IT TAKES TWO
       
       2023-11-16
       
       Lately, Ruth and I have been learning to dance Argentine Tango.
       
 (IMG) In a church hall, its walls decorated with colourful cloths, Dan and Ruth stand in a large circle of people, watching a man and a woman preparing to demonstrate some tango steps.
       
       Let me tell you everything I know about tango (I'm exaggerating how little I
       know for effect. But it might not be as much of an exaggeration as you'd
       hope.):
       * It takes two to tango.
       * I am not very good at tango.
       
 (IMG) Dan, wearing a black t-shirt and holding a glass of wine, looks sceptically at the camera as he stands in front of a television screen showing a couple dancing, with the title frame "La Caminata: Introduction to Walking in Tango (Core Steps)".
       
       This adventure began, in theory at least, on my birthday in January. I've long
       expressed an interest in taking a dance class together, and so when Ruth
       pitched me a few options for a birthday gift, I jumped on the opportunity to
       learn tango. My knowledge of the dance was basically limited to what I'd seen
       in films and television, but it had always looked like such an amazing dance:
       careful, controlled... synchronised, sexy.
       
       After shopping around for a bit, Ruth decided that the best approach was for
       us to do a "beginners" video course in the comfort of our living room, and
       then take a weekend getaway to do an "improvers" class.
       
       After all, we'd definitely have time to complete the beginners' course and get
       a lot of practice in before we had to take to the dance floor with a group of
       other "improvers", right? (We did not.)
       
 (IMG) Dan and Ruth sat on opposite sides of a table on a train, with darkness outside the window behind, raising tumbler glasses full of prosecco and smiling.
       
       Okay, let me try again to enumerate you everything I actually know about tango
       (Still with a hint of sarcasm, though.):
       * Essentials. A leader and follower (Tango's progressive enough that it's come
       to reject describing the roles in binary gendered terms, using "leader" and
       "follower" in place of what was once described as "man" and "woman",
       respectively. This is great for improving access to pairs of dancers who don't
       consist of a man and a woman, as well as those who simply don't want to take
       dance roles imposed by their gender.) hold one another's upper torso closely
       enough that, with practice, each can intuit from body position where the
       other's feet are without looking. While learning, you will not manage to do
       this, and you will tread on one another's toes.
       * The embrace. In the embrace, one side - usually the leader's left - is
       "open", with the dancers' hands held; the other side is "closed", with the
       dancers holding one another's bodies. Generally, you should be looking at one
       another or towards the open side. But stop looking at your feet: you should
       know where your own feet are by proprioception, and you know where your
       partners' feet are by guesswork and prayer.
       * The walk. You walk together, (usually) with opposite feet moving in-sync so
       that you can be close and not tread on one another's toes, typically forward
       (from the leader's perspective) but sometimes sideways or even backwards
       (though not usually for long, because it increases the already-inevitable
       chance that you'll collide embarrassingly with other couples).
       * Movement. Through magic and telepathy a good connection with one another,
       the pair will, under the leader's direction, open opportunities to perform
       more advanced (but still apparently beginner-level) steps and therefore
       entirely new ways to mess things up. These steps include:
       
            Forward ochos. The follower stepping through a figure-eight (ocho) on the
       closed side, or possibly the open side, but they probably forget which way
       they were supposed to turn when they get there, come out on the wrong foot,
       and treat on the leader's toes.
            Backwards ochos. The follower moves from side to side or in reverse
       through a series of ochos, until the leader gets confused which way they're
       supposed to pivot to end the maneuver and both people become completely
       confused and unstuck.
            The cross. The leader walks alongside the follower, and when the leader
       steps back the follower chooses to assume that the leader intended for them to
       cross their legs, which opens the gateway to many other steps. If the follower
       guesses incorrectly, they probably fall over during that step. If the follower
       guesses correctly but forgets which way around their feet ought to be, they
       probably fall over on the very next step. Either way, the leader gets confused
       and does the wrong thing next.
            Giros. One or both partners perform a forwards step, then a sideways
       step, then a backwards step, then another sideways step, starting on the
       inside leg and pivoting up to 270° with each step such that the entire move
       rotates them some portion of a complete circle. In-sync with one another, of
       course.
            Sacadas. Because none of the above are hard enough to get right together,
       you should start putting your leg out between your partner's leg and try and
       trip them up as they go. They ought to know you're going to do this, because
       they've got perfect predictive capabilities about where your feet are going to
       end, remember? Also remember to use the correct leg, which might not be the
       one you expect, or you'll make a mess of the step you'll be doing in three
       beats' time. Good luck!
            Barridas and mordidas. What, you finished the beginners' course? Too
       smart to get tripped up by your partner's sacada any more? Well now it's time
       to start kicking your partner's feet out from directly underneath them.
       That'll show 'em.
       * Style. All of the above should be done gracefully, elegantly, with perfect
       synchronicity and in time with the music... oh, and did I mention you should
       be able to improve the whole thing on the fly, without pre-communication with
       your partner. ?
       
 (IMG) Photograph of a small laminated instruction sheet on a golden tablecloth. Titled "Norteña Tango", it reads: Let's make this an amazing weekend. We are all here to dance, so let's look around us and try to make sure that everyone is dancing. We'd love it if you would follow the lines of dance by moving around the floor steadily, try using the cabeceo, leave space between you and the couple in front, make use of the corners of the dance floor, stay in the same lane where possible, take care when entering the dance floor, clear the floor and change partners during the cortinas. It would be great if you could avoid overtaking other couples on the floor, walking (other than when dancing) on the floor.
       
       Ultimately, it was entirely our own fault we felt out-of-our-depth up in
       Edinburgh at the weekend. We tried to run before we could walk, or - to put it
       another way - to milonga before we could caminar.
       
       A somewhat-rushed video course and a little practice on carpet in your living
       room is not a substitute for a more-thorough práctica on a proper-sized dance
       floor, no matter how often you and your partner use any excuse of coming
       together (in the kitchen, in an elevator, etc.) to embrace and walk a couple
       of steps! Getting a hang of the fluid connections and movement of tango
       requires time, and practice, and discipline.
       
 (IMG) Photograph of paving slabs: a glyph of a walking person, signifying "walk here", has been painted onto the flagstones, but the stones have since been lifted and replaced in slightly different locations, making the person appear "scrambled".
       
       But, not least because of our inexperience, we did learn a lot during our
       weekend's deep-dive. We got to watch (and, briefly, partner with) some much
       better dancers and learned some advanced lessons that we'll doubtless reflect
       back upon when we're at the point of being ready for them. Because yes: we are
       continuing! Our next step is a Zoom-based lesson, and then we're going to try
       to find a more-local group.
       
       Also, we enjoyed the benefits of some one-on-one time with Jenny and Ricardo,
       the amazingly friendly and supportive teachers whose video course got us
       started and whose in-person event made us feel out of our depth (again:
       entirely our own fault).
       
       If you've any interest whatsoever in learning to dance tango, I can
       wholeheartedly recommend Ricardo and Jenny Oria as teachers. They run courses
       in Edinburgh and occasionally elsewhere in the UK as well as providing online
       resources, and they're the most amazingly supportive, friendly, and
       approachable pair imaginable!
       
       Just... learn from my mistake and start with a beginner course if you're a
       beginner, okay? ?
       
       LINKS
       
 (HTM) Ruth
 (HTM) Tango Stream
 (HTM) Blog posts I published on my birthday, this year
 (HTM) Ricardo and Jenny Oria