January 10, 2005

Untangling tango

I went to another tango workshop this weekend, this time with Margaret Spore. During lunch on Saturday she explained some of the history of tango and showed us some videos of professional tango dancers. The most fascinating was the one of two men dancing together, frequently changing roles from follower to leader and back again. Typical of classical (textbook) male energy, it seemed like a contest: oh, you can do that, well then, watch what I can do! And back and forth, getting more and more challenging. A dancing duel.

As Margaret explained:

The tango of the poor barrios and brothels of Buenos Aires gave expression to the sexuality, combativeness, melancholy and frustration of those living at the margin of society. A city teeming with too many working men, and a dance which was not considered "polite" for women, led to men often dancing with other men, a tradition that still appears today, though often in an updated version, with men and women learning both parts.

Seeing these men dance together helped me to understand the underlying tensions and complexities that make this dance so fascinating to do. A truly amazing and definitely fearless dance.

Posted by leya at January 10, 2005 08:52 PM