A few months ago, during a trip to Prague, we attended a small performance by a well known violinist and pianist. The performance was in one of the beautiful rooms in a museum with an attendance of about 10-20 people. One of the things I remember most about this performance was the emotion that the violinist added when playing his violin; how much he felt it, how much he was able to transmit the feeling of the piece he was playing to us – I can tell you that the feeling of sorrow transmitted was heartbreaking and beautiful and one of the most amazing things I’ve felt.
You probably know where I’m going with this….
On one of our classes last week, we talked about how important is the feeling in Tango, being able to express what you feel in the dance and transmit it to your partner. Tango is both technical and expressive, but it always seems like we focus too much on the technical side and very little on the expressive side. Have you ever tried to express to your partner what the music makes you feel? If you have not, I suggest that you do; the dance changes completely. How can you not transmit a feeling with such a close embrace and connection? If you are happy, transmit it, if you are sad, transmit it… This is probably one of the main differences between Tango in Buenos Aires and in any other part of the world – Tango and feeling is felt in each embrace.
There is a popular song by Ricardo Tanturi & Alberto Castillo called Asi Se Baila El Tango (This is how Tango is danced) that talks about the connection, the embrace being like a serpent around the follower’s body, the blood rising after every beat, closing your eyes to listen better to the violins…. That’s how Tango is danced!
Check out Gavito & Marcela Duran
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