Practica

               Practica is necessary for every serious milonguero. It is impossible to take a workshop and a lesson and have everything worked out without many practice sessions. Since tango takes two, you need a partner and that’s what I’d like to talk about: choosing a practica partner.

               You should make an effort to work with several partners at the same gathering, especially the novice dancers. Be careful, tango is a drug, and people under the influence tend to act like practica is the last stop before the mattress. It is not, it is the last stop before the milonga, so you better start working on your balance and creativity.

               A common sight is the ‘hound dog’ tanguero who has spotted the rabbit and is onto her scent. All I can say is, “if you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you it is yours forever,” or for the next tanda. The female version of that is Lady ‘Chat’terly, the woman who talks during the cortina, without breathing, apparently, never giving you a chance to politely end the engagement. The problem with these two people is they never get any better, nor are they interested in improving. Practica, for them, is the next best thing to the singles bar.

               What makes practica enjoyable for me, is that one tanguera who is as serious as I am about tango. Getting together with her, however, must be handled deftly. Always remember that you are dancing tango and this is dangerous business, we are playing with volatile materials that must be handled with care. It is entirely possible that I can become the Hound Dog Tanguero or my tanguera friend reveal herself to be Lady Chatterly. This is dangerous territory and, if things are handled incorrectly, you can lose a terrific tango partner, forever.

               The difference between practica and milonga is partners can stop a dance and work on a movement. Conversation is allowed. Talking can be dangerous. Once something is said, you can’t take it back. Also, the very act of speaking divulges our true character and it may contradict your partner’s preconceived notion of who you are. Women usually peg me for an engineer, which is close. I’ve held jobs with that title but I think ‘technician’ is more accurate.

               I used to be more carefree with my speech around tangueras at practica, probably because I was rebelling against all the rules and codes of conduct for milongueros. Five years later, I can see the wisdom in being well-spoken: it is a sign of respect for your partner. This is a difficult discipline to master and, if you get as far as practica, you deserve a certain amount of respect and polite discourse. Lady Chatterly and Hound Dog Tanguero count on that respect and polite discourse to trap their prey. They are dangers we must all face.

               Recently, I had a chance to work with Lady X at a practica. She’s one of my most favorite tangueras and I don’t want to ruin our tango relationship by becoming Hound Dog Tanguero. I disarmed that bomb by telling her I liked her. We practiced. She definitely was not Lady Chatterly, in fact, she feels the same way I do about our responsibilities to the group.

               Now for the true test, feedback. If we couldn’t tell each other this, or that, doesn’t feel right, then we are not going to get anything accomplished. When we dance, it is always important to consider you are the cause of the problem, especially if you are the leader, because you probably are. We made it over that hurdle and were able to make the most out of our encounter. I left practica feeling like I had accomplished something and with more concrete ideas about what I needed to do to get better.

               I also left practica with something else. Lady X was not merely something to be admired, she was a person, a complex woman and I had only scratched the surface of her personality. For some ladies, there is nothing beneath the surface. Seemingly quiet and restrained, I realized there is a very big person inside of her playing bass, twanging those strings and riding the vibrations across the dance floor! These are the kind of things only tango can show you. It is not just a dance, it is a journey into the soul of another person.