The television shows Dancing With The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance have been doing a fantastic job of promoting Argentine Tango to the world in recent years. Every season I see at least one amazing Tango performance. As Sandra said, last night’s performance of La Cumparsita by Jennifer and Derek on Dancing With The Stars was ‘razor sharp’. Ouch.
I watched the encore this evening during tonight’s results show and it was virtually technically flawless. It was amazing. We should all hope to be able to dance a tango as well after only one week of practice. There was, however, no ‘heart to heart’, no ‘cheek to cheek’, no mutual gaze, no walk, and no connection. Was there Tango?
The performance by five couples from Forever Tango was a spectacular added treat. When the music slowed we were momentarily given a taste of what Tango can look like at a milonga. Then, one of the men lifted his partner horizontally over his head and dropped her to one inch above the floor. Whoa . . . (please don’t attempt this at the next milonga).
I love to watch show tango – ‘tango for export’, or as I fondly refer to it: ‘prostitution tango’. I love the gymnastics of Tango Nuevo. But, I fear that uninformed viewers worldwide will get the wrong impression of tango by seeing it on these dance shows. Tango is a dance of the heart. It is a dance of the simple people. It is a dance that almost anybody can do with a little instruction and practice. Universal promotion by popular television shows could be great for the industry, could be great for individuals, couples and communities. However, although it’s fantastic entertainment, it’s probably working as a deterrent from participation. I can’t imagine anyone believing that Tango is simply walking closely together to the music after seeing ‘el cirque del tango’. I can’t imagine the viewer believing that they too could become proficient enough in that walk to feel part of an international community.
Speaking Tango 