The deeper I go into tango the more I realize the importance of elements other than the steps. We are currently working on musicality, dancing to the various orchestras and noticing how the tango feels different with each one. These two songs are from the orchestra of Hector Varela, whose music is very dramatic! My aspiration now is to be able to not only feel the emotion in the music, but to dance the emotion.  Tango is oneness: with your partner, with the music and with the floor. With Alejandro’s help, I am coming to understand that achieving this oneness requires using my whole body.

The words of tango songs are almost impossible for foreigners (and even some Argentines) to understand, because most of them are not written in proper Spanish. Instead, they use a slang unique to Buenos Aires called lunfardo. Although I understand only a few of the words of these two songs, I can feel the pain, and I do my best to interpret it. It’s a work in progress.

I hope you enjoy my tango journey through these occasional videos.