music for a Milonga. Of course, the matter of danceability depends on the general proficiency level of the dancers at this specific event. A beginner will need a „simpler“ music, than a fully trained, professional stage dancer and artist. 

But let‘s evoke a normal local Milonga in a bigger town. It‘s a social event, so you‘ll find none or only very few stage dancers, a few (mostly semi-professional) teachers, some fairly advanced dancers, a majority of intermediate people and a bunch of beginners. That‘s what you have to deal with.

Your choice of music thus has to be „simple“ enough to be danced by the beginners and intermediates, but needs to appeal to the more advanced dancers as well. So changing the level of „simplicity“ within the course of the Milonga or alternating between different levels is the sensible thing to do.

But lets look at the defining factors. In my opinion, a danceable Tango (Vals, Milonga) is characterised by:

A perceivable beat:

An instrument (often the bass or piano) plays the beats within the measure (1234 or 123 or 12) and you would be able to count them to go along. Some Tangos by Biagi (e.g. Belgica) may be quite hard to dance to, as he makes pauses and lets drop notes and beats completely within the measure. In some very lyrical dances the legato passages of the violins and bandoneons may be so dominant, that you will not hear the beat for a longer time. An experienced dancer will have no problem with these cases, as he's going to feel the beat virtually through the strong notes of the melodic parts. But for a beginner, these Tangos might pose a problem. 

A constant speed:

The speed does not change dramatically during the course of the Tango (Milonga or Vals). A typically slower „introduction“ or finale to e.g. a romantic Vals is no problem, but most of the time, the speed should be constant. Lots of Tangos by Pugliese change speed quite often, and are thus not easy to dance to.

An acceptable speed:

The speed should be in a danceable range. If a song is too slow (e.g. modern music by Los Cosos de a Lao) or too fast (some d‘Arienzo Valses or Milongas) it might get too challenging, depending on the quality of the dancer's technique. People are either lacking the balance or the the stamina to keep up with such a speed.

An acceptable sound quality:

Let‘s face it, some of the very old Tangos might be very sweet and even easy to dance to, but the sound quality is just not acceptable. If all you hear are scratches or noise a Tango is not danceable any more.

Manageable rhythmic variation:

Tangos do not have a constant basic rhythm like Milongas (Habanera rhythm) do. The melody may form new rhythmic patterns in every measure and additional rhythms will be played in overlaid melodies or as an accompaniment. That makes a Tango in general much harder to dance to, like a - let's say - Rumba or Milonga. In order to not simply step on the beat (the minimum requirement), the dancer actually has to know (or be able to guess well) the melody. 
As long as the rhythmic patterns are very common ones (a simple quick-quick-slows like 123 or a slow-quick-quick like 134), this is not a big deal. These rhythms only use notes that are already represented by the basic beat, so even if you dance the other variation, you will not be really wrong. Syncopations make it already harder, as you have to know when they will be played. You should not dance a syncopation, if the orchestra does not play it. Uncommon rhythms like 3-3-2 or Triplets make it more challenging - even for very advanced dancers. As a DJ, I often sit and watch the dancers move to the music and check, if the get the rhythmic variations. Even at events with a very high dance level, only few people use them. That's of course no catastrophe, but it's still sad.
By the way: lots of rhythmic variations in Tango music are based on the Habanera (1+34) pattern by adding or leaving out notes. Once you discover this fact, you'll find it much easier to dance to them.

An acceptable complexity:

There are simple Tangos and complex ones. One way to measure this factor depends on the number of layers within the music. A Tango is like a cake: A simple one will consist of a layer of basic beat (the bottom) and one „hummable“ melody (the cream filling). This melody will most likely alternate with a second melody. If there is a third melody or two of them are overlaid, it can get already quite complex. Think of a lovely piece of "Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte". Tastes super, but try to bake it! ;-)
Check out "Nueve Puntos" by Di Sarli: It is played in hundreds of beginners classes, but if you examine it closely, you'll discover that it is a quite complex piece of music. I don't say that it is not danceable, but it is certainly no "simple" Tango.
A singer as a part of the orchestra can take over the melody during a shorter period of the Tango. This will not necessarily interfere with the danceability, as long as he does not add a variational phrasing.

A predictable course:

The predictability depends on the overall composition of the Tango. If there are distinguishable parts within the music, and not more than 3 different melodies are repeated after a Rondo-structure or variations thereof (e.g. ABABA or ABABC), a dancer can guess easily, which part of the melody will be played when and can adapt his movements to the flow of the music. A more surprising order of parts (ABABBBB in "Adios para siempre" by D'Agostino) makes it already more challenging to dance to, when you hear it for the first time. But if the melody is almost totally free (no repetition of larger melodic parts like in "El Yaguaron" by Biagi), forget about it. 
Also check out the Tango's phrasing. A rather "predictable" Tango will have regular phrases within one part: typically 4 measures form one phrase and 4 phrases one part (4/4/4/4). An "unpredictable" Tango may be using irregular phrasing patterns - e.g. 3/3/4/3/3 in part B of Humillacion by Biagi.

An emotional appeal:

Music speaks to you. It will evoke emotions, inspire you. This makes the difference  in between just moving to the beat and dancing, especially if you are a more advanced dancer. This factor is of course very subjective, because here we touch the question of how much we „like“ a Tango or not. But nevertheless, it is crucial. I will not dance to a Tango, if I don‘t like it and - here it gets even more subjective - in my opinion this depends on the „humanity“ of the music. A perfectly composed Tango by De Caro may be „complex, challenging and interesting“, but it may not be as emotional as a Tango by Rodriguez with the singer Armando Moreno. So very often, it is the human voice and even the content of the lyrics, that creates the „humane appeal“. Sometimes, it may be also an humane attribution of a specific instrument - the wailing violin of Elvino Vardaro for example. In Buenos Aires Milongas, you‘ll hear the old Milongueros sing along to their favourite Tangos and many DJ's will cater to that taste.

So a good DJ will have a feeling for which Tangos make the dancers sad, happy or emotional and will even know favourites of special dancers. This last factor is it what distinguishes a danceable Milonga from a great one.

A note:

The more varied the rhythmic variation of a Tango is, the more layers you'll discover in it, the more "unpredictable" it gets… the more interesting a Tango may become to musical or advanced dancers. That's for sure! But in this article, I am focussing on the "danceability" for average dancers. 
So, dear DJs: please add the more complex Tangos to your repertoire, but keep in mind, that you have to adapt the level of complexity to the dance-level of your dancers. Challenges are fine, but you don't want the audience to fight with the music. 

(I revised this article on October, 22, 2016)