"What makes your Tango look good?" is a question I have had for quite some time.
I do have my liking when I watch Tango (or many other dances), be it by videos of professionals or by any dancer in milonga/dance party.
Recently I traveled to Dallas for a couple of milonga (10/7-8/2023). It is nice to go out and dance with different people sometimes.
In milonga, I take my time to dance and to observe. While I observe the dancers, there are dancers who give off an impression that they are a cut above.
That circles back to this title question; "What makes your Tango look good?"
I try to give my temporal answers here.
There are layers of things that make your tango look good, or even beautiful.
(i) Individual's techniques and body
In milonga, I can see dancers up close.
So that I can watch details in each dancer's techniques and presentation of the body, such as foot placement and articulation, leg lines and alignments, overall body lines, smoothness of hip rotation, clean weight transfer, balancing, timing of the motion, and presence (or absence) of intent.
These are technical abilities that make each dancer's Tango look different. Some are better than others, as dancers.
Adding more "play" makes you a playful dancer. You can add individual flavor as a dancer.
Dance has aspects not different from body building. You can see it in your body as techniques, motions, motion ranges/flexibility, timing, and intent.
If you think you are a dancer, you better develop the physical traits of good dancers, along with the dance domain-specific knowledge and techniques.
Let your body talk that you are a (Tango) dancer.
(ii) Partner work
Individual's ability is one thing. How they are using the techniques to dance together (partner work) comes next.
There are many styles in Tango. Even in a milonga, stage-inspired dynamic dance and hug-and-wiggle intimate (but not very showy) dance can be seen next to each other.
Getting two individual's dance styles aligned is a part of partner work in social dance. How well it is done (or not) is a point that is fun to watch.
(iii) Use of music and musical interpretation as a couple
Dancers are a part of music and instruments to visualize the music. Tango has great room for interpretation. How they dance the song together is another point that is fun to watch.
When I am using "drawing energy flow line" type of lead, I do predict her steps (what I lead; giro-molinette, walk-cross, etc) but do not micro-manage her foot steps or her foot placement, or how she add something. It is her job and I need to trust her to do her dance.
Music should inspire lead and follow both. I can slow down and trust her to do something for upcoming piano arpeggio.
Or I can dance the fast passage myself.
Or, I may ask her to speed up together, or keep her still on her axis, or....you get the idea.
There are many ways to use music for her, for him, and for both, to dance a Tango, all improvised.
(iv) Mindfulness and quietness
This "mindfulness and quietness" is not always easy to find in a milonga, because few people dance with mindfulness. Let alone quietness.
Good Tango, in my opinion, has deep quietness in it. Somewhat like the cool and sacred air in big cathedral.
Athleticism, heat and sweat are one thing and important, but I like it when the dance has the look of "pieces together and complete".
(v) Beautiful dance with Aura
Once (i) to (iv) are combined and integrated, there can come a dance with radiating aura. I call it beautiful dance.
I want to see (or dance) beautiful dance.
These are random thoughts while I was watching Tango in the milongas.
Flu shot tomorrow.
