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The Body Language of Tango 
- Teo  Bartek

  In our research and experimentation with tango we discovered that to do close-embrace tango it is necessary to hold and move your body in certain ways. These movements are subtle and elusive. Learning them is not purely physical. Because to move in these ways requires an emotional component as well as a physical one. In our form of instruction, we give a lot of one-on-one instruction, working with the emotional as well as the physical. That is why our system of instruction is called Tango From The Heart.

Mastery of the Emotional As Well as the Physical: 
Steps that Have an Emotional Component

Physical: standing straight
Emotional: No fear of showing oneself and standing out

Physical: slouching
Emotional: Fear of being seen. Hiding one’s worth. Feeling unworthy. Low self esteem.

Physical: Caving in chest
Emotional: Protecting ones heart. Focusing with intellect . Being objective unfeeling. Afraid tope to vulnerability. Takes a posture to protect, rather than open and warm. It’s closed and protected. Unavailable to her.

Physical: Leading with chest and body
Emotional: Feeling secure. Giving oneself. Being open to others, subjective. Showing vulnerability without fear trusting that one is secure. In body not in intellect. Means the man is connected to her. Not afraid to give a part of himself to her. Not afraid he will be hurt, so he can assume this vulnerable position with her. Doesn’t keep the woman away, and lead her at arms length distance with his arms.

Physical: Not fully committing weight when stepping forward.
Emotional: Timid. Afraid of taking bold steps. Afraid of taking a risk. Lacking confidence. Afraid of being assertive.

Physical: Fully committing weight when stepping forward.
Emotional: Confident of one’s actions. Fully committed and decisive. Risk taker. Not afraid of asserting oneself. Doesn’t worry about what others think of his aggressiveness. Aggressiveness is the basis for creativity. Every time a bud opens in Spring it is a great burst of joyful aggression.

Physical: Woman or man stepping straight into the partner.
Emotional: Not afraid to approach men (or women) and of getting close and intimate. No afraid of his/her sexuality. Not settling for societies norms of niceness and politeness in men and women. He or she doesn’t have to distance himself or herself from the man/woman, avoiding intimacy. Doesn’t play it safe, using societies norms to hide behind.

Physical: Man/woman standing keeping away from or far back from the man/woman.
Emotional: An attempt at avoidance, out of fear of rejection, shielding himself or herself. Doing it with feet, with body and with head.

Physical: Man facing the woman on steps three, four and five. 
Emotional: Man not afraid of intimacy. Not afraid to show himself to the woman and show his interst in her. Doesn’t feel it its bad to be interested in women. It’s his right as a man and he acts accordingly and doesn’t care what others think. Doesn’t push her away. 

Physical: Woman facing the man on ochos, molinetes and walking
Emotional: Woman wants to be with the man. She shows she doesn’t mind his attention on her and does things to stimulate his interest, not to push him away.

Physical: Man Keeping the Woman Away on Second Forward Ocho 
Emotional: This is where the man should be conscious of the woman and bring her back in front of him. Men sometimes use their left arm to keep the woman away, while simultaneously using his right arm to try to bring her back. This is ambivalent behavior, which give the woman mixed signals. To the outside world it appears he is allowing intimacy, but unconsciously he is keeping her way. It shows fear of intimacy.

Physical: Women do the boleo too sharply or mechanically or doing it weakly.
Emotional: Shows that they have not internalized the role feline female role in tango. The boleo should be done like a cat moves it’s tail. It is the expression of coiled energy. A sudden reuse of energy that is elegant and not too sharp. Too sharp and it looks like a martial arts move. This is more sensual. 

Physical: Women walking backward strongly
Emotional: She doesn’t retreat from the man, but faces him and resists him. She asserts herself in this tango relationship and lets him know she is there, not overthrowing his leadership but as a woman who plays her role as an active participant. She doesn’t just walk back and do steps by herself. Instead she walks with him, taking her cue from him. She is not afraid to relinquish control of her body to him in circumstances of the dance. She lets him move her, is courageous, trusts in her own instincts about him and trusts in his caring for her.

Physical: Women doing ochos, crossing and doing embellishments with emotion
Emotional: The woman is not mechanical or merely physical in her movements, but is expressing some emotion inside her that is aroused by the music, the man, and the situation of the dance. Is not afraid of expressing that emotion outwardly. Doesn’t suppress it out of fear of expressing her emotions and showing herself.

Physical: Man or woman afraid to pause.
Emotional: Not able to wait. Lack of composure and discipline do to unsettled feeing inside. To pause shows calmness and a balance between silence and movement.

Physical: Man or woman rushing through steps.
Emotional: Don’t want to be in the moment. Want to avoid intimacy and consciousness. Women are insecure about their relationship with the man and what he thinks about her. She feels ilk at ease and awkward so she just runs through the dance.

Physical: Woman chooses foot positions that break the connection with the man.
Emotional: In molinetes and ochos they choose to step away from the man. The ways they point their toes and position their feet. Hey also turn their body away from the man out of fear of being seen.

Physical: Woman not taking a long step back on “four”
Emotional: Fear of acting aggressive by taking an aggressive “four” step. Women who take long steps back are not afraid of male/female interactions. Women who do are careless, mentally self-absorbed.

Physical: Man taking the woman with him.
Emotional: Realizes that he not acting independently of the woman. He accepts control of the woman and his responsibility to look after her welfare, and to care for her and protect her.

Physical: Leaning forward into each other and embracing warmly
Emotional: "I share my heart to you."  It is a moment of sharing between two people dancing together.  It is a Divine moment when the heart essences mingle and become as one. It is Tango From The Heart.

Copyright 2005, Theodore and Marsha Bartek
All Rights Reserved