Reading The Tea

At milongas, some people dance beautifully, oblivious to all but the music and the person they are dancing with. Sometimes the music/ partnership calls for fancy embellishments, sometimes simplicity and control. And then there’s the person who dances with a completely outside focus. His/her eyes dart around, making sure people are watching. He goes through every trick in his book, blithely oblivious to the music. Front side of the beat? Forget it! He’s already on the next beat! At a milonga the other night, I watched one of these dancers for a while. He’s actually a good lead, decent posture. With the right partner he sometimes seemed to hear the music a bit, but with some partners he danced as if it was a race. I’m by no means an tango traditionalist — I like experimentation and innovation — but he wasn’t doing that, he was just out of control. There was never a resting point, even when the music screamed for a moment of stillness.