[Tango-L] Tango is not a pose

[Alexis Cousein]

WHITE 95 R wrote:
> With few exceptions such as
> Pugliese or Piazzolla and other orchestras that play in that style, the 
> tango music moves right along in the 4x4 or 2x4 rhythm. 

There are such things as a melody, dancing to the cues of melodic
lines of singers or instruments and very clear long phrases in
the music - we're dancing to tango music, not to the tune of a
fat Nubian slave drumming the 2x4 or 4x4 beat on a Roman galley,
you know. And while the beat goes on, the music not always
moves on...not all music compels to move. Indeed, most music
compels the dance to "breathe", with slowdowns, accelerations
and pauses at just the right moments (at least if you're open
to it -- not if you've freshly had some concrete poured into
the ears so that you can safely ignore what the music is trying
to tell you).

The rhythm of the steps you take also has less to do with progress
along the line of dance than you'd think, because the length of
your steps (and their direction) is something you control -
or rather, negotiate with your surroundings, unless you're obtuse.

Mind you, standing still does rob you of that freedom - if you
do take a step you can stay on your spot or cover ground, but
it's hard to cover ground without taking a step (somehow,
not many people have mastered the art of tango levitation).

Which means that if you do stand still, you should either
not do it for long (where "long" depends on who's behind
you and how far they are) or plan accordingly - dance floor
corners and inside lanes offer a graceful way out of the
conundrum if you do like to show off your emphatic pauses.

But pauses are effects, and as such, more is less - it's often
more beautiful to see someone pause for a fleeting instant and
then move on (leaving you wondering exactly what has happened)
than to see a couples who'll stand like a statue just to be sure
the entire universe has had a chance to admire them in
their stunning pause (nay, pose).