Milongueros, if you get the opportunity to dance with a musician, do it! The other night I was fortunate to dance with one. Luigi is an Italian who has lived in Buenos Aires for 4 years or so. He took up dancing tango for the purpose of understanding the music better so that he could improve himself as a musician - he plays the contrabajor (double bass) in a tango band in Buenos Aires.
I spoke to Luigi about the difference between dancing with someone that can really indulge in the musicality of a tune. It's so different dancing to the beat and then dancing to the individual instruments! His dancing and the moves that he shared with me were all pretty standard but his understanding of the music was what made our dances come alive.
When you dance a tango most leaders lead by dancing to the beat which is the underlying bass of the track being played. Many leaders play or allow their follower to play with the music, respecting its breaks and tempo changes. Very few leaders have the essence of musicality running through their veins. Those that do have the ability to follow individual rhythms within a tango, individual instruments producing different sounds and moods. Musicians have this ability. They have an ear for the conversation that the instruments are having with each other. It seems to be almost like a sixth sense.
I remember not too long ago at The Dome in London, a teaching pair had a disagreement in front of their crowded class. One said,
'...of course you won't be able to pick up musicality straight away but once you have heard many of the tango songs you will get to know the music and you will be able to dance with better musicality'.
The other then interrupted and said,
'no, I don't agree, you don't need to know the music or what you are dancing to'.
I personally think that the the former is more true, especially if I'm talking about myself, but I have a feeling that the latter is true for a very gifted few.
And then it's not just about having musicality and understanding, it's about allowing your follower time to play with the music. Those that dance will understand this but for those that don't, tango is a conversation. The man doesn't just tell the woman to do something and she does it. The man tells the woman something and she responds. Sometimes the woman keeps things simple and sometimes things get more complicated (much like normal conversation between a man and a woman I suppose!)
Luigi and I had very nice conversations on the dance floor. As well as being a nice person with good musicality he is very happy to listen to the woman, unlike some men who just want to control the conversation for an entire song.
I'm looking forward to our next dance : )
