From TANGO-E-VITA

Now that Mike is taking the musicality to a new and much more serious level he has been searching the internet for a connection to the mysteries of the beat. The following 3 entries are not from me, but from TANGO-E-VIDA.

FIRST ENTRY:
The concept of leading and following in tango is radically different then in predictable dances. The woman follows by "feeling" her partner's chest-changes. Inside the dance-hold which is a spiral, the partners feel the circular movements. The more the other is sensitive towards you, the more the experience will be intensified. The tanguero's movements which must be clear and simple, giving one step-direction at the time, and he should go about it with a quiet and relaxed manner, and he has to be relaxed to be fast. The movement power is generated from the lower abdomen and legs. Upper body strength and muscle-tonus can extent the elastic guiding, especially when the tanguera is doing a boleo. There is no pushing or pulling by the man and he also must listen and respond to the way the lady moves. She has the abilities and capacities to sabotage, to delay and to dislocate the effect of leading. This gives the man a dynamic dimension of uncertainty, which is a good test for his frustration level. This is the addictive thing, for both.

ENTRY 2:
 The woman gives the freedom to the man to express herself by forming the dance, he is responsible for giving to her a safe, structured space in which she can express herself freely according to his playing and she can play back. The goal is a pleasant dance experience that gives memories.

ENTRY 3:
In Argentine tango, the act of stepping is philosophy, physically walking a fluent stream of energy, continuously flowing and graceful in shape. But beauty is more than being graceful, if tango is erotic, it is manipulative and violent too. A passion needs unpredictable surprises and breathless rhythmic accumulations, as in Mozart. It deepens the contact and gives an energy-kick, physically. This can be seen in the stepping. The tango rhythm is based on the 2x4, 2 strong beats on 4:

1 2 3 4
A way to make this 1-2 -mark visible in the act of stepping is ...

on 1 : lifting the knee and the heel of the foot, and slowly starting moving = expanding like a bandoneón.

on 2 : stretching the leg, fast like a clasp-knife, and putting the foot down like a knife-thrust, a thrusting flash, a strong stab to the heart, una puñalada with an Argentinian Facón.

As stabbing happens fast, quick, the duration of the marking moment is extremely much shorter than the earlier lifting of the knee, the extending. That contrast gives a striking tension, a noticeable suspense.

It looks like:

_______1_______ ... /2\ _______3_______ ... /4\

etc...

It sounds like La Yumba ...

In dancing, as in knife-fighting and boxing, it is nice to know that the flexibility of the body increases when the feet are in a more open \ /-position rather than close together, stiff.

http://users.telenet.be/Tango-E-Vita/go2_bestanden/Tango-E-Vita.htm Tango-Evita