Argentine Tango is more than an act of technique or musicality. It is a conversation between two dancers in the language of tango. It’s inspired by the music, and powered by what each dancer has to say. Unfortunately, as taught by many teachers, it’s an unbalanced conversation.
Tango is traditionally taught through the roles of leader and follower. Leaders do X and followers do Y. The dance is a set of lead and follow transactions and tasks. This gets us going in the dance yet is ultimately limiting. The price tag comes somewhere further down the line. How many followers are frustrated by unimaginative leads? How many leaders feel exhausted by doing it all? Think of your own frustrations.
The case for change
It doesn’t have to be this way. This is not how we treat our other, spoken, conversations in life. In everyday conversations, we take turns driving the conversation. We listen, explore each other’s points, respond, and set off in new directions. If there is a role of leader and follower in a spoken conversation then it changes, sometimes from moment to moment, sometimes more slowly. Maybe it’s no surprise that there is a growing interest in the excitement and beauty of the tango equivalent – learning and dancing both roles.
Switching roles for the first time is exciting, empowering and humbling.
We might say;
- ‘Leading’ carries the responsibility of intention, direction, and protection. It asks you to create a spacious invitation with clarity, and care for your partner’s comfort and grace.
- ‘Following’ requires alertness, poise and receptivity. The willingness to surrender into the moment and to craft your ‘words’ as a response to the invitation.
A ‘follower’ who learns to lead learns to care. A ‘leader’ who learns to follow discovers the vulnerability and beauty inherent in reacting and the need for space.
In doing this, each can now see the dance from a new perspective. They can start to adapt their behaviour to better exploit the opportunities, and accept the limitations of each dance ‘sentence’. In doing so their dance moves beyond assignment and performance of steps and figures. It can become a shared act of attentiveness based on understanding and trust. And trust can become the platform for elevating their dance.
This is just the beginning of your enhanced journey in your tango…
Dual role dancing means more than substituting for a leader or follower. It better means two dual role dancers dancing together. Where each embraces exchanging roles within a dance, like the back and forth in an animated spoken conversation. This leads to a more fulfilling experience. In my case, this is a more joyful approach. This is more than ‘better technique’ or more consideration and grace. It’s a fundamental rearrangement of what we were taught.
We might say at a functional level that some things tend to weigh dancers down and inhibit them.
- Our own expectations in our ‘designated’ role, and maybe there can be fear of ‘not doing it right’ or ‘not having technique’ in somebody elses opinion.
- It might be the frustrations of others projected onto you. Because you cannot provide what they think they need to enjoy their tango. This can be claustrophobic and inhibiting.
- There is also the effort in sustaining a monologue, sometimes long past its best. Maybe a desire just for the song or tanda to end so that we can find fresh inspiration elsewhere.
If we can reduce those things? Through better understanding, sharing the journey, and adding variety in the dance? Could there be more energy available for higher purposes?
Elevating your dance
Creatively, dual role dancers tend to have a wider, more usable vocabulary for their dance. They know both roles and are more willing to experiment. When dancing with another dual role partner then they spark each other. This feeds curiosity rather than caution. Replaces performance pressure with openess. From this comes the freedom to embrace new possibilities.
When both dancers feel empowered then the dance starts to become something different. An exploration of how we interact with each other and the music. Each feels free to initiate ideas, suggest phrases, and sculpt the experience.
Playfulness emerges and it takes over. We reach for the delight in surprising each other and ourselves. ‘If I do this then what will you do?’ helps us to bridge towards our inner child. Changes become sparks that light a fire in the dance and enthrall us with their dynamic possibilities.
All of this could be true of any dance in the tango world, maybe with milonga and vals being the standout possibilities. The neolonga and milonga dance floors can be full of joy and invention.
Yet it remains true that, whatever the situation, being able to dance dual role in it multiplies the possibilities for your dancing to become more fun – a more satisfying exploration of what we can ‘say’ to each other in our tango language.
Lorenzo Salzano