探戈中的女人味和女权主义（二）

当一对训练有素的男女在一起探戈时，浪漫，激情，诗意，梦幻，安全感，舒适，和谐，美，等等，便自然而然产生了。探戈之令人满足在于两性彼此间的吸引和作用。男人带领女人并把她的女人味和美充分展现出来。女人委身于男人并以她的女性和美丽吸引和奖励他。男人和女人互相吸引，互相补充，互相满足，相得益彰。

两性在探戈中担当不同的角色是因其性别特征不同。有人说只要有足够的练习任何人都能扮演任何角色，对此我深表怀疑。在我看来，男人不擅长女性角色不是因为缺乏练习，而是因为他们天生阳刚。男人没有女人的身材，韧性，柔软和轻盈，也没有女人因其生殖功能经长期演变而形成的女性心理，她们对美（吸引男性），爱，和安全的需要。这些特性影响她们的舞蹈。另一方面，女人没有男人的体型和力量，也没有男人因其男性功能经长期演变而形成的男性心理，他们对保持控制，采取行动和保护女人的需要。如果男人和女人天生擅长相反的角色，探戈当然就不是这样跳了。

离我家不远，一只母鹅在大树下孵蛋，一只公鹅守卫在附近防止母鹅被骚扰。我路过那棵树时必须绕道，因为公鹅不许我靠近，他很保护母鹅。可不可以公鹅孵蛋而母鹅守卫呢？我想是可以的。但这不自然，也不合适。雄性的阳刚和雌性的阴柔是关系物种福祉的性别特性。男性通常强壮，果敢，有攻击和保护的本能，或者说是一个好父亲和保护者的材料。女性通常柔弱，美丽，顺从，深情，或者说是一个好母亲和养育者的材料。这些特点使两性相互吸引，组成一个有利于后代的持续关系。有些无知者不欣赏自然的方式而想改变它。但是，自然的方式来自千百万年的天演进化，所以是最好，最适合和最有效的方式。干涉自然往往会导致灾难性的后果，如人为的气候变化，环境污染，自然灾害，神秘的疾病，不育，预受污染的胎儿，以及家庭的解体，等等。那些自以为比上帝更聪明的人对自然的干预会给整个人类带来灾难。

良好的价值观是基于人类的整体利益，而不是个人或某一性别的利益。个人主义和女权主义的问题在于其视野局限于单一的个人和性别，因而混淆了善与恶，美与丑的界线。自私是丑恶的，却被美化成追求幸福。不尊重他人是丑恶的，却被美化成个人自由。高傲自大是丑恶的，却被美化成自信。男子气概是令人钦佩的，却被诬蔑为大男子主义。女人味是美丽的，却被贬低为女性的弱点，等等。个人主义和女权主义者挑战传统探戈，给它贴上男权控制和性别歧视的标签。他们想用没有性别区分的方式来跳探戈舞：男人不带领女人，而只邀请女人迈步；女人不对男人委身，而保持独立自主；她可以选择何时，如何以及是否接受邀请，可以率先动作，也可以带领男人或其他女人；两个舞伴之间保持距离，以避免肉体的亲昵；闭式拥抱也被改为开式握持，以允许更多的个性化表演，等等。结果，探戈被改造得面目全非，不再是原来意义上的探戈了。

传统探戈是基于这样的理念：两性是相互依存而非彼此独立的；阳刚与阴柔的互相补充并不造成男女不平等；做一个具有阳刚之气的男人和有女人味的女人是吸引异性，抢手叫座，于人类有利的；两性间的和谐是通过相互谦让与合作，而不是相互对抗和争权夺利来实现的；爱胜于敌视。个人主义和女权主义希望人们专注于个人的自由和独立性。探戈则要求我们学会友爱，谦恭，温柔，顺从，协同，合作，适应对方，和与对方合一。探戈证明，只要遵循这些原则，男人和女人是能够和睦相处的。我相信探戈会对西方社会和整个人类产生积极的影响，除非我们接受这些价值观，我们无法真正享受这个舞蹈。

Femininity and Feminism in Tango (II)

When a man and a woman tango together, something magic and wonderful happens: romanticism, attraction, fantasy, passion and synergy. Tango would not be so gratifying if it were not danced between a man and a woman. The man leads the woman and brings her femininity into full play. The woman surrenders to the man and uses her femininity to attract and reward him. They complement each other, satisfy each other’s need, and enable each shine more brilliantly in the other’s company.

Some people believe that with enough practice anyone could play either role equally well in tango, which I doubt (See Comments). Men are not good at playing the feminine role not because they are not given the chance, but because they are born masculine. A man does not have a woman’s physique, softness, lightness and flexibility. He also does not have the female psychology evolved due to women’s reproductive nature, their need for beauty (to attract male), affection, safety and protection. These traits impact how women dance. On the other hand, women do not have men’s build and strength. They do not have the male psychology evolved due to men’s protective nature, their need for keeping under control, taking initiatives, and protecting women. If men and women were naturally good at the reversed roles, tango would have been danced differently.

Not too far from my house, a female goose is hatching under a tree, and a male goose is guarding nearby, preventing the female from being disturbed. I have to make a detour when I pass the tree because the male goose does not allow me get close. He is very protective of the female goose. Can the male goose hatch and the female goose guard? I suppose they can. But that would not be natural and as fit. Masculinity and femininity are characteristics of the opposite sexes essential to the well being of the species. The male is typically strong, assertive, aggressive and protective, a good father and protector, if you wish. The female is typically soft, attractive, submissive and affectionate, a good mother and care giver, if you wish. These characteristics enable the opposite sexes to attract each other and form a sustainable relationship for the benefit of the offspring. People often do not appreciate the way nature works and want to alter it. But, what is of nature comes from millions of years of evolution, and is, as a result, the best, fittest and most effective way. Messing with the nature often leads to disastrous consequences, such as manmade climate changes, environmental pollution, natural catastrophes, mysterious diseases, sterility, pre-polluted babies, and disintegration of family. Those who think they are smarter than God are harming us all with their ignorant interferences with the nature.

Good human values are based on what is beneficial to the humanity rather than individual person or gender. The problem of individualism and feminism is that their perspectives are narrowed down to a single person or gender. Consequently, they confuse what is good with what is evil and what is beautiful with what is ugly. Selfishness is ugly, but is being justified as pursuit of happiness. Disrespect of others is ugly, but is being warranted as personal liberty. Arrogance is ugly, but is being prettified as self-confidence. Masculinity is admirable, but is being vilified as sexism. Femininity is beautiful, but is being denigrated as female weakness, etc. These ideologies challenge the traditional way tango is danced, label it as male domination and gender inequality (See Tango and Gender Equality). They want tango to be danced in such way that men and women are undifferentiated, that men do not lead women but only invite women to move, that women do not surrender but remain independent, that women may choose how, when and whether to accept the invitation, initiate their own steps and lead men or other women, that the two partners maintain a distance from each other to prevent sexual harassment, and that tango embrace is replaced with an open hold to allow more individuality, etc. As a result, tango is transformed into something that is no longer tango.

Tango is based on the ideas that men and women are interdependent rather than independent, that masculinity and femininity complement rather than un-equalize the two genders, that being a masculine male and a feminine female is attractive, beneficial and desirable, that the harmony of the two genders is arrived at through mutual submission and cooperation rather than confrontation and power struggle, and that love triumphs over hostility. While individualism and feminism want us to focus on our individuality and independence, tango requires us to focus on our partner and the oneness of the two. It teaches us to be submissive, friendly, humble, gentle, cooperative, adaptive and flexible. Tango proves that the two sexes can form a harmonious relationship by conforming to these values. Despite the challenges tango faces in the West, it continues to exert positive influences on our societies, because unless we adopt its values, we are unable to fully enjoy the dance (See How You Dance Matters).

你探戈之旅的四个阶段

如果探戈对你来说只是所看见的形式——步子，那么你是处在你探戈之旅的第一阶段。在这个阶段，探戈的无形部分还超出你的理解。但是，你不要被步子欺蒙了双眼。它仅仅是海面上冰山的尖顶而已。探戈是一种综合性艺术。虽然你需要知道步子才能跳探戈，但许多同样重要，若不是更重要的事，你也必须知道。此时的你应该把注意力主要放在发展良好的姿势，拥抱，连接，平衡，轴转，上下身分离和行走上。许多学生在姿势尚不好看，身体尚僵硬沉重，拥抱尚破裂断开，行走尚笨拙不稳，而且尚需依靠舞伴来保持平衡的时候，就选择超出自己水平的课程去学习复杂的舞步。结果，那些花哨的舞步对他们并没有多大价值，只是增加他们的坏习惯而已。在这个阶段，你需要克服急功近利的心理，循序渐进，化时间改进你的姿势，拥抱，连接，平衡，协调，轴转，上下身分离和行走，正确地按照标准学好基本步子。这种方法看起来慢，但它会为你奠定坚实的基础，使你能快速进步。

一旦学会了基本步子并开始去舞会跳舞，你进入了你探戈之旅的第二阶段。在这个阶段你会继续学习新步子，但你的注意力应该放在纠正旧习惯和培养新习惯上。如果你的个人习惯不符合探戈标准，或者，如果你在第一阶段养成了坏习惯，你现在需要解决这些问题。这个阶段可能是个漫长而痛苦的时期，因为你一生积累的习惯不容易改变，需要付出时间和努力。你需要一个好老师一点一点地从细节上指点你，帮助你纠正坏习惯。你也可以在镜子前练习，或录下你的舞蹈来分析自己的姿势，拥抱，连接，平衡，协调和动作。你需要不断对你的习惯作出有意识的努力，直到你养成了正确的，符合探戈美学标准的姿势和动作。

当你的舞蹈开始有了探戈的感觉，当你习惯了用正确的方法跳探戈，你进入了你探戈之旅的第三阶段。在这个阶段，你的注意力开始从外部转向内部。一旦步子不再是你的障碍，你可以开始对探戈的无形部分进行工作。你需要提高你的乐感，熟悉不同类型，节奏，速度，情绪，和乐队的曲子，学习跳出每一支舞曲的不同点。你需要学习暂停，学习装饰你的舞步，学习表达你的感情，学习用慢速度和快速度跳舞，学习较高深的，不仅旨在加强舞蹈的外在表现力，而且旨在增添舞蹈的内在感觉的技巧，例如CADENCIA和齿轮效应。你需要提高你身体的柔韧性和协调性，提高用你的身体影响舞伴身体运动并与之和谐同步的能力。你还需要超越舞蹈技巧而成为一个合格的社交舞者。要做到这一点，你需要学习探戈的文化和礼节。随着能力的增长和视野的扩大，你将开始超越你自己。

在舞蹈中超越自我的能力标志着一个重大改变，随着这个改变你进入了你探戈之旅的最后阶段。在这个阶段，你开始注意与舞伴的关系，开始感觉他/她的感情，聆听他/她对音乐的诠释，体察和适应他/她的舞蹈，并与他/她成为一体。你不再为炫耀自己的技能而跳舞，而为让舞伴感到舒服和愉快而跳舞。探戈对你不再是舞步，而是爱的表达。你的带领不再那么强势和困难，而变得温柔体贴和适合舞伴的能力。你想让她感到容易并享受舞蹈的乐趣。你的跟随不再那么笨拙僵硬，与带领相抵触，而变得柔顺轻盈，与带领相和谐。你想让他感觉舒服并享受你。你开始明白探戈的精髓，并象老舞棍那样来理解探戈了。现在，你开始进入了这个舞蹈。

The Four Stages of Your Tango Journey

If tango to you is only what you can see it—the steps, then you are at the first stage of your tango journey. The intangible part of tango is still beyond your comprehension at this point. However, you should not let the step fool you. It is only the tip of an iceberg. Tango is a comprehensive art. Although you need to know the steps to dance tango, there are things equally if not more important that you must know. At this point your main attention should be placed on developing good posture, embrace, connection, balance, pivot, dissociation and walk. (See Tango Is a Language.) Many students take lessons beyond their level to learn advanced steps while their posture is still ugly, their body is still stiff and heavy, their embrace is still broken, their walk is still clumsy, and they still need to hold on to the partner for balance. As a result, the fancy steps that they are learning have little value to them, only enhance their bad habits. At this stage you need to overcome your eagerness to achieve quick results, proceed in an orderly and gradual way, take time to improve your posture, embrace, connection, balance, coordination, pivot, dissociation and walk, and correctly learn the basic steps in accordance with the standard. This approach seems slow, but it will lay a solid foundation that promises fast progress.

Once you’ve learned the basic steps and started to dance socially, you enter the second stage of your tango journey. At this stage you continue to learn steps, but your attention should be placed on correcting your old habits and cultivating new ones. If your personal praxes do not meet the tango standard, or if you gained bad habits during the first stage, you need to fix them now. This stage could be a long and painful period because the wont that you have accumulated in your lifetime is not easy to break. It takes time and hard work. You need a good teacher to work with you in details and correct your bad habits bit-by-bit. You can practice in front of a mirror or record your dance to analyze your posture, embrace, connection, balance, coordination and movement. You need to constantly make conscious efforts against your habits until you have developed and internalized right poise and movements that meet the aesthetics and standards of tango.

As your dance starts to have a tango feel, as you habituate yourself to the correct way of dancing tango, you enter the third stage of your tango journey. At this stage your attentions start to shift from the external to the internal. Once the step is no longer an obstacle to you, you can start to work on the intangible side of the dance. You need to improve your musicality, familiarize yourself with music of different genres, rhythms, tempos, moods, and orchestras, and learn to dance to different pieces differently. You need to learn to pause, to adorn your steps, to express your emotions, to dance in slow and fast motions, and with more advanced techniques aiming not only at the look but also the feeling of the dance, such as cadencia and gear effect. You need to improve the flexibility and coordination of your body and the ability to use your body to affect and harmonize the movement of your partner’s body. You also need to go beyond the techniques and become a socially acceptable dancer. For this you need to learn the culture and etiquette of tango. With the growth of your abilities and the widening of your vision, you will start to see beyond yourself.

The ability to see beyond yourself marks a significant change in your dance, with which you enter the final stage of your tango journey. At this stage you start to pay attention to the relationship with your partner, to feel his/her feelings (See Tango Is a Feeling), to listen to his/her interpretations of the music, to be considerate and adaptive to his/her dance, and to be one with him/her. You no longer dance to show off your skills, but to give comfort and pleasure to your partner. Tango to you is no longer steps, but an expression of love. Your lead becomes less forceful and difficult, but gentle, thoughtful and suited to the abilities of your partner. You want her to feel ease and enjoy the dance. Your follow becomes less bumpy and interruptive, but smooth, light, and in harmony with the lead. You want him to feel comfortable and enjoy you. You start to understand the essence of tango and see tango as what the milongueros see it. Now, you are at the top of the game.

你如何跳舞决非无关紧要

开发潜力，征服未知，拓展极限，拥有更多的愿望是驱使我们的动力。这人类本性一方面导致了许多成就，另一方面也造成无数滥用。我们社会中充满着这样的滥用或过激行为：无限自由，个人主义，资本主义，女权主义，极端保守主义，极端自由主义，政治上的极左和极右，宗教原教旨主义，恐怖主义，极端的科学技术，垄断性的商业模式，穷奢极侈的生活方式，宣扬暴力的娱乐和体育活动，金融及商界的欺诈行为，枪枝游说集团，过度消费，过度税收，过度使用自然资源，人为造成的气候变化，环境污染，人口爆炸，腐败，经济衰退，贫困，饥饿......

所有这些不导致一个和谐融洽的人类社会，而导致两极分化，冲突，仇恨，敌对和战争。我们从一个极端走向另一个极端，却没有意识到所有的极端主义来自我们里面共同的本性：贪婪，自私，无知，狭窄。我们不能也不愿从自身利益以外和自我角度以外来考虑问题。我们看不见整体和全貌，在其中我们仅仅是一个小点。我们依靠权势和实力来解决问题，却不明白失衡可能带来的后果。我们对私利永无休止的追求甚至可能导致文明的毁灭，如果人类的贪婪无知不受到制约和平衡的话。这并不是危言耸听。鉴于二战以来世界所发生的剧烈和飞速变化，地球母亲对我们的贪婪还能支持多久？人类之间的和平还能保持多长时间？

我不是唯一忧天的杞人。不管你意识到与否，探戈的流行反映了人们对正在失去的和平的普遍怀念，和对这个非人化的时代的反省。探戈让许多人着迷是因为他们在其中发现了一个不同的现实：人类的共同利益，相互依赖，一起生存，亲密合作，彼此联系。在探戈中我们在顺服他人，安慰他人和取悦他人中找到快乐，而不是在互相竞争中找到快乐。在探戈中我们找到了一个没有敌意和冲突的避难所，一个可以依靠的肩膀，一个通过沟通，合作，适应，和解和妥协来和谐相处的方式。在探戈中我们发现了宣扬爱的耶稣，倡导非暴力的甘地，主张朴素和回归自然的老子，和提倡中庸的孔子的智慧。在探戈中我们找到了和平，情爱，亲密，和一个我们希望现实世界也能够变得如此的，更美好的世界。

这就是为什么人们被探戈所吸引。这就是为什么我深为探戈也被人推向极端而感到悲愤。他们使这个爱的舞蹈变成了作秀，怪异，政治上正确，和以盈利为目的的舞蹈。这样做不仅改变了探戈的精髓，也出卖了它的理想主义，把它从一个教世界学会爱的舞蹈降低为与这一目的相反的舞蹈，把一个升华人性的舞蹈降低为减损人性的舞蹈，把一个象征着希望现实世界也能够变得如此美好的舞蹈降低为一个映照着我们想要改变的这个丑恶世界的舞蹈。

很多人现在承担起保护自然环境和合理使用自然资源的责任，因为地球是我们唯一的家园。难道我们不应该同样承担起保护社会环境和维持社会稳定的责任？新入探戈的人需要认识到，你怎么看探戈影响到你怎么学探戈和跳探戈。你可以把它只看成个舞蹈，或者你可以把它看成是教世界学会爱的舞蹈。你可以仅仅学习舞步，或者你可以学习如何与人成为一体。你可以用跳舞来显示自我，或者你可以用跳舞来显示爱心。你可以改造探戈，或者你可以让探戈改造你，并通过你改造世界。你如何跳舞决非无关紧要，因为通过跳舞你会留下影响，无论你选择怎样跳舞。

How You Dance Matters

Our desire to realize our potentials, to conquer the unknown, to expand the limits, and to possess more, is a part of what drive us. This very nature is the cause of our accomplishments on one hand and abuses on the other. Our society is full of such abuses or extremisms—unlimited personal freedom, selfish individualism, heartless capitalism, militant feminism, ultra conservatism and liberalism, extreme political right and left, religious fundamentalisms, terrorism, radical sciences and technologies, monopolistic business models, extravagant life styles, violent entertainments and sports, bank fraudulences, gun lobbies, over spending, over taxation, overuse of natural resources, manmade climate changes, environmental pollution, population explosion, corruptions, economic downturns, poverty, hunger…

All these result not in a cohesive and harmonious human society, but polarization, conflict, hatred, hostility and war. We go from one extreme to another without realizing that all extremisms come from the same human nature within us—greed, self-interests, ignorance and intolerance. We are unable and unwilling to consider interests and perspectives beyond our own. We cannot see the whole picture of which we are only a small part. We rely on power and might to solve problems, and we do not understand the consequence of unbalanced approaches (See Tango and Integrity). Our relentless pursuit of self-interests could lead to the destruction of civilizations if we let our greed and ignorance go unchecked and unbalanced. This is not alarmist talk. Given how rapidly and radically the world has changed since World War II, how long can mother earth support our greed and mankind remain peaceful with each other?

I am not the only one who worries. Whether you realize it or not, tango’s popularity reflects the universal nostalgia for the missing peace and the rebellion against the dehumanization of our times. Tango is fascinating to many because in tango we find a different reality—common interests, mutual dependency, togetherness, closeness, and connection. In tango we find joy in complying, comforting and pleasuring others instead of in competing with each other. In tango we find a refuge void of animosity and conflict, a shoulder that we can rely on, and a way to reach harmony through communication, collaboration, accommodation, reconciliation and compromise. In tango we find the wisdoms of Jesus who taught love, Gandhi who advocated nonviolence, Lao Tzu who pleaded simplicity and naturalness, and Confucius who argued for the golden mean. In tango we find peace, love, intimacy, and a better world that we wish ours could become.

That is why people are attracted to tango. That is why I am sad to see that tango too is polarized by the extremist tendency to make this dance of love a dance of show, a dance of exoticism, a dance of political correctness, and a dance for profit. By so doing they not only change the essence of the dance, but also betray its idealism and degrade tango from a dance that teaches the world to love to that against its ordained purpose, from that sublimates the humanity to that debases it, and from that symbolizes the world we want ours to become to that reflects the world we want to change.

Many people now take responsibilities to keep the natural environment clean and resources wisely used, because earth is our only home. Should we not also take responsibilities to keep the human environment clean and societies stable? People new to tango need to awaken to the fact that how you see tango affects how you learn and dance it. You may see it as just a dance, or you may see it as a dance that teaches the world to love. You may learn just how to do steps, or you may learn how to be one with each other. You may dance it to show your ego, or you may dance it to show your love. You may reinvent tango, or you may let tango change you and through you the world. How you dance matters, because by which you will leave an impact, either way.

探戈中的女人味和女权主义

在布宜诺斯艾利斯的舞会上所跳的探戈舞是男人和女人之间友好，亲密，关爱与和谐关系的写照。男人和女人从起初就是好朋友。男人喜欢女人。他们选择女人而不是男人做他们生活的伴侣。他们对女人比对其他男人好，也更慷慨。他们为女人与其他男人争斗竞争，并为自己所爱的女人拼命工作。女人也喜欢男人。她们总想吸引男人，赢得男人的心。她们把自己信托给男人，与男人结为一体，向男人奉献出自己的爱，并顺从男人的带领。男人和女人互相珍惜，彼此成就。他们的友谊，从总体上说，是一个爱情故事。

布宜诺斯艾利斯的探戈舞会让我想起这个爱情故事。在那些舞会上，我经验了与阿根廷妇女的美好关系。从外表上看，阿根廷妇女并不让我觉得比其他妇女更美丽。但她们却因她们的舞蹈在我心中留下了深刻的印象。她们是我所知道的最有女人味和女性魅力的女人。她们头上插着花，眼睛友好地望进你的眼睛，双手热情地拥抱你，把她们的胸脯亲切地贴在你的胸膛上。她们翩翩起舞，摆动她们的裙子。热烈，多情而富于诱惑，她们在你怀里扭动她们的身体，用她们的腿缠住你的腿，用她们的身体裹住你的身体。女人味并不是她们的弱点，而是她们的力量所在，而且她们知道如何用它来​​让你感觉特别。在现实生活中她们可能是教授，医生或老总，但在舞会上她们却只是单纯，自然，简单，可爱的女人。探戈由她们发明绝非出于偶然，因为那是在她们的血液中。阿根廷妇女是女人味和女性情感的人格化。与她们跳舞的确是人生中最令人满足的经验之一。

离开了女人味，探戈就不一样了。探戈需要男人强壮，果断，可靠，对女人很保护，也需要女人温柔，顺从，有女人味，妖娆美丽。男人和女人在探戈中扮演不同的角色，就如同在生活中一样。一个象枝干，另一个象花朵；在一起他们成为一棵盛开的大树。一个象画笔，另一个象颜料；在一起他们绘出美丽的画图。在欧洲和北美，有些人认为这种想法是性别歧视和男权控制。他们不希望探戈中有大男子主义，性别不平等和亲密的举动。他们希望舞伴之间保持距离，没有身体接触，用开式拥抱跳舞，以避免性刺激。他们希望男人不是带领女人，而是“邀请”女人做动作，并尊重她们拒绝邀请，率先动作，和带领男人的权利。他们还希望探戈在同性舞伴之间跳，女人带领女人，男人跟随男人。总之，他们希望探戈成为中性化的舞蹈，而舞会则象工作场所那样，在其中所有的人都以“政治上正确”的方式对待他人。

在欧洲和北美，妇女的男性化对探戈的跳法有着不可否认的影响。在那些社会里，现代生活方式鼓励妇女穿上工作服，隐藏起自己的性别特征，加入劳动大军同男人一样战斗。许多妇女把职业生涯放在婚姻之上，把个人成功放在家庭之上，把独立自主放在配偶关系之上。她们推动保护妇女权利和机会平等的法令，禁止男人把女人视为性对象。结果，妇女也越来越不把自己看成是女人，而把自己越来越看得象男人一样。为了与男人竞争，女人需要具有象男人一样的强势，事业心和挑战性。许多女人变得粗暴，讨厌，邋遢，肥胖，因为她们不再关心男人怎么看她们。她们养出粗暴，讨厌，邋遢，肥胖的女儿，因为希望她们长大后也与男人竞争。暴力的女人培养出暴力的杀人凶手，正如全世界刚刚在康涅狄格的Newtown所目睹的那样。当女人的行为变得如同男人，男女之间的关系便恶化，家庭便解体，孩子便失去父母。当女人不再有女人味时，她们对男人就不再那么有吸引力了，男人于是到同性关系中寻找替代。你想知道为什么“婚姻平等”日益成为我们社会中的热门话题吗？当女人失去其温柔仁爱的本性——这原是对男人好斗本性的一种平衡，这世界将成为一个更加危险的地方......

女人味之与人类，就象绿色之与环境。我为我们的妇女身上正在失去的女人味感到遗憾。我想，世界也在为此怀旧，这是为什么全球各地的人们都发现阿根廷妇女和她们的舞蹈如此迷人。如果你跳探戈舞跳得足够多，就象阿根廷妇女那样，你就会知道把女人变成男人在探戈里是行不通的，正如这在其他社会生活领域也造成了许多麻烦，却没有解决任何问题。在说了这些以后，感谢阿根廷探戈，我仍然对未来抱着希望，因为在探戈里，男人和女人为他们共同的利益必须保持他们之所以创造出来的样子：不同，然而是统一的；独特，而又不失平衡，多样，却互相补充，相反，但仍是平等的。

Femininity and Feminism in Tango

The tango that is danced in the milongas of Buenos Aires reflects a relationship between men and women that is friendly, loving, intimate and harmonious. Since the beginning of time men and women have been best friends. Men like women. They choose women over men to be their life partner. They treat women better than they treat other men. They are more generous to women than to other men. They fight for women with other men, and they work hard for the women they love. Women, too, like men. They always try to attract men and win men’s hearts. They trust themselves in men, devote their love to men, unite with men, and follow men’s lead. Men and women cherish and complete each other. Their friendship has been, for the most part, a love story.

In the milongas of Buenos Aires, I am reminded of this love story. I find myself experience a wonderful relationship with Argentine women. On the outside, Argentine women do not particularly strike me as more beautiful than other women. But they surely leave an impression in my heart when I dance with them. They are the most feminine and attractive women that I know. They wear flowers in their hair, look friendly into your eyes, embrace you warmly, with their chest intimately touch yours, and dance gracefully, waving their skirts. Passionate, sentimental and seductive, they twist their body in your arms, entangle their leg with your leg, and wrap your body with their body. Femininity is not their weakness but strength, and they know how to use it to make you feel special. They may be professors, doctors or CEOs in real life, but in the milongas they are just pure, natural, simple and lovely women. That tango is invented by them is not an accident—it is in their blood. Argentine women are the personifications of femininity and affection. Dancing with them is truly one of life’s most gratifying experiences.

Without femininity, tango will not be the same. Tango requires men to be strong, decisive, dependable and protective, and women to be soft, submissive, feminine and beautiful. Men and women play different roles in tango, as they do in life. One is like the stem and the other flowers; together they make a blossomy tree. One is like the brush and the other pigments; together they draw a beautiful painting. In Europe and North America, some people reject this idea as sexism and male domination. They want tango to be void of macho posturing, gender inequality and intimate displays. They want tango partners to maintain a distance from each other, keep away from physical contact, and dance in an open hold to avoid sexual stimulation. They want men not to lead but to “invite” women to move, and respect women’s rights to decline the invitation, to initiate their own steps, and to lead men. They want tango to be danced by same-sex partners as well, women lead women, and men follow men. In short, they want tango to be a gender-neutral dance and the milonga to be like a workplace where everybody conducts in a politically correct manner. (See Tango and Gender Equality)

The masculinization of women in Europe and North America has an undeniable impact on how tango is danced in these societies, where the modern way of life encourages women to put on uniforms, hide their gender identities, and join the work force to fight like men. Many women choose career over marriage, success over family, and independence over relationships. They push legislations to protect women’s rights and equal opportunities, and prohibit men to see women as sex objects. As a result, women, too, see themselves less and less as women, and more and more like men. In order to compete with men, women need to be strong, ambitious and aggressive like men. Many become violent, mean, sloppy and over weight, as they do not care about how men see them any more. And they produce violent, mean, sloppy and over weight daughters, as they want them also to grow up competing with men. Violent women produce violent murderers, as the world has just witnessed in Newtown, Connecticut. When women behave like men, the relationship between men and women deteriorates, the institution of family disintegrates, and children lose parents. When women cease to be feminine, they become less attractive to men, who then turn to same-sex relationships for help. You wonder why “marriage equality” increasingly becomes a discourse in our societies? When women lose their soft, loving nature that has been the balance to men’s aggression, the world is becoming a more dangerous place…

What femininity is to the humanity is like what green is to the environment. I am nostalgic for the missing femininity in our women. I think the world, too, is nostalgic for that, which is why people around the globe find Argentine women and their dance fascinating. If you dance enough tango, as do the Argentine women, you will know that turning women into men just doesn’t work in tango, as it has caused more problems than solving any in other social discourses. That said, I remain hopeful thanks to Argentine tango, because in tango men and women have to be who they are created to be for their common well-being—divergent yet united, distinct yet balanced, different yet complementary, and opposite but equal (See Femininity and Feminism in Tango (II)).

探戈与性别平等

有人真的认为传统的阿根廷探戈在政治上是不正确的，而欧洲和北美的开式拥抱探戈是经过净化提纯,符合现代世界要求的探戈。我最近所读过的一本书表达了以下观点： 

“在欧洲，人们的想法似乎是，舞蹈中的和谐是经由双方同意而实现的，男人和女人是平等的舞伴。然而，即使在今天，在布宜诺斯艾利斯，我得到的鲜明印象是，他们认为男人是在完全掌控中，每一个动作都是由男人领出来的，舞蹈的进展是一系列有效带领的后果......一个阿根廷探戈网站近期的一篇文章涉及到男人和女人之间的关系，它使用了‘女人对待委身的态度’这样的词语......我完全不能肯定这个观念在跟我跳舞的女人中会有多少人接受。我明白查看探戈历史上毫无疑问的大男子主义倾向可能有意思，或许从中也能对我们今天可以怎么跳舞得到一些启发。但我不乐意接受这个观念在现代世界中仍然是探戈的本质感觉。更吸引我的观点是，探戈是从一个幸运的，主要起源于欧洲的多元文化中演变出来的。探戈似乎在二十世纪二十年代在巴黎被输入精致文雅的血液。在我看来，它今天似乎又受益于欧洲各地在其手臂上注射的血液。探戈在这里发展迅速，并得到净化提纯以符合现代人际关系的要求。我相信它可能正在失去其狭隘的，甚至是地主义的风格，而在一个新的，更有凝聚力的欧洲人民手中变得真正国际化了。我们不是沮丧想家，困苦不堪，离家千里，寻求爱情，却只有太少女人能分享的欧洲人。我们是新世界中的新人类。虽然我们作为个人带入舞蹈的激情是与所有的男人和女人从起初就共享的基本感受相同的，其强度却必然不同，而最重要的是，两性之间的平衡已经改变了。也可能在欧洲，我们的社会是在以与拉丁美洲不同的速度发展，虽然我想不是朝着不同的方向。今天的欧洲妇女有着极大的权力，地位和影响力，而且她们把自己的需要很清楚地表达出来。现代欧洲妇女对大男子主义态度是不会有太正面的反应的......女人似乎喜欢自己的男人有自信，但又希望他们细腻体贴。女人痛恨被人欺负。她们喜欢被人邀请，并想感觉到是否按自己的意愿接受或拒绝是在她们自己的完全控制中。接受邀请并不是‘委身'......当你想到很久以前，在二十世纪初期，渴望被女人触摸的粗俗男人在妓院里跳探戈舞，男女亲密是他们那时所做的交易。开式拥抱是对探戈进行“消毒”以使它适合更文雅的人士和更广大的观众而发展起来的。”

作者对他显然不太了解的事所持的那种优越态度是荒唐可笑的。传统探戈不是欺负人。开式探戈也不尽温文尔雅。认为跳闭式探戈的人比跳开式探戈的人肮脏而缺乏文明的观点是荒谬和虚伪的。

然而，让我更担忧的是他的平等观念。我恐怕它确实反映了欧洲和北美一些人对传统探戈所持的偏见和把探戈改变为一个中性舞蹈的企图。我们为那些对自己的性别取向不安的人争取权利，这是应该的，因为他们也是人。但我们大多数人对自己的性别没有问题。我所知道的大多数男人对他们的男性特征和阳刚之气感到自豪。他们的行为，功能和舞蹈象男人。我所知道的大多数女人为她们的女性特征和女人味感到骄傲。她们的行为，功能和舞蹈象女人。男人和女人彼此平等并相互吸引，因为他们是他们所是。他们互相欣赏，互相珍惜，互相需要，相得益彰。女人生育和照顾后代。男人保护，并为他们提供。两性在生活和舞蹈中扮演不同的角色，这没有人，尤其是现代男女，应该感到羞愧。真正的现代人不认为女人需要表现得象男人一样才与男人平等。她们可以是女人，而仍然与男人平等。真正的现代的人相信男性和女性的关系是以爱为基础的，而不是以权力为基础的。他们不认为异性之间的纯洁亲密是污秽的。他们也不对人持沙文主义的态度，特别是对一个人民，其艺术他们深深受益，而其文化他们可能还未完全理解。

正如我在另一篇文章中所说，“探戈的精髓是欢迎别人进入你的个人空间，接受那个人，向他委身，放弃你的自我，倾听那人内心的声音和感受，做个体贴，合作，谦让，顺应的人，享受两人间的亲 密，与他/她合而为一，并给他/她以安慰，快乐和爱。这与我们的文化所代表的观念，即个人主义，独立性，自我利益，敌对好斗，是不同的。”（《爱的艺术》）与作者所认为的恰恰相反，探戈中的委身是相互的。只有在委身中我们才停止竞争而开始彼此适应。探戈在现代世界中深受欢迎是因为它有使人升华的力量。它使我们完整，让我们能在一种亲密关系中与对方成为一体,而免遭属于上个世纪的论断指责。探戈是与虚伪相反的。在探戈中我们变成更美好，更健康，更自然，更融洽的男性和女性。那些倾向于“政治上正确”而不是正当的人性，性别中性化而不是性别解放，权力斗争而不是爱，分离而不是融合，疏远而不是亲密，傲慢而不是谦卑，个人表现而不是伙伴关系的人生活在过去的阴影中。他们是在以与拉丁美洲不同的速度发展，而且不是象作者所认为的那样朝着同一个方向。他们当然不代表探戈的未来。

Tango and Gender Equality

There are people who actually think that the traditional tango of Argentina is politically incorrect, and the open-embrace tango of Europe and North America is the distilled and sanitized version of tango that meets the requirements of the modern world. A book I read recently expressed the following opinion:

“In Europe, the idea seems to be that harmony in dance is arrived at by mutual consent and that men and women are equal partners. I get the distinct impression, however, that even today, in Buenos Aires, the idea is that the man is in complete control; every action has its lead and the progress of the dance is a series of well-established consequences… A recent article from a tango web site in Argentina touched on the relationship between the man and the woman. It used the phrase ‘The woman’s attitude of surrender’… I am not at all sure this notion would find much acceptability with the women I dance with. I can see how it might be interesting to look at the undoubtedly macho flavour in history of tango and perhaps derive some ideas from it for our dance-play today. I am less happy to accept this idea as the essential feeling of tango in the modern world. I am more attracted to the idea that tango evolved out of a lucky fusion of multiple cultures, mostly European in origin. It seems that it received a transfusion of refinement in Paris in the 1920s, and it looks to me as if it is benefiting today from another shot in the arm all over Europe. Tango is growing apace here and is being distilled to meet the requirements of today’s relationships. I believe it may be losing its narrow, even parochial feel and is becoming truly international in the hands of a new and more cohesive European people. We are not frustrated, homesick, stressed Europeans, seeking love miles from home with too few women to share. We are a new breed in a new world. Though the passions we bring as individuals to the dance will be the same basic feelings all men and women have shared since the beginning of time, the intensity must be different, and the balance between the sexes has altered most of all. It may also be the case that our societies in Europe are evolving at a different pace from that of Latin America, though not, I suspect, in a different direction. In the Europe today women have immense power, status and influence and they express their needs very clearly. The modern European woman is unlikely to respond too positively to macho posturing… It seems women like their men to be positive but they also want finesse and thoughtfulness. Women hate to be bullied. They prefer to be invited and to feel that they are in full control to accept, or decline, as they feel. Accepting an invitation is not ‘surrender' (See How Tango Is Led)... When you think about tango being danced way back at the beginning of the 20th century by earthy men in bordellos, hungry for a woman’s touch, closeness between a man and a woman was the business they were in. It was in the ‘sanitising’ of tango for the more genteel public and the wider world audience that the open embrace evolved.”

The author’s attitude of superiority toward something he apparently has little understanding is absurd. The traditional tango is not bullying. Neither is the open embrace tango all genteel. To suggest that people who dance in close embrace are somewhat dirty and less civilized than those who dance in open embrace is ridiculous and hypocritical.

What concerns me most, however, is his view on equality. I am afraid it could indeed reflect the prejudice against the traditional tango and the attempt to change tango to a gender-neutral dance in Europe and North America. We fight for the rights of those who are uneasy with their sex orientations, and we should, because they are human beings, too. But most of us do not have problems with our own genders. Most men that I know are happy with their manhood and masculinity, and they behave, function and dance like men. Most women that I know are happy with their womanhood and femininity, and they behave, function and dance like women. Men and women are equal and attractive to each other because of who they are. They appreciate, cherish, need, and complement each other. Women bear and nurse offspring. Men protect and provide for them. They play different roles in life and dance, which nobody, certainly no modern men and women, should feel ashamed of. True modern people do not think that women should act like men in order to be equal with men. They can be women, and still be equal with men. True modern people believe that the relationship between men and women is love-based and not power-based. They do not regard decent intimacy between the opposite sexes as filthy, and they are not chauvinistic, especially toward a people whose art they are deeply indebted to, and whose culture they may not yet fully comprehend.

As I said in another post, “The idea of tango is to welcome another person into your personal space, to accept that person, to surrender, to let go your ego, to listen to the inner voice and feelings of that person, to be considerate, cooperative, yielding and adaptive, to enjoy the intimacy, to be one with that person, and to give comfort, pleasure and love. It is a different idea from what our culture stands for, that is, individualism, independence, self-interests and aggression.” (The Art of Love) Contrary to what the author thinks, the surrender in tango is mutual. It is in surrender that we stop to compete and start to adapt. Tango becomes popular in the modern world because it has the power to sublimate people. It completes us by allowing us to be one with each other in an intimate relationship void of judgmental criticisms of the last century. Tango is the opposite of hypocrisy. In tango we become better, healthier, more natural and cohesive men and women. Those who prefer political correctness to decent humanity, gender neutralization to gender emancipation, power struggle to love, separation to cohesion, distance to intimacy, egoism to humility, and individuality to partnership live in the shadow of the past. They are evolving at a different pace from that of Latin America, and not in the same direction as the author thought. They certainly do not represent the future of tango.

探戈是怎样带领的

传统的带领理论是驱驶理论。根据这一理论男人在探戈中带领女人就如同把婴儿抱在怀中摇她入睡。这一理论反映了探戈故乡阿根廷的男权文化。男人拥抱女人，用他的胳膊环绕女人的身体。女人安居于他怀中，依在他身上，胸部亲密地贴在他的胸口。她不需要思考，计划，或率先迈步，只需委身于他，靠在他怀里而任其驱驶。由于两人身体连在一起，男人很容易驱驶女人。他可以用他的身体轻轻推动她，或转动身体，使她跟着一起转动，或用他的身体将她的身体倾斜，直至她迈步，或向一侧转身并移动，使她跟着向该侧跨步，或用他的身体摆动她的身体，使她的腿跟着摆动，形成步子，或增加惯性，使她的身体在脚着地后由惯性带动而偏离重心，导致另一只脚着地，等等。驱驶的方法多为感觉型的舞者所使用。这些舞者喜欢拥抱中舞伴之间亲密的身体接触和两人身体在一起有节奏地与音乐同步运动的感觉。对于他们来说，探戈是同步运动。“跟随”是个不正确的概念，因为它意味着分离和耽延。决定一个好的领舞者的是他用自己的身体去影响跟舞者的身体运动的能力。决定一个好的跟舞者的是她让自己的运动与领舞者的运动保持同步的能力，以达到一致，一体，和谐，同时。人们需要知道步子才能跳探戈，但步子是为了方便拥抱，使两个人能舞动得象一个人一样。感觉型的舞者使用简单的步子来避免干扰。他们专注于音乐，拥抱，交流，同步，和感觉。这个理论是老舞棍式探戈的基础。

另一种理论是标志理论。这一理论把带领定义为标志或信号。标志可以是在对方的身侧一按，腿上一碰，手上一推，背上一压，掌中一捏，姿态的某种变化，或类似的任何组合。它是领舞者告诉跟随者他要她如何移动的秘密信号。“掌握探戈是掌握信号的制作。”（《探戈，爱的艺术史》，罗伯特·法里斯·汤普森著）这种方法的问题是缺乏标准化。每个领舞者都以个人方式来标志舞步。除非熟悉他的信号，跟随者将很难跟从。因为个性化和模糊性的特点，这种方法尚未有清楚的定义。尽管如此，它对探戈的发展产生了显著的影响。用标志或信号来带领使得跟随者有必要对其进行诠释。领舞者不得不迁就她的主观解释。这改变了探戈的跳法。这一理论与采用松散拥抱而较多以手带领的Villa Urquiza式探戈有关。

在欧洲和北美，由于受个人主义，女权主义和“政治上正确”的文化影响，占主导地位的理论是“邀请”理论。根据这一理论，领舞者发送给跟舞者的不是驱动，而是一个建议或邀请。提建议的男士需要等待女士首先迈步，然后跟随她。其顺序好象这样：“领舞者‘邀请'女士进入房间。她接受邀请，并在她自己选定的时间进入，他然后跟随她。从某种意义上说，领舞者变成了跟随者。”（《对探戈的激情》，大卫·特纳著）这一理论离开了传统的探戈理论。它适合那些喜欢使用开式拥抱的运动型舞者，以便发挥更多的个性。没有直接的身体接触，领舞者胸部发出的驱动变得不那么直接和肯定，因而在很大程度上取决于跟随者对怎样，何时，或是否接受他的“邀请”所做的选择。领舞者必须等待，并顺应跟舞者的选择。结果，性别角色交换了，动作胜过了感觉，个人表演取代了同步运动，而探戈也变成了“新式”探戈。

How Tango Is Led

The traditional theory on how tango is led is the driving theory, according to which the man drives the woman in much the same way he carries a baby in his arms and sways her to dream. This theory reflects the macho culture of Argentina where tango was born. The man embraces the woman with his arm encircles her body. The woman settles into his embrace, leans on his torso, with her chest intimately touches his. She doesn’t need to think, plan and initiate the movement. She simply surrenders herself, rests in his arms, and lets him drive her. With the torso-to-torso connection the man can easily actuate the woman. He can use his torso to gently propel her, or turn his torso to make her turn with him, or use his torso to tilt her until she makes a step, or make her step on his side by twirling and moving his torso to one side, or swing her torso, which will bring along the swing of her leg to form a step, or increase the momentum that, after her leg lands on the floor, will carry her body pass over the center of gravity and lead to the next step, etc. The driving method is used by the feeling-oriented dancers who incline to the feeling of the embrace, the intimate torso-to-torso contact between the partners, and the rhythmic motion of the two bodies moving together in sync to the music. For them, tango is synchronization. The word “follow” is an incorrect notion because it implies separation and delay. What makes a good leader is his ability to use his body to effect the movement of the follower. What makes a good follower is her ability to synchronize her movement to his, so that unity, oneness, harmony and synchronism can be achieved. One needs to know the steps to dance tango, but the purpose of steps is to facilitate the embrace so that the two may remain one in motion. The feeling-oriented dancers use simple steps to avoid distractions. They concentrate on the music, embrace, communication, synchronization and feeling. This theory is the foundation of the milonguero style of tango.

Another theory is the la marca theory, which defines the lead as a mark or signal. The mark can be a tapping on her side, a touch on her thigh, a push in her hand, a press on her back, a tickle in her palm, a body posturing, or any combination of such. It is a secret code used by the leader to tell the follower how he wants her to move. “Mastering tango is mastering the making of signals.” (Tango, the Art History of Love, by Robert Farris Thompson.) The problem of this method, however, is the lack of standardization. Each leader marks the steps in his personal way. Without learning his set of signals, the woman would have difficulties to follow his marks. Due to the private and ambiguous nature, this method remains indefinable. Nevertheless, it has a significant impact on the development of tango. Using mark to lead makes it necessary for the follower to interpret it. The leader then has to adapt to her subjectivity. This changes how tango is danced. The Villa Urquiza style danced in a loose embrace and hence relying more on the hands to lead, is associated with this theory.

The theory dominating Europe and North America is the invitation theory, influenced by their individualist, feminist and politically correct culture. According to this theory, what the leader sends to the follower is not a drive but a suggestion or invitation. The gentleman who has given the suggestion needs to wait for the lady to initiate her movement, and then follow her. The sequence is like this: “The leader ‘invites’ the lady to enter a room. She accepts the invitation and, in her own time, enters, and he then follows. In a sense, therefore, the leader has become the follower.” (A Passion for Tango, by David Turner.) This theory breaks away from the traditional tango. It suits the movement-oriented dancers who prefer to dance in an open embrace that allows more individuality. Without the torso-to-torso contact, the drive, which comes from the leader’s torso, becomes less direct and assertive, and hence depends to a large degree on the follower’s choice of how, when, and whether to accept the “invitation.” The leader has to wait and adapt to her choice. As a result, gender roles reverse, movement triumphs over feeling, fanciness supersedes simplicity, individual performance replaces synchronization, and tango becomes tango Nuevo.

探哥是一种感觉

舞步只是用来表达感情的工具，正如词语是用以表达思想的工具。探戈不是舞步，而是对感情的表达。正如有人著名地说过的那样，“探戈是一种舞出来的感觉。”感觉是很难定义的，它可以是从心情，感受，情绪，梦想，激情，欣快到灵感的任何东西。简单地说，我们在探戈中感受到的是一种心境。虽然它难以言表，但在这心境中我们变得最活跃，最有创意，最雄辩，也最满足。如何进入这种心境是一个谜。它不能靠意志或努力达到。它不会每时每刻发生。当我们刻意寻找它时却找不到。但每个人都曾经验过它。我们沉迷于探戈主要因为我们都有过这样的感觉。

探戈能把我们带进这种感觉可能跟音乐有关。好的音乐是跳舞跳得尽兴的必要条件。它是将我们的潜力（创造力，想象力，能力，流畅性等）充分发挥出来不可或缺的激素。好的探戈音乐具有清晰的节奏和丰富的感情，不仅优美而适于跳舞，而且能制造气氛，激发情绪，提高士气，产生灵感，把我们带进那种心境。当我们记得一个音乐迷人，士气高昂的舞会，我们所记的是那种感觉，而不是步子。

当然，那种感觉不是单靠音乐产生的，拥抱也起着重要的作用。探戈之所以与众不同是因为拥抱。探戈的拥抱不象新手认为的那样只是一个框架或相互搀扶。它是使两人合为一体的连接，是沟通两颗心的交流，是抚慰灵魂的柔情，亲昵和舒适。它能满足深藏在人性中的需要，給我们一种相归属，相依连，相成全的感觉。它将我们带回到最早的记忆，我们儿时的摇篮，母亲乳房的滋养和慰籍，父亲怀抱的支持和保护，家庭的安全与温暖。探戈反映我们对“家”的向往。它提醒我们，不是当我们独自一人，而是当我们在一起时，我们才是最好的。最终，我们是在彼此中找到自己的“家”，因为我们属于彼此，需要彼此，成全彼此。我们跳探戈是为了与对方成为一体，从而使自己完整。没有拥抱，探戈就不是探戈，而只是一个普通的舞蹈了。

如果拥抱如此重要，那么舞伴也一样。同一个不会拥抱的舞伴跳舞是找不到感觉的。只重视步子的探戈教学法培养出来的正是这样不专业的舞者，他们回避拥抱，向后仰身，将自己与舞伴分开，把着舞伴就如同把着台购物车，在跳舞时不投入感情。这样的人完全不理解跳探戈是怎么回事。跳探戈就象是将婴儿小心翼翼地抱在怀里，哼着摇篮曲摇他/她入睡；或安息在父母怀中，听着赞美歌，被轻轻摇入梦乡。探戈是我们在舞蹈中体验到并与舞伴分享的那种温馨，安全，舒适，和亲密的感觉。的确，探戈优美的音乐，舒适的拥抱和节奏性的摆动有一种催眠作用，使我们深深坠入冥想或梦境，其感觉是如此惬意，以至于舞曲结束时我们仍不愿醒来。人们需要知道步子才能跳探戈，但步子的目的是为了方便拥抱，让两人得以在运动中保持一体。探戈就好象现实生活中的伴侣关系，虽然面临各种挑战，但两人团结一致，紧密相连，互相支持，不可分割。它需要爱心，信任，和委身。如果你能从这个角度看探戈，我向你保证，你会体验一种完全不同的舞蹈，浪漫，感性，梦幻，诗意，并难以置信的令人满足。

Tango Is a Feeling

Steps are tools used to dance feelings, just like words are tools used to convey thoughts. Tango is not found in the steps, but in the heart. As someone famously put it, “Tango is a feeling that is danced.” It is difficult to define feeling, which could be anything from emotion, sentiment, mood, dream, excitation, euphoria, to duende. Simply put, what we experience in tango is a state of mind. As ineffable as it is, we are most exuberant, creative, eloquent, and satisfied when we are in that state of mind. How this state of mind comes into being is a mystery. It may not come by will or effort. It may not come always. It may not come at all even when we try hard to find it. But everyone has experienced it at some point. We are addicted to tango mainly because we have experienced that feeling.

The reason tango can lead us to that feeling may have something to do with the music. Good music is essential to a fulfilled tango experience. It is an inspiration indispensable for bringing our potentials (originality, imagination, ability, and fluency) into full play. Good music, marked by a clear rhythm and rich sentiment, is not only beautiful and easy to dance to; it also generates a mood, stirs up emotions, lifts the spirit, inspires creativity, and leads us to that state of mind. When we remember a milonga where the music is enchanting and morale is high, what we remember is the feeling and not the steps.

The feeling, of course, is not generated by music alone. The embrace also plays an important role. Tango is unique because of its embrace. Unlike what novices may think, tango embrace is not just a frame or hold. It is the connection that makes us one, the communication that links up our hearts, the tenderness, intimacy and comfort that satisfy our soul. It serves the needs that lie deeply in our humanity, giving us a sense of belonging, connection and completion. It takes us back to our earliest memories, to the cradle of our infancy, the nourishment and comfort of our mother’s chest, the support and protection of our father’s arms, and the warmth and safety of our home. Tango reflects our longing for “home.” It reminds us that we are better not when we are alone, but when we are together. In the end, we find home in each other, because we belong to, need, and complete each other. We dance to be one with each other, thus make ourselves whole. Without the embrace, tango is not tango but another ordinary dance.

If the embrace is important, so is the partner. We cannot find the feeling dancing tango with a partner who doesn’t know how to embrace. The problem of a tango pedagogy focusing on steps is that it produces just such amateurs. They shy away from the embrace, lean backward, detach themselves from their partner, grab their partner like a shopping cart, and are not emotionally engaged. Such people completely miss the point of dancing tango. Dancing tango is like holding a baby tenderly in your arms, singing a lullaby, and swaying him/her to sleep; or resting safely in your parent’s arms, listening to the hymn, and being swayed to dream. Tango is the warm, safe, comfy, and intimate feeling that we experience and share with our partner in the dance. Indeed, the beautiful music, comfortable embrace and rhythmic motion of tango have a hypnotic effect, causing us fall deeply into a state of meditation or dreaming, so heavenly that we don’t want to wake up when the tanda ends. One needs to know the steps to dance tango, but the whole point of steps is to facilitate the embrace so that we may remain one in motion. Tango resembles the relationship in real life where we face all kinds of challenges but keep on united, connected, supportive and inseparable. It requires love, trust, and surrender. If you see tango from this perspective, I guarantee you that you will experience a totally different dance—romantic, sensual, dreamy, poetic, soulful, and incredibly satisfying.

探戈的风格样式

人们用许多名称来描述探戈的不同风格样式，例如老舞棍式探戈，斜靠式探戈，Villa Urquiza式探戈，市中心式探戈，社区式探戈，闭式探戈，开式探戈，舞厅探戈，花式探戈，表演探戈，舞台探戈，新式探戈，等。

造成不同风格样式的根本原因在于人的心理倾向。感觉型的人注重个人体验和内在感受。运动型的人注重动作和外观。感觉型的舞者，其中很多都是老舞棍，创造了老舞棍式探戈。这种样式是用贴身(闭式)拥抱跳的，其中舞者彼此略微斜靠在对方身上，使用简单而紧凑的步子。这些舞者经常在位于布宜诺斯艾利斯市中心比较拥挤的俱乐部里跳舞，所以又叫做市中心式探戈。老舞棍式是以拥抱为特征的。

运动型的舞者，其中也有不少是老舞棍，创造了Villa Urquiza式探戈。这种样式是用直立的姿势和松散的拥抱来跳的。它的步子优美，并使用较多的停顿和点缀。这些舞者喜欢在不太拥挤的社区俱乐部里跳舞，例如Villa Urquiza区的Sin Rumbo俱乐部，所以又叫做社区式探戈。Villa Urquiza式是以步法为特征的。

老舞棍式和Villa Urquiza式被公认为舞厅探戈，或社交探戈。社交探戈是一个松散的总称，泛到能容纳不同的风格样式，窄到不允许反社交行为。社交舞者可以是感觉型的或运动型的，但他们都在俱乐部跳舞并遵守舞会规则。

二十世纪三十年代中期到五十年代中期，社交探戈成为布宜诺斯艾利斯的主导文化。在一九四零到一九五零年间，有二十三个比他们的Villa Urquiza同僚更加运动型的舞者，定期聚集在纳尔逊俱乐部研究新步法。他们创造了一个称为花式探戈的新样式。这种样式使用开式拥抱，以花哨的套路和炫耀的步法使探戈戏剧化，并以使用编导排练和不受舞会规则约束把自己同社交探戈区别开来。其主要目的是作秀，因此又叫做作秀探戈，表演探戈，或舞台探戈。

阿根廷从一九五五年到一九八三年是由一系列军事政变集团统治的。几届军政府的政策都不鼓励社交探戈。宵禁被强制执行，人们经常被检查他们的警方记录。许多与以前的庇隆政权有牵连的人都遭逮捕或干脆消失了。结果，人们不再跳社交舞，探戈也转入地下。社交探戈在这一时期的空白给花式探戈一个占领舞台的机会。当军人政治于一九八三年结束以后，是这种样式领导了探戈的复兴。

从花式探戈，一些运动型的舞者进一步创造了所谓新式探戈。这是一种把探戈和非探戈元素，如另类音乐及新奇步法之类，搅合在一起的杂交舞。新式探戈不仅把自己同社交探戈，也同探戈完全分离开来。如果探戈沿那个方向发展，它将不再是原来意义上的探戈，正如我们在所谓的另类舞会上已经看到的那样。

The Styles of Tango

Many terms are used to describe different styles of tango, such as tango milonguero, tango apilado,tango Villa Urquiza, estilo del centro, estilo del barrio, tango de salon, tango fantasia, close embrace tango, open embrace tango, performance tango, stage tango, tango Nuevo, etc. 

The fundamental cause of stylistic differences lies in human psychologies. People who are feeling-oriented incline to personal experience and inward feelings. People who are movement-oriented incline to steps and outward look. The feeling-oriented dancers, of whom many are milongueros, have developed the milonguero style, which is danced in a close embrace with slight leaning (apilado) against each other, using simple and compact steps. These dancers often dance at the clubs in downtown Buenos Aires where the floors are crowded—hence the term estilo del centro, or downtown style. Milonguero style features the embrace.

The movement-oriented dancers, of whom many also are milongueros, have developed the Villa Urquiza style, which is danced in a loose embrace with an upright posture, using stylish steps, more pauses and adornments. These dancers like to dance at the neighborhood clubs, such as Sin Rumbo in Villa Urquiza, where the floors are less crowded—hence the term estilo del barrio, or neighborhood style. Villa Urquiza style features the footwork.

Milonguero style and Villa Urquiza style are commonly recognized as tango de salon, or social tango. Social tango is a loose term broad enough to include stylistic differences and narrow enough to exclude anti-social behaviors. Social dancers may be feeling-oriented or movement-oriented, but they all dance at the clubs and abide by the milonga codes.

Social tango dominated the culture of Buenos Aires from mid 1930s to mid 1950s. From 1940 to 1950, twenty-three dancers, who were more movement-oriented than their Villa Urquiza colleagues, met regularly at the Club Nelson to work on new steps, and they gave birth to a new style know as tango fantasia. Danced in open embrace, tango fantasia dramatized tango with showy figures and fancy footwork, and separated itself from social tango by using choreography and not conforming to milonga codes. The main purpose of this style is to perform on the stage; therefore, it is known as show tango, performance tango, or stage tango.

From 1955 to 1983 Argentina was ruled by a succession of military juntas whose policies discouraged social tango. Curfews were enforced and people were routinely checked for their police records. Many were arrested or simply disappeared for aligning with the previous Peronist regime. As a result, people stopped dancing socially, and tango went underground. The absence of social tango during that period gave tango fantasia an opportunity to take the stage. When the military rule ended in 1983, it was this style that led the revival of tango.

From tango fantasia, some movement-oriented dancers went further to create tango Nuevo, a hybrid style combining tango and non-tango elements, such as exotic music and eccentric steps. Tango Nuevo not only separates itself from social tango, but from tango entirely. If tango moves in that direction, it will cease to be tango as it was created for, as it already is the case in so-called alternative milongas.

爱的艺术

探戈中最重要的规则之一是不责备，批评或指教你的舞伴。老舞棍们严格遵循这个规则，因为他们知道后果。最近，我的两个学生大吵了一架。起初也许是出于好心，她对他的带领提了点意见。他为自己辩解，并对她的跟随说了些什么。结果对话升级成了侮辱，并以两颗心的破碎而告终。他们也许不会再与对方跳舞了。

学习探戈就象学习语言，而且需要差不多长的时间。任何学探戈不到五年的人都算是新手，而新手是最沮丧恼怒的人。他们想跳好，但不知道怎么跳。有许多东西他们都不知道，包括规则和礼仪。每个新手都有许多毛病，而且都对别人有看法。有经验的舞者不与他们跳舞。所以他们只能自己一块儿跳，并为各自的毛病互相指责。五十步笑百步的讽刺是同类相讥。当一个人指责对方僵硬时，对方可能也在这样想。等他们学会了步子，感情也伤害了，关系也破裂了。

初学者往往没有意识到，不管你喜欢与否，跟你在一起学探戈的人是你探戈生涯中最重要的人。在很长一段时间内你可能都会与他们跳舞。每个社区中跳探戈的人是有限的。这些人是被命运召到一起来的。大家最好彼此接受对方，并给对方提高的时间。在现实生活中，如果你喜欢一个人，你对她说她很美丽。如果你说她是丑陋的，她不会跟你出去。若想与别人跳舞，你也得做同样的事。即使你被要求说实话也总是赞美一个人的舞蹈。有多少丈夫在说了实话后被妻子踢下床去的？记住，探戈不只是一个舞蹈。它是一种人际关系。它是爱的艺术。

耶鲁大学艺术史教授罗伯特·法里斯·汤普森在他的著作《探戈，爱的艺术史》中说：探戈“是教世界学会爱的舞蹈。”探戈的精髓是欢迎别人进入你的个人空间，接受那个人，向他委身，放弃你的自我，倾听那人内心的声音和感受，做个体贴，合作，谦让，顺应的人，享受两人间的亲密，与他/她合而为一，并给他/她以安慰，快乐和爱。这与我们的文化所代表的观念，即个人主义，独立性，自我利益，敌对好斗，是不同的。学习探戈是学习如何适应别人，不是要别人适应你。我希望探戈能使我们成为更好的人，用尊重，欣赏和关爱对待别人，接受别人如其所是，并把别人，而不是自己，当作生活和舞蹈的中心。在没有做到这些之前，我们没有足够的资格做探戈舞者，而且也跳不好探戈。

The Art of Love

One of the most important rules in tango is not to blame, criticize or teach your dance partner. Milongueros follow this code strictly because they know the consequence. Recently, two of my students had a big fight. It started out of perhaps a very good intention to help. She said something about his leading. He defended himself and said something about her following. The conversation escalated to insults and ended up with two broken hearts. They perhaps will not dance with each other again.

Learning tango is like learning a language and it takes about as long. Anyone less than five years in tango is a novice. Novices are the most frustrated people. They want to dance well but don’t know how. There are so many things they don’t know, including rules and manners. Each of them has loads of problems, and they all have opinions on each other. Experienced dancers don’t dance with them. So they stick together and blame each other for their own problems. The irony of “the pot calls the kettle black” is that they are two of a kind. When one blames the other for being stiff, the other is likely thinking the same. By the time they have learned the steps, feelings are hurt and relationships broken.

Beginners often don’t realize that, whether you like it or not, the people who are learning tango with you are the most important people in your tango life. You will likely dance with them for a long time. There are only limited people in each tango community. These are the people called together by fate. It’s better to accept each other and give each other time to improve. In real life, if you like someone you tell her how beautiful she is. If you say she is ugly, she will not go out with you. You do the same thing in tango if you want to dance with someone. Always say good things about one’s dance even if you are asked for an honest opinion. How many husbands are kicked out of bed after giving their wives their honest opinion?  Remember, tango is not just a dance. It is a relationship. It is the art of love.

Robert Farris Thompson, professor of the History of Art at Yale University, said in his book, Tango, the Art History of Love, that tango “is the dance that teaches the world to love.” The idea of tango is to welcome another person into your personal space, to accept that person, to surrender, to let go your ego, to listen to the inner voice and feelings of that person, to be considerate, cooperative, yielding and adaptive, to enjoy the intimacy, to be one with that person, and to give comfort, pleasure and love. It is a different idea from what our culture stands for, that is, individualism, independence, self-interests and aggression. Learning tango is learning to accommodate yourself to others, not asking others to adapt to you. Hopefully, tango will make us a better people who treat others with respect, appreciation and attentiveness, accept them as who they are, and put them, instead of oneself, at the center of one’s life and dance. Until then, we are not qualified as tango dancers, and cannot dance well anyway.

探戈：历史和文化的影响

布宜诺斯艾利斯是世界上最大的都市之一。阿根廷四千五百万人口中，近三分之二生活在布宜诺斯艾利斯。该城市是由欧洲移民建造的。在十九世纪初，布宜诺斯艾利斯是一个西班牙裔和土著南美人混居的小镇，彼此往往通婚。西班牙人把大量的非洲奴隶连同他们的音乐舞蹈带进阿根廷。在十九世纪的下半世纪中，阿根廷政府决定缩减黑人人口而扩大白人人口，导致大量欧洲移民从西班牙，意大利和欧洲各地迁移至阿根廷。到十九世纪末，布宜诺斯艾利斯的原始人口已经完全被欧洲移民所淹没。我们可以追溯探戈到其受非洲舞蹈影响的雏形首次出现的一百五十年以前，但探戈的主要创造者是十九世纪末和二十世纪初建造布宜诺斯艾利斯的欧洲移民。

探戈是由移民创造的事实有着重要的意义。远离家乡且男女不成比例，移民是最寂寞，思乡，怀旧的人。他们来舞会跳舞是要跳出他们的孤独，想家，感伤和痛苦，是要找个可以依靠的肩膀，是要满足他们对爱的渴望，是要触摸异性和被异性所触摸。探戈是他们的避难所。探戈的亲密，深情，性感和抚慰的性质反映出并能满足他们内心深处的人的需要。这就是探戈是由两个人用胸贴胸脸靠脸的亲密拥抱来跳的原因。他们通过身体接触来沟通他们内心的感情，感受和对音乐的诠释。象舞蹈一样，探戈音乐也是为表达深沉的感情谱写的。它的节奏明快有力，适合于舞蹈，而它的旋律是柔顺，流畅而感伤的。每一个音符或乐句都表达一种男性的强壮，果敢和成稳，或女性的缠绵，顺从和多愁善感。这两种情绪互相交织，彼此回应，映照着正在跳舞的男人和女人。

探戈在二十世纪三十年代到五十年代之间达到成熟阶段，并成为布宜诺斯艾利斯的主导文化。这一时期被称为探戈的黄金时代。紧接着黄金时代的是近三十年的黑暗时期，其间探戈销声匿迹了。一九五五的军事政变推翻了民选总统胡安·多明戈·庇隆。庇隆曾积极支持探戈。反庇隆的军政府怀疑探戈舞众与庇隆站在一条线上，就制造了一种压制探戈的气候。大多数人都不再跳舞，音乐家也停止为舞会演奏。那个时期的音乐主要是为听众而不是为舞众制作的。探戈的复兴是从二十世纪八十年代中期民主在阿根廷恢复以后开始的。从那以后，探戈在全世界范围内得到推广。现在，几乎世界上的每一个国家和欧洲北美的每一个城市都跳探戈。

一个英国广播公司（BBC）的评论员说，“探戈隐藏着一个关于男人和女人互相向往的秘密。”在许多文化中，异性之间的亲密被视为性关系，因此受到自觉或不自觉的压抑。男人和女人不能彼此亲密，除非他们想做爱。换句话说，那些文化不认可男女之间非性的亲密关系。但阿根廷探戈却代表着一种不同的看法或文化，该文化承认并允许男女之间纯洁的亲昵。阿根廷人民是充满激情和非常亲密的人民，而探戈是其文化的产物。探戈的胜利，说到底，是其观念的胜利，这种观念认为男女之间纯洁非性的亲密是正当，健康和美丽的。

但是，这观念的胜利并不是没有代价的。黄金时代以后，许多事情改变了。探戈的传统被中止了近三十年。欧洲移民早已定居下来。男女平衡已经恢复。许多老舞者已经去世。整个年轻一代不知道怎么跳探戈。黑暗时代幸存下来的只有舞台探戈。结果，探戈的复兴是由一批舞台演员带领的。他们带着他们的节目，Tango Argentino，到欧洲和北美巡回演出，并在那里燃起了一股学习他们那种风格的探戈，Tango Fantasia（花式探戈）的热情。

花式探戈不同于黄金时代所跳的探戈。黄金时代的探戈叫作 Tango de Salon，或社交探戈。它是一种大众舞，适合普通百姓的口味，需求和能力。它是在拥挤的舞会上为取乐而不是为作秀跳的，并且受舞会规则的制约。这是一种亲密和感觉导向的即兴舞蹈，一般是用贴身拥抱跳的，舞伴之间有相当密切的身体接触。其步子简单而紧凑，所以舞者能专注于由音乐激起的感受，舒适而感性的拥抱，两人之间通过身体接触所进行的交流，以及与音乐同步的和谐运动。跳社交探戈舞是一种亲切，深情和个人的经验。要紧的是感觉如何，而不是看起来如何。

花式探戈，或表演探戈，则是为舞台表演设计的。这是一种精英舞，涉及相当有难度的舞步和技巧，适合经过特殊训练的专业舞蹈演员而不适合普通百姓。这是一种花哨的，动作导向的，和经过编排的舞蹈，通常使用开式拥抱以增加运动的可能性。其步子动作幅度大，华丽，眩目，危险，而且占用很大的空间。它不是为了给舞者一种亲切深情的个人感受，而是为了用炫耀的动作取悦观众。安全，舒适和简易并不为其所关注。它既不受舞会规则的约束，也不适合拥挤的舞会。要紧的是它看起来如何，而不是感觉如何。

由于缺乏相同的历史和文化背景，欧洲人和美国人对花式探戈比对社交探戈表现出更大的兴趣。他们没有突然爆炸的移民人口拥挤在一个大都市里。他们没有严重的女性短缺问题。他们的舞会不是那么拥挤。他们的文化不许可男女之间纯洁的亲密关系。开式拥抱更符合他们的口味。更重要的是，他们的老师是来自阿根廷的舞台演员。不久，花式探戈就在欧洲和北美成为一种时尚。

尽管如此，外国人对探戈的热情却重新点燃了阿根廷人对自己传统舞蹈的骄傲与激情。舞会重新开张。布宜诺斯艾利斯的居民又返回舞池。探戈沙龙再次爆满。探戈音乐，探戈时装和探戈旅游业蓬勃发展。布宜诺斯艾利斯再次成为探戈的圣地，来自世界各地的舞者都来这里与当地人跳探戈舞。但外国人很快就发现，他们在家里所学的探戈与布宜诺斯艾利斯舞会上所跳的探戈是不一样的。

尝到了布宜诺斯艾利斯的贴身拥抱探戈耐人寻味的滋味，大多数游客不想再返回开式拥抱。他们中有些人决定留下来长住，其他的则回国传播消息。他们的人数随着越来越多的人来布宜诺斯艾利斯与当地人跳舞而逐年增加。趋势在欧洲和北美开始由开式探戈转向贴身探戈。虽然贴身探戈可能还需要多年才能在那里安顿下来并成为主导风格，但我相信那迟早会发生。探戈是为满足人的一种需要而创造的。它的形式必须与它的目的相符合。表面与时尚的东西会改变，但内在和实质性的东西将留存。随着越来越多的人品尝到贴身探戈的魅力，随着舞会变得越来越拥挤，人们不但会想要用贴身拥抱来跳探戈，而且别无选择。最终，属于舞台的舞蹈和属于舞会的舞蹈终将再次分道扬镳。

Tango: Historical and Cultural Impacts

Buenos Aires is one of the largest metropolises in the world. Two thirds of Argentina’s 45 million people live in Buenos Aires. The city was built by the European immigrants. At the beginning of the 19th century, Buenos Aires was a small town with a mixed population of Spanish and Native Americans, often intermarried. The Spanish brought in slaves in large number with their music and dance from Africa. During the second half of the 19th century, the Argentine government made a conscious decision to reduce the black population and expand the white population, which led to the massive immigrations from Span, Italy, and other parts of Europe to Argentina. By the end of the 19th century the original population of Buenos Aires has been completely swamped by the European immigrants. We can trace tango to 150 years ago to its African origin from which the primitive form of the dance first appeared, but the main creators of tango were European immigrants of the late 19th century and early 20th century who built the city of Buenos Aires.

The fact that tango was created by the immigrants is significant. Far away from home, disproportional in gender, the immigrants were the most lonely, homesick and nostalgic people. They came to the milonga to dance the loneliness, homesickness, nostalgia and grief in them, to find a shoulder to rely on, to quench their thirst for love, and to touch and be touched by another human being of the opposite sex. Tango is their refuge. The intimate, soulful, sensual, and comforting nature of tango reflects and serves their deep, inward, human needs. That’s why tango is danced in a close embrace in which the two partners intimately lean into each other, chest against chest and cheek touches cheek. They communicate through their bodies their feelings, emotions, sentiments, and interpretations of the music. Like the dance itself, tango music is created to express deep emotions. Its rhythm is crisp, forceful and easy to dance to, but its melody is supple, fluid and sentimental. Every note or phrase is played with a “masculine” effect— strong, sharp and steady, or a “feminine” effect—lingering, submissive and emotional. The two moods intertwine and respond to each other, reflecting the man and woman in the dance.

Tango reached maturity and dominated the culture of Buenos Aires between 1930s and 1950s. This period is known as tango’s Golden Age. That was followed by almost thirty years of the Dark Age during which tango disappeared. In 1955 a military coup ousted Juan Domingo Peron, the democratically elected president. Peron had actively supported tango. The dancers aligned with him were suspicious to the anti-Peronist juntas, who created a climate that discouraged tango. Most people stopped dancing, and musicians stopped playing for the dance floor. The music produced in that period is largely for listeners and not dancers. The renaissance of tango started in the mid 1980s after the restoration of democracy in Argentina. Since then tango has gained worldwide popularity, and is now danced in almost every country in the world and almost every city in Europe and North America.

As one BBC commentator said, “Tango contains a secret about the yearning between men and women.” In many cultures, intimacy between the opposite sexes is deemed sexual, and therefore is repressed voluntarily or involuntarily. Men and women cannot be intimate unless they want to have sex. In other words, such cultures do not approve non-sexual intimacy between men and women. But Argentine tango represents a different view, or culture, that recognizes and sanctions innocent intimacy. The Argentines are a passionate and intimate people. Tango is a product of that culture. The triumph of tango, after all, is the triumph of its idea, which regards nonsexual intimacy as decent, healthy and beautiful. 

But, the triumph of that idea does not come without a cost. Many things have changed since the Golden Age. The tradition has been suspended for almost thirty years. The immigrants have settled down. The gender balance has regained. Many old dancers have died. The entire young generation did not know how to dance tango. The only little tango survived the Dark Age was the stage tango. As a result, the revival of tango was led by a group of stage dancers, who brought their show, Tango Argentino, to Europe and North America, where they ignited an enthusiasm for learning their style of tango—Tango Fantasia, which is different from the tango danced in the Golden Age.

The tango danced in the Golden Age is Tango de Salon, or social tango. It is a popular dance suited to the tastes, needs and abilities of ordinary people. It is danced on a crowded dance floor for pleasure and not for show, and is administered by the milonga codes. It is an intimate, feeling-oriented and improvised dance typically danced in a close embrace with considerable body contact between the partners. Its steps are simple and compact, so the dancers may concentrate on the feelings stirred by the music, the comfort and sensation of the embrace, the communication through torso contact between them, and the harmony of movements in unison with the music. Dancing Tango de Salon is an intimate, soulful and personal experience. What matters is how it feels and not how it looks.

Tango Fantasia, or show tango, on the other hand, is designed for performing on the stage. It is a highbrow dance involving difficult steps and techniques not suited to ordinary people, but professionals with expert skills. It is a fancy, movement-oriented and choreographed dance, typically danced in an open embrace for broader movement possibilities. Its steps are wide, flashy, dazzling, often dangerous and requiring a lot of space to do. It is not intended to be an intimate, soulful and personal experience, but an exhibition of showy figures to impress the audience. Safety, comfort and user-friendliness are not its concern. It does not abide by the milonga codes and is not suited to a crowded dance floor. What matters is how it looks and not how it feels.

Without the same historical and cultural background, the Europeans and Americans are more interested in Tango Fantasia than Tango de Salon. They do not have a sudden explosion of immigrant population crowding together in one big city. They do not have a severe shortage of women. Their dance floors are much less crowded. Their cultures do not sanction innocent intimacy. The open-embrace style meets their taste. And, above all, their teachers are the stage dancers from Argentina. Before long, Tango Fantasia becomes a fashion in Europe and North America.

Despite this, the tango fervor abroad rekindled the pride and passion of the Argentineans for their traditional dance. Milongas are reopened. Portenos return to the dance floor. Tango salons are packed again. Tango music, tango fashion and tango tourism flourish. Buenos Aires again becomes the Mecca of tango, where dancers from all over the world come to dance tango with the locals. But foreigners quickly discovered that the tango they learned at home is not the same tango danced in the milongas of Buenos Aires.

Having tasted the intriguing close-embrace tango of Buenos Aires, most visitors don’t want to go back to the open-embrace style. Some of them decide to stay for good. Others return home to spread the message. Their number increases each year as more and more people come to Buenos Aires to dance tango with the locals. Trend starts to shift from open embrace to close embrace in Europe and North America. It may still take years for the close-embrace tango to settle down and become the dominate style there, but that will inevitably happen, I believe. Tango is created to serve a human need. Its form must meet its purpose. What is external and fashionable may change, but what is internal and essential endures. As more and more people savor the charm of close embrace tango, as milongas become increasingly crowded, people will want to, and have no choice but dance in close embrace. Eventually, what belongs to the stage will separate from what belongs to the dance floor, again.