[Tango-L] The language of Tango

[larrynla@juno.com]

Every dance is a language of the body.  Some dances are very limited in 
how many "words" they have, ways to "pronounce" those words, and how 
they can be combined into "sentences" and "paragraphs" and so on.  
Some have more range.

What's unique about tango is that the range of its language is a full 
order of magnitude (at least) more than any other social dance.  It can 
be used on the stage to tell a story.  Or to make an artistic statement 
that is like abstract art.  Or make people laugh, as a string of jokes 
or a more organized comedic tale.  And more.

Still tango, but tango for show, where talented dancers give something 
to the world.  And their more rarefied confections might seem to be 
more cerebral than passionate, but those of you who know tango 
performers know how much energy and caring and damned hard work goes 
into those confections.  Performers must care a lot to exert so much 
time and effort into what they do, and their careers have a short shelf 
life.  At thirty often their careers are over.

Or tango can be much more casual.  This is the way of many Argentines, 
who come to a milonga to meet their friends and chat and smoke and 
snack.  And sometimes to dance a little tango with a very small 
vocabulary, and often not very well "pronounced."  If your Spanish is 
good enough sometimes you will hear them laugh at the foreigners and 
how seriously they take tango.

Tango is sometimes used in courting, especially by the young.  It's a 
way to get someone attractive to them in their arms.  Sometimes they 
use it to impress with their skill and agility and stamina.  Or maybe 
impress with their fashion style, dressing up sharply, or down in 
reverse supercasual street style - which is often more earnest and 
calculated in effect than those who dress up.

But tango can be used for more than sexual reasons.  A son may coax his 
mother onto the dance floor and tease her about being a wallflower.  A 
father may dance with his daughter at a wedding after he's given her 
away to a son-in-law.  A couple may dance in mourning at a wake for 
a friend they will no longer see.

Ultimately tango is a house of many rooms, and it's up to each of us 
how many of those rooms we want to inhabit.  If just one modest room, 
fine, that's your right.  But it is wrong of you to insult others who 
have different needs and desires and abilities.  You not only do them 
disservice, but yourself, when you are small-minded and divisive.

Larry de Los Angeles



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