Today, tango for me is: 1. Connection, 2. Music, and 3. Technique

Morten Wadstrøm i close embrace / Fjordtango 2023
Fotograf: Dag Stenvoll

I have danced tango in more than 15 years, and in the beginning of my tango journey, I walked and practiced figures, believing that tango would reveal itself as I learned more and more complex figures. The more complex, the better.

I started to follow a mentor, and to be honest, it took me more than 5 years to get rid of the idea of learning tango through figures. My mentor said all the right things, but I was so focused on learning the figures that was designed to train my technique, that I didn’t get it. Slowly it started to change.

I discovered that making my moves simple and focusing on tapping into connection and music, I started to be able to dance more freely. Today I’m on a journey being better at leading the musicality and feelings that I have in my body, and I want to share this with you.

Today, tango for me is: 1. Connection, 2. Music, and 3. Technique, in that order. Here’s briefly how I connect to this, beginning with the end.

Technique

Technique underpins everything, whether you dance open or close, with large movements or subtle ones. It’s balance, posture, timing, axis, transitions, acceleration, intention, turning, and more. These elements are within your body and between you and your partner. It’s about how you move, not what you do.

I see my movements in tango as transferring weight from one axis to the next, and when I’m in my axis or passing it, I choose what to do next. And that’s it, no series of steps defined as a figure.

Figures or sequences are helpful when training technique, but you have to be aware of which technique you are working on.

Music

Tango music from the late 1920s to the late 1940s-50s is rich with rhythm and melody. It’s our "playground" when dancing together; it informs and moves us.

Expressing musicality isn’t just for leaders. I personally love when I can feel the followers musicality in the way they move and in their timing.

Connection

The most important aspect of tango is connection. Actually, it’s all about connection, connection to yourself, connection to your dance partner, connection to music, connection to other dancers.

There’s a mental connection of feeling and responding not only to your partners reaction, but also to music and others around you. It takes a lot of practice to keep dancing while maintaining that connection.

It's also physical connection seeking connection between the torsos all the time.

Today I almost never do figures. Sequences that I repeat while dancing “occurs” as a reflection on the music and how I feel the response from the one I dance with. I can do this because my steps are simple. Its more about intention, timing, axis, transition and positions.

I prefer to dance in a close embrace because I feel the connection with my partner so much more intensely, than in open embrace. Beside this there’s another layer that I never felt when I was dancing big and open, the feeling of dancing together with the other couples on the floor.

And when that blend of connection, music, and technique is spot on, emotions start to appear while dancing. It makes my tango SO addictive.

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