Am I open or am I close?

It is one of the most discussed topic in Argentine Tango world because it touches dancer's personal style and personal feeling. Often time 'the embrace' is used to define one dancer's identity among the dancers.

Oh, look! he is an 'open embrace' dancer so he must be a nuevo dancer, or, he studied argentine tango in BA so he dances milonguero style and he must be a 'close embrace' guy.

I was once identified as the little milonguero when I danced in New York. But I also heard people refer me as the 'nuevo guy' who likes to dance to weird alternative tango music after I came back to Taiwan.

So what am I? I wonder myself.... I think I like dancing close because for me that's what Tango is all about. But I also like to open up when the music calls for it or when I know my follower is not comfortable with close embrace... and unfortunately, lots of followers in the Taipei Tango community don't really dance close embrace Tango.

Perhaps I have Tango identify crisis...

Vibe in the milonga

Dancing in a Milonga, there are often many things happening at the same time. There are people moving around you. Noises from people's talking and laughing on the side. Not to mention those flying high heels and annoying leaders giving 'lessons' in the middle of the dance floor.

But when you listen carefully. There is only the music and your partner. The music is flowing and your partner is breathing (hopefully). Good DJ makes the night memorable. Bad DJ makes you walk out the milonga with empty feeling.

When I DJ I always want to create that 'vibe' on the dance floor. It is hard to put it in words what that is. It happens when you can feel that everyone on the dance floor is listening to the same tune and moving together. You can feel they are happy. Their facial expression is also different. The music is connecting all of us. You can feel 'it' in the air.

Of course, I also experienced the DJ nightmare. When the music comes out, the expression on people's face is 'what is that?' then you know it probably is not going to work.

I still haven't figured out the secret to make everyone happy night in and night out, but I do know I have to 'feel' the music myself first before I can touch anybody else. If I can't event make myself want to dance, how can I make others?

The 'Matrix Move'

Claudia y Esteban was in Taipei the past weekend. Had the opportunity to see them perform live at New York New York. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention last year to their performance at the Taipei Tango Festival but this year I found their performance very intriguing.

One movement that especially caught my attention was what I called the 'slow motion', or the 'matrix move' as one of my Tango teachers in New York has referred it. Remember the scene when Neo was dodging bullets. Time seems to slow down and everything seems to be in slow motion to him.

It was basically taking a 'step' but completing it in 'slow motion' across several beats. Sometimes it looks like a long pause. It gives tension to the dance and creates a strong sensation of anticipation that something is going to happen. It is a state of balance before it goes to the next state - a short stop to accumulate energy. It is a way to get your partner attention.

Dancing slow is much harder than dancing fast. It requires more concentration, more balance, more strength and more sensitive to your partner. You need to put more emotion and quality into the step. From 0 and 1. You have to express the 0.15, 0.23, 0.65 and 0.99. And you are waiting for that 1 to come.

Notes from my Tango lessons I

Move with 丹田

Funny how Argentine Tango teacher use chinese concept of 丹田 to explain to us how to walk in Tango. Using 丹田 will help the follower to know exactly what your intention is. I think it makes a lot of sense. It's not about using hands or using chest because your body moves with your 丹田 (or you can explain the other way your 丹田 moves then your body moves). If you just move your chest (which I used to do a lot) the follower will get too much information and she will get confused and not sure which way to go.

Walk with the whole foot

I have learn so many different style from so many different teachers when it comes to walking in Tango. Use the toe? Use the hill? Marcelo believes you need to use the whole foot to walk in order to be stable. That's how we walk normally, no? I think it makes a lot of sense. I feel grounded when I walk with my whole foot. I am confident because I know I own the floor and I am not going to fall. And the follower will feel your confidence too.

Feel the follower/leader

Easy to say but very hard to actually do this well. Marcelo asked us to feel each other. Feel how the other person move. This is probably one of the most valuable thing I learn from him. As a leader, we are not actually leading. We are learning how our follower moves with the music. Learn how she wants to move. Learn how she wants to interpret the music. Our job, as a leader, is to lead her to do the things she wants to do. In another word, Make Her Dance. Not leading her to do the leader's dance but to lead her to dance Her dance.

Such a life-changing thought! The two years I have been dancing I was told I got great musicality but I never tought it should not be about my musicality. It should be ours. When I was moving according to my own interpretation I forgot to 'listen'. I forgot to 'feel' what she wants. It changes from 'look how good a leader I am' to 'look how good a follower you are!'.

Of course, this requires the participation from both sides. Leader is not just leading. His job is to listen and dance the dance she likes. The follower job is to dance not just follow. Don't be afraid to dance, to interpret the music. It doesn't mean not following. It is about participation.

I think these are nothing new. But Marelco did a good job in bringing it out. Have us feel. Some we got and some we didn't. The important thing is we now know what the possibilities are.

Marcelo Gutierrez

Before I went to BsAs I had a long list of good Tango teachers that friends recommended. There are many so called masters on the list. I have seen these maters either on video or have heard of them. However, during my second trip, I pretty much stayed with only one teacher - Marcelo Gutierrez.

He might not be as well known as the other big names but I think he is someone special. In fact, I already met him in my first trip to BsAs. I didn't remember much about him, not even his name, but when Sarita pointed him out on the dance floor, my memory came back, I remember he is the guy whom the girls referred to as 'the leader who knows how to make the follower feel good'.

For me that's the highest compliment a leader can get, so I decided to take a private with him. I want to learn his secret. What does he do differently from the other leaders to make the followers feel so good :p

And one private lesson turn into many follow-up lessons. I think we took almost 10 private with him during our 3 weeks trip. It's hard to articulate what we have learn from him, but one thing for sure, we feel differently on the dance floor. I feel differently as a leader. I start to pay attention to my follower even more than ever.

Of course, Marcelo is no magic bullet. 3-week of private classes will not automatically change me into a different dancer. But I think he gave me enough ideas so I know what my options are. Master or not, he has done a great job for me. I would recommend him to any leader who is going to BsAs.

It takes more than two to tango

Not long after I got into the Tango world I realized there are lots of ego and strong opinions in this community. People have strong believes when it comes to Tango - the music, the dance style, the culture, the teachers, the floor craft, and sometimes even the shoes is the topic for debate. I found this in New York, in Taipei and in BsAs.

Just like all other art forms. Tango is very subjective. People have different experience and background. There are not that many black-and-white or right-and-wrong answers to Tango questions.

After all, Tango is about how you feel, your connection with your partner, your connection to the music, and your relationship to the other people on the dance floor. It is very personal. Personal enough that one might get offended when you critize his or her dancing style or music or believes.

I guess that's part of the Tango experience. Learn to be part of the community but not losing oneself. Be different but be respectful. It takes two to tango but it takes more to build up a nice Tango community.

End or Begining?

I never imagine it would come down to this... choosing between Tango and a normal life. It had became obvious in the past weeks that at this point in my life, I have to choose between dancing Tango and living a normal life. In the past two years dacning Tango has been a big part of my life or it was MY life. But now it has to change.

I was once in a similar situation. I was choosing between my Tango life in New York and coming back to Taiwan. I chosed to come back.

Tango is such a powerful thing. I have seen many people got changed by it, for the better or for the worst. People quit their jobs and moved to BsAs for Tango. People lives changed because of Tango. I have seen people whose only existance is because of Tango. Milonga is their home. Tango music is their heart beat. That embrace is the only love they can feel. When the light is out, milong ends, life is nothing again.

I was once one of them. But now I am not. Am I?

How real is this Tango thing anyway? How much does a good dance mean? Does being a good dancer make me a better person in real life? Is a dance really just a dance? Or am I really a good dancer as I thought I am?

The answers to these questions used to be so easy for me. But now I don't know how to answer them anymore.

What makes Tango so attractive (or shuold i say so addictive) is the emotion it envokes - the love, the romance, the jealosy, the excitment, the anticipation, the disappointment and that deadly 'Tango High' that so many people experience and talk about. But how real are these feelings anyway? Does 'Tango High' really exist?

One thing for sure, the addiction is real. I have heard people compare Tango addiction to drug, even to sex. Does this make milonga one big orgi party? Are we just using Tango as a cover-up? How is one-set of Tango different from a one-night-stand? Perhaps deep down inside we are just bunch of people who is looking for that embrace to comfort our lonely souls or to forget about trouble in our real lives.

If one-night-stand is not OK in real life. Why should Tango be ok? Just because we are in 2006 doesn't make it more noble than the Tango in 1900 when it is a dance for the seduction between lonely immigrants and prostitudes.

The more I tried to analyze Tango the more I got confused.... All I know is I want to live a normal life. How real is this Tango thing anyway? Is this the end? or begining?

Thursday at Club Espanol

We love the energy and atmosphere at Club Espanol. We fell in love with this milonga the moment we walked into the building. They have this milonga on every Thursday from afternoon to evening.

Huge space, beautiful architecture, mostly old dancers and very friendly. The two times we went we had such a good time that we didn't want to leave. One funny thing worth mentioning is that for admission they charged $1 peso more for men. I guess this is how they try to balance the gender but I wonder if it actually works :p

When I write more about our Tango experience in BsAs, it will be obvious that we love going to so called 'old people' milongas, such as Club Espanol. In these milongas, the older dancers really take their time. They really dance to the music. They don't dance to show off or to make a statement. They just dance. This is the Tango that we enjoy the most and it is the Tango we want to dance.

One reason we love Club Espanol so much is because it is so lively we can feel the excitement and energy in the air. Perhaps it is because of the architecture itself or perhaps the people, this milonga has great vibe. People who dance there are truely happy. It is how I picture myself in a milonga when I am 70.

Another story I want to mention is about a boy we met at our second visit. At the milonga we saw a young boy acompanied by his older teacher/mentor. This young boy is very well dressed, very polite and very cute (according to Sarita and Amiee's comments). Although he looks very mature you can still tell that he is only a boy. Later on, we found out that he is only 13.

His teacher/mentor is tall, gray hair, well dressed, good looking (again, according to Sarita and Amiee's comments) and very graceful. The young boy sat by his teacher/mentor quietly watching the people on the dance floor. The teacher/mentor would give him advises from time to time by his ears. The teacher/mentor scanned the room and told the boy whom he should invite to dance. Of course, our lovely Sarita and Amiee both got the invitation :)

The whole thing was happening as if coming out from a movie scene. We were joking that the boy will one day become the Tango master and we can proudly tell people that we met him when he was 13... we were witnessing the making of the master.

BsAs is such a magical place and our experience in Club Espanol made it even more so.

Milonga, milonga, milonga...

One reason why Tango people love going to BsAs is for the countless Milongas (the other reason is for the shoes, and for the CDs, and for the ice cream, and for the lomo...). After all it is THE Capital of Tango, there are at least 15 to 30 milongas that one can choose from each day. If I can clone myself I probably will go to all of them... :)

Sadly there is only one me, so here is the list of milongas that we went:

Club Espanol
Club Gricel
Sunderland
El Beso
Porteno y Bailarin
Canning
Villa Malcom
La Marshalls (gay milonga)
Nino Bien
La Viruta
La Confiteria Ideal
La Glorietta (outdoor)
La Nacional (we only stopped by)

I can't possibly tell you which one is my favorite. I love all of them. There are too many memorable moments at these milongas.