It Takes Two to Tango—To Become One

Story by K. Andarin Arvola

What is it about this dance, this Argentine tango? People who dance it are as passionate talking about the dance as the music is passionate; they enthuse about the “tango moment” that once they’ve had it, that’s what they search for when they dance again and again. It sounds more like enlightenment than dancing. They speak about the parallels to yoga, being in the “here and now”, martial arts. It’s a phenomenon all right. It’s habit forming, and it’s happening here in Mendocino County, and all around the world. How far do you want to go with this dance?

Beginners
Even the beginners share that excitement. They’re just starting out and already it’s captured their imagination. They come to the tango from different points of view, some because of the music, others the desire for connection, some a deep background in dance; they share a commitment to the practice of Argentine tango.

A few weeks ago I attended a Milonga (a social dance) at the Weller House Inn in Fort Bragg. About thirty or more people came to this tango weekend.

I first see Susan Miletich come striding in wearing a pair of black boots, a purse slung over her shoulder, two pairs of delicate-looking tango shoes dangling from that purse. “We don’t wear our tango shoes on the street because they get grit in them and we want them to slide.” She’s been dancing tango for four years and drives up from Point Arena. She calls the Weller House the local center. “This county has a very big tango community. I go wherever it’s happening.”

Also there watching in fascination are a couple from Boonville, very new to tango. Benna says, “it’s a practice and a wonderful way to be connected to someone you’ve been married to for over forty years.” (They don’t look it.) Danny tells me, “it’s a great thing to study. It’s a beautiful dance and exciting to try.”

Van Williamson from Fort Bragg explains that for him tango is all encompassing. “You can get good at it but you can always improve. I have to concentrate on the person I’m dancing with.”

He continues, “When I’m doing it and doing it right, I don’t think of anything else but the dancing. You have to clear your mind. It’s similar to fly fishing in that you have to have your mind clear of other things because you could catch yourself instead of the fish.”

Williamson, who’s been dancing about a year, says that sometimes he dances tango four times a week, then takes a break for a couple weeks but “really, you have to be consistent. It can be a very serious dance but once you get better it’s not so serious.” He adds, “You can’t drink too much and tango, you have to keep your balance. It’s a sobriety test.”

Another resident of Point Arena, Heather Burkhardt, has been dancing tango for about eight months. “The reason I wanted to learn tango was because of the music. When I heard Astor Piazzolla’s music I wanted to see the way the tangueros interpret the music.”

Burkhardt started with lessons from Walt Stillman and his wife Raquel Mashiach in Point Arena. She has other dance in her background and tells me she’s a traditionalist. “I respect the dance that developed from the music. It’s challenging; it’s a good challenge. I like that. When I find a musical leader it’s fun for me to experience how he interprets the music; that’s the creativity of tango.”

What’s it all about
Irene Thomas and Frank Howard, two of the most experienced tango people on the coast, have been dancing and teaching Argentine tango for several years.

Irene tells me that most music is from the 1930s and 1940s, but now there are younger musicians riffing on the basics.
A stage show in 1985 called Tango Argentino put on in New York City took the city and the country by storm. A second stage show called Forever Tango was fascinating and inspiring for Thomas. “There were people our own age dancing in the show. They may not dance with the same vigor as someone young but oh, they dance. We saw it three times. Tango gets you out of the house, it’s social, engages your mind, body and emotions. It can be done well into old age.”

Howard tells me that no one is sure how it started, it’s not documented. “It is a dance unique to Argentina but then a gift to the rest of the world.”

He adds, “When tango got to Europe, the English codified it, they made up the rules; it’s nothing to do with the Argentine tango. This international tango is what you see in competitive ballroom dancing. The music and steps are quite rigid. With Argentine tango the leader has the freedom to improvise and so does the follower.”

Leader? Follower? Basically, the leader is the man and the follower is the woman. Polly McBride of Portland, Oregon explains, “Some may say that Leading is the more challenging role in tango, because from a kaleidoscope of options, continuous split-second decisions require pleasing a partner, interpreting the music, maintaining safety and direction, and uniquely expressing oneself; some may say that Following is the more challenging role in tango, because it requires near-psychic sensitivity which must be slightly subdued, while making continuous accurate split-second responses to match a partner, enhance the music, maintain balance, and uniquely express oneself.”

Since, by all accounts, the music and the dance are sensual, there are social rules to follow. In Tango Dance Etiquette & Helpful Hints, a book by Ken and Natasha Delmar, there is an explanation of the etiquette of the tango. It’s good information for new dancers with general tips plus specific advice for leaders and for followers. More experienced milongueros know much of this already, but it’s still a good review.

Here’s an example. When asked to dance, there are two and only two acceptable responses. The first: “Yes, thank you.” If you elect this, you must complete the dance. The second: “No, thanks anyway but I’m sitting this one out.” If you elect this, then you must sit it out.

Advanced tango dancers
Irene Thomas and Frank Howard have an extensive background in dance and ten years of dancing, teaching, living and breathing tango. We talk over tea in their lovely home. Our conversation dances to tango music.

“We’ve danced all over the country,” Howard tells me. “I was involved in ballroom dancing, teaching here for four or five years when I met Irene.”

“And I heard Argentine music; I loved the music,” says Thomas.

“Irene asked for Argentine tango lessons for her birthday,” Howard says. “And once we took them we were hooked.”

“I realized that Argentine tango was so much different than…” begins Thomas.

“…other partner dancing,” continues Howard. “The music relates intimately with the dance. One, it comes from the music. You aren’t dancing to the music. Two, it’s about connection. Connection with your partner and connection with the music. The steps are important but the connection is more important. At every stage, even as a beginner, you can enjoy tango; most people get hooked and they can’t get enough. Three, followers have more control, they can improvise more than in other partner dancing. There is a freedom to respond one way or another. The follower can ‘decorate’ her part. Four, it’s not a rigid dance, you can improvise.”

“The Argentine tango is called the three-minute love affair,” Howard informs me. “It’s the sensuality, intimacy, romance, the sexiness of the dance. It’s called the vertical expression of a horizontal desire.” He pauses, “Yet there are definite constraints.”

“There needs to be an awareness of your own sensuality and sexuality and emotional maturity in order to become this intimate to give yourself to the dance, and in the dance and not mistake it for something else,” Howard tells me.

Howard continues, “The feeling is coming from the music. You can dance to the same music with the same partner at two different times and it will be completely different; the dance is an expression of the moment and and the interaction of the music, your partner, the environment, the people around you.”

“Tango has been likened to meditation in that it is being in the here and now. In the moment while you’re dancing. Present with another, moving through time and space.”

Thomas indicates, “It’s transporting. We’re always reaching for the ‘tango moment’. Dancing all evening is searching for that elusive moment—you want to keep dancing the rest of your life once you have it.”

I don’t dance tango but I know [a similar] moment. I call it a “Peruvian moment.” The experience parallels riding a Peruvian Paso horse and becoming one; woman and horse. It’s a world-wide community, like tango, and we all want to go to the Terra la Madre, the Motherland, in this case Peru.

“It’s a social life, you’re part of an international community and as you move in it, chances are you’ll meet some of the same people elsewhere,” says Thomas.

Howard tells me that two followers he knows who have taken to tango excellently have a background in horses.

Returning to the “tango moment,” Howard says that “you come back again and you come back again. And even if you don’t experience it that night, you know what it is; you’ve tasted it.”

Thomas states that the primary thing is tango; but the clothes, shoes, social life and travel adds glamour to their lives.

They first took group-, then private lessons out of the area since there were no teachers here. “Irene and I started learning tango and we brought it back and shared it with our existing dance group. They were stunned by the beauty of the dance. We invited teachers here from the City and they would teach for a weekend. Because there was a need for continuing instruction, we began to teach tango. We still teach and have for the last eight to nine years. Now there is a community of about thirty to forty people.”

They’re especially proud of one couple, Raquel Mashiach and Walter Stillman, that began tango with them. They now give private and group lessons and have a tango group in Point Arena.

Locally, Larry Sawyer and Harriet Bye also teach at Lark Camp at the Mendocino Woodlands.

Howard says that he still teaches one to two times a year, an eight- to ten-week class in Caspar. As with anything, private lessons are the best and fastest way to progress. Learning through group lessons is fine, it’s just a longer process.

Thomas likens it to learning to play a musical instrument. It helps to have patience to learn with tango. “The people who stay with it are the ones who are willing to put the time in.”

“Having a goal to work for is a motivator. With Argentine tango there is very little competition,” Howard explains. “With ballroom dancing there’s always that striving for a pinnacle of perfection. With Argentine tango everyone has their own style.”

He reveals an old saying, “There are no mistakes on the dance floor, just new steps.”

There are dances twice a week, in Caspar on Thursdays and in Elk on Sundays. Howard is reassuring, “You can have a wonderful time with another experienced dancer but also you can have that with a less experienced dancer. Tango Mendocino, as they call the group, is a friendly, warm and open community here on the coast.”

“People from out of the area come here and comment on this,” Thomas tells me.

Once people start tango, then they want to go to the Motherland; go to Buenos Aries. “We’ve been there,” says Thomas. “We had to go.”

I tell Thomas and Howard that I notice the women seem to be the peacocks of tango, they’re dressed in all their finery while the men are in less splendiferous apparel.

“The dresses, they’re very sexy,” reveals Thomas. “The important thing is to be able to move the legs. Often the leg is held high. There needs to be room to move. Silky pants move well also, especially when taking lessons.”

I notice the dresses are often asymmetrical. Sometimes there’s only one side that is sleeved, the other sleeveless and the hem of the skirt is varied in length.

Thomas emphasizes that the shoes are extremely important. There must be a strap to secure the shoe to the foot. The toe can be open or closed. It must be cushioned for comfort but be a very strong shoe.

She explains, “The shoes have a high heel as a function of the woman leaning forward toward her partner and she needs to be on the ball of her feet. Plus, a dancer’s legs are accentuated by a high heel and they’re very sexy.”

Howard says that some of the younger guys come in Levi’s and T-shirts or cargo pants but, “I like to wear a nice shirt and slacks.”

As an aside, when I look at how hot the women are with scrumptious dresses and beyond belief sexy shoes I wonder if the men have ever heard “Sharp Dressed Man”, a 1980’s song by ZZ Top.

Sharp dressed man
Gustavo and Jesica Hornos are both sharply dressed in black, white and red. Their shoes, both hers and his, are black and red. Their dancing is sharp. And fluid.

Originally from Buenos Aires they currently live in San Rafael. Gustavo laughs and says it’s a long commute to the Weller House “but totally worth it!

“We make our living with tango, teaching it, performing it. We travel around the state and we just came back from Italy, Spain and France. People saw us dancing on our YouTube video and invited us. We’ve reached 1.5 million people, two thousand a day,” he exclaims. “Tango is my whole life.”

Jesica has been a professional dancer (ballet) since she was four years old. She started with tango about seven years ago when she met Gustavo. “It’s about body control, it’s the balance, being sensitive to your weight change,” Jesica conveys.

They met at a tango party at Stanford University. “I saw this handsome man in white pants with blue stripes and knew I wanted to dance with him. Then, as I was sitting there, I heard this voice behind me asking me to dance. I turned around and there were those pants,” Jesica tells me with delight.

“I invited her to dance in English,” Gustavo says. “After about ten minutes she asked where I was from.”

“We didn’t know we were from the same city but we found out quickly,” says Jesica. “When we started speaking Spanish I knew he was the one I would marry.”

“What we want to share is that it’s important to know that tango is much more than a dance; it’s a metaphor for good communication, teamwork, sharing and leadership. It takes two to tango to become one,” emphasizes Gustavo. “By dancing you can create a unity of movement—even with a stranger.”

My own ballroom
Person after person tells me that once you’re hooked on tango, it can involve travel from the local to the Motherland of Buenos Aires. There is also no such thing to tangueras as too many tango shoes. Now, think about a man who so fell in love with tango that he had to have his own ballroom.

That would be Jack Moore. I have a lively conversation with Jack Moore and Vivien LaMothe. They bounce back and forth commenting on their favorite pastime—Argentine tango—in the stately Weller House Inn in Fort Bragg. A bed-and-breakfast vacation destination for twelve years, Moore and LaMothe have also made it a destination for aficionados of Argentine tango. At least once a month, a weekend is devoted to tango lessons, demonstrations and a social dance in the fantastic virgin redwood ballroom at the top of the stairs at Weller House.

Moore tells me he lived in San Francisco for thirty years before moving to the coast. Two years ago he began to take lessons and then “I took lessons and more lessons.”

He adds, “When I went to Buenos Aires I realized they dance every day. Their tango is intriguing, intimate, romantic and totally absorbing. I was going to move there but I slipped and broke my back. I’m dancing. In pieces,” he says ruefully. “Certainly not for three hours.”

“Argentine tango is not what you see on television. It is not what you see on the stage and it is not what you see in the movies,” Moore asserts.

“What we do is social or salon tango,” LaMothe says.

“This is what people do in Argentina, scores of people, every night. . .” exclaims Moore.

“…and the same in San Francisco. You get the tango bug,” says LaMothe.

“Tango is life, everything else is secondary,” Moore says emphatically.

“Argentine tango is completely improvised. You don’t know what’s coming. There’s a language between leader and follower,” LaMothe interjects.

“Every moment is brand new,” continues Moore. “The leader has to let his partner know where he’s going and he is deciding this from moment to moment factoring in his partner, the music, the dance floor (if it’s crowded or not), his skill, her skill.

“Clear intention is so important. There must be a focus on the fundamentals, if you don’t have this frame it’s very difficult to make your intentions known. I spent sixteen weeks with Frank Howard collecting more valuable information than just learning the steps. Things like a good embrace, a good walk (it’s a walking dance). Everything else comes after you and your partner make a good connection,” emphasizes Moore.

“My recommendation is to get the best tango teachers you can and learn tango. I get to embrace how many women? I mean it’s heaven. I live in the coolest house in town. I’ve made a huge investment in Weller House just so I can have my own ballroom,” he says with great delight.

It’s built with all virgin redwood walls and ceiling with fir floors and dates to 1886. The ballroom was originally used as a Baptist Sunday School. Mr. Weller was an ardent Baptist.

LaMothe informs me that the second of January will be her big “05” which is important; they say it takes a follower around five years to get to a proficient level to dance with really good dancers and not miss the subtleties of the lead.

“The wonderful thing about tango is that the more advanced the dancer the more they have a ‘beginner’s mind’.”

Other good things, LaMothe tells me is that “you’re working on balance, centering, axis core strength and breathing. It’s similar to the essentials of yoga or martial arts, for instance.”

“When you’re dancing every single muscle is alive and connected; connected to the floor and connected to your partner. Your posture improves and you feel better in every way. Tango is the least invasive of any dance. You aren’t subjecting your body to a lot of physical shocks,” she adds.

At least once a month they have a tango weekend at Weller House. It starts on a Friday with an introductory class. She explains that people get to have a taste if they’re a beginner. If they’re more advanced they get an overview of that instructor’s style.

On Saturdays and Sundays there are workshops and on Saturday night there’s a Milonga. A demonstration by experts is performed on Saturday night during the Milonga. The dance music is organized in tandas, which is a set of three to six songs of one type (tango vals [waltz] or milonga) separated by a cortina (twenty seconds of non-tango music) to break up the couples so they can regroup with a different partner.

I tell her how I love the glorious women’s apparel and shoes. With that LaMothe brings out a selection of her gorgeous shoes. “It’s all about the shoes. They have to fit snugly with an ankle strap. The sole must be leather or suede because we need to be able to pivot.

“Think of a cat stalking a bird, the way they move, their head is steady. Balance is important for both leader and follower,” she explains.

“Tango,” LaMothe concludes with sparkling eyes, “is very chic and tender.”

A taste
Speaking with all these people (and more) gives a taste of what Argentine tango is about but taking group lessons to see if it’s a dance for you is a good idea. Beware, it appears that this is an absorbing dance that leads to more lessons, private lessons, buying sexy shoes and dresses if you’re a woman, traveling, maybe all over the world, in short a new life. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

A Few Sources

Local Mendocino coast tango dancing: tangomendocino.com
Tango Mendocino is a social club that meets two times a week. There’s a Milonga (tango social) on Thursday evenings at the Caspar Community Center and a Practica (practice night), where it’s fine to stop and work on material, on Sunday evenings at the Greenwood Community Center in Elk.

Local tango classes in Argentine tango: tangoclass@tangomendocino.com

Weller House Inn
Vivien LaMothe
Jack Moore
524 Stewart Street
Fort Bragg, CA 95437
(707 )964.4415
www.wellerhouse.com
tango@wellerhouse.com
Wednesday night Practica at the
Weller House Inn

Movies:
Tango Our Dance
The Tango Lesson
More from: tangocatalogue.com

A local tango book:
From two local tango dancers and teachers, The Temptation to Tango is “part essay, part memoir, part history, part fiction, it appeals to experienced dancers, beginners just starting their tango journey, those who aren’t yet sure if tango is for them, and those who are simply curious about why this dance is so compelling to so many.
http://TheTemptationToTango.com

In the San Francisco Bay Area:
tangomango.org
batango.org

Gustavo and Jesica Hornos
They import those very important tango shoes at thetangoshop.com.

tangoclasses.com has a link to the YouTube video
e-mail: info@tangoclasses.com

Tarashoes.com
Great shoes and lots of interesting links.

Jerry Coe is the blacksmith who designed and made the spectacular hand-forged bronze chandelier in the Weller House Inn ballroom (and a tango dancer). www.coestudios.com