Jun 11
23
Interview with Melina Sedo & Detlef Engel – Part 2
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Aga: You dance the traditional tango de Salón but some times your style of dancing is misinterpreted and introduced as Tango Milonguero as synonym of social tango in close-embrace. Can you “zoom” the readers what ‘s your technical or philosophical principles as tango de salon dancers?
Detlef: Oh dear, the ‘style’ discussion 
On our style: Well, first of all, we dance ‘Detlef and Melina’ – Style. It could be described as a modern ‘European Tango’ based on traditional argentine means of expression, danced to traditional music from Argentina, embedded in a reminiscence to the culture of the Rio de la Plata. It has been important for us to learn and study with maestros of the ‘old school’, to try and grasp some of their principles, of their understanding of tango. Why they dance and how! Maybe what they feel when they dance! Really important! But after having done that for several years, at some point you have to move on, to create something personal, to express your own feelings, listening and interpreting the music with your own ears and feet.
We are not Argentines and we do not try to be Argentine. We are from German/Spanish origin and thus bring our cultural background into our tango. Each dancer and each couple should always aim for finding their own styles, their personal expression, something recognisable. You have to own your tango as much as you should own each single step of it. You don’t borrow it from someone else. It is your emotions and your body. Too many want to be copies of certain argentine dancers and couples. They go for a certain style, go with ‘tradition’, wish to replicate a particular maestro or maestra, … We never wanted that !
On styles in general, sometimes, it might make sense to give names to things of different qualities, we do that all the time. Like chocolate is not just chocolate. When going deeper into subjects, people want to differentiate and put things into little boxes. Understandable.
Besides the indeed meaningful social qualities of tango (like for instance sharing a dance floor with other couples, building a community…), tango has a very strong individual side which cannot be denied.
Recent developments are not always helpful in finding this mentioned individuality, like for example the Campeonato Mundial in Buenos Aires, held each year in August. The participants in the finals of the Salón category show a uniformous and replaceable style, a subform of ‘tango de salón’ with a narrow repertoire of movements. They want to please their maestros, who are sitting in the jury. And the interesting couples with pronounced personal styles, they are always eliminated before the finals, them not being compliant with the aesthetic allowance. That means that standards are being set. Foreigners, who strive for recognition within these competitions submit themselves to this process of standardisation. And so, there is a danger that ‘tango de salón’ will be reduced to something very particular.
Our perception is, that ‘tango de salón’ is an umbrella term for a tango which can be danced socially. A meaningful distinction is for sure ‘tango de salón’ vs. ‘tango escenario’. Everything else is about sub-styles used as marketing labels. Marketing labels of recent origin. Be it ‘tango milonguero’ or ‘villa urquiza’ or ‘estilo del centro’, dio mio! When asking a milonguero in Buenos Aires about what kind of tango he is dancing, his most likely answer will be ‘tango salón’. Whether you ask in Club Sunderland or in Cachirulo, the answer is the same.
The person who ‘invented’ the marketing label ‘tango milonguero’ for her US American clients in the nineties, started out by advertising her classes as ‘estilo tango salón’ in a well-known Buenos Aires tango magazine. Somewhat later, the term changed into ‘estilo milonguero’, still selling the same product.
Another fact from Buenos Aires. In Villa Pueyrredón and in the Barrio of Belgrano and in the Barrio of Saavedra, they dance just the same kind of tango as they dance in Villa Urquiza. Ten years ago, this nice and important variation of ‘tango de salón’ already existed in those off-centre barrios and was alive, just the marketing label didn’t. Someone must have put it there …
Conclusion, our dance might be based on the traditional ‘tango de salón’, but nowadays we see ourselves (believe it or not) as Nuevistas in a close embrace. But as we dance it socially, it is ‘tango de salón’ for us.
If you really want to use these categories, our line of demarcation from ‘tango milonguero’ is:
- We are both standing in our own axis (although more on the front part of the foot, not much weight on the heels), so we don’t lean or give weight to the partner, except on purpose of course (in a volcada for example).
- And thus, real pivots are possible. The result is, that the whole spectrum of movements can be used. We can improvise by choosing from a bigger repertoire. Our limitations lie in the quite constant distance between our bodies. But taken from there, very simple ‘milonguero ochos’ are an option as well as ‘urquiza’-like pivoted giros with entradas. To interpret music, to dance with expression (not to mention being an artist), means to have choices. A song by Di Sarli from the late 20′s should not be danced the same way as a song by Di Sarli from the early 50′s. Even within the same song, different techniques can be applied in order to become an instrument of the orchestra and a unity with the music.
- We do not limit ourselves to the „steps“ of the Milongueros, but focus on free improvisation. Our language consists of only five ‘words’ (vocabulary) and of course a structure (grammar) which is the underlying of the vocabulary and which is holding everything together, like a fluidum between the words and syllables.
There are definitely more factors, but by the 3 mentioned above, our dance differs strongly from what is considered to be ‘milonguero style’.
Aga: Your teaching concepts have been developed over the years and now you offer a unique methodology that intensifies student’s understanding of Tango technique and structures. What would you say are the 3 most important principles your students learn from your lessons?
Melina & Detlef: Only three? There are definitely more. We cannot go into the details now, but these are the corner-stones of our teaching:
- A proper technique starts by having a look at the whole person and not only the body functions. An inner posture will help to create an external one. Inner images can assist in building and maintaining the physical organisation of the dancing body (for example ‘la reina’). Without the inner posture (animus), the physical posture (gestus) remains shallow. Our skin could be seen as the intersection of dance technique and tango soul.
- Tango is walking in an embrace and we will never sacrifice it for a step or for an outer image. Elegance and complex movements can be the natural outcomes of a harmonic interaction, but they are not the ultimate goal.
- So, our highest aim is to enjoy the abrazo. And to achieve exactly this, our brazos (arms) have to be relieved from any functions. A working (‘leading’) arm is not embracing! An arm which is necessary to stabilise my balance, how could that arm still be caressing? This is why, if we seek pleasure in the embrace, we need the proper technique.
- Tango can be considered as an art, but must not be artificial, that’s a huge difference. Thus, the use of our bodies happens in a natural and organic way. Our communication bases on the use of spiral dynamic principles and an active use of opening spaces within the abrazo. Circular movements in all the three dimensions are vital for our tango and are already applied in the „simple“ walk.
- Both men and women should be seen as equal, free and active partners, voluntarily doing something together, but remaining individuals. Two partners of equal value, but different and distinct partners, with different assignments and ‘jobs’! Cooperating and sharing, yes. Carrying the other person around, no.
- To remain free, we stand in our own axis and take responsibility for ourselves, our tango is not so much of a symbiosis! Symbioses are for sure widely in use, be it in nature or be it in relationships. If we dig a bit deeper, we will find that a symbiosis is a stable system of interdependency. If the woman gives weight to the man, she is a dependant to that man. And he may depend on her, too. We don’t like that idea too much. It limits freedom and dance repertoire. Go and try to dance a pivot whilst being out of axis.
- To allow for a real dialogue in Tango, one major point is that the man should follow the woman. Just speaking of a ‘leader’ and a ‘follower’ doesn’t work well in the reality of the dance. In the same way, vintage concepts like ‘the woman has to stay in front of the man’, don’t work either.
In Argentina they sometimes present an idea of ‘marcar’ and ‘responder’. That can be translated into ‘indicate’ and ‘answer’. This imagery works better for us, underlining the dialogue character of good tango. To find harmony and softness, and finally enjoyment in the embrace, communicating between the two of us means: The man proposes a movement, the woman accepts the suggestion, in the end he will follow her. Both partners adapt to each other, not just the woman to the man. Note – suggestions can be declined !
Or, let’s plagiarise the great Carlos Gavito. He said, ‘I lead and I follow.’
- We want to be free to interpret all layers within the music. This is why we do not link specific steps to specific musical patterns, as for example the Ocho Cortado with the typical doubletimes in never-changing positions. As stated above, Tango is a language with words, that can be put together using a specific grammar. The result should be free improvisation and not memorizing a „what“, „how“ and „when“.
- All this technique and these principles are of course just tools, means to express ourselves. First of all, we have to *have something* to articulate: An emotion, a thought, a musical idea, a feel for how dynamic the next step should be, … The language alone is never enough to write poetry on the dance floor. And without the language, it is not possible either.
Aga: Besides the fact that tango gives you a great opportunity to travel to different countries to teach people, make new friends, visit new places, explore cultures….tango is a business as well. You as teachers, offer services such as: classes; workshops; private lessons; performances; etc. Your customers are organisers or students who pay you for your teaching. What are advantages and disadvantages of running a tango-business?
Melina: The advantages lie mostly in doing a meaningful work that interests us and allows us to bring in our personal skills. As already pointed out, we try to get to the bottom of things – and this always shows results. It helps people to develop something of their own. That‘s very satisfying, and we just love the teaching. I like the writing, organizing, DJing as well, so we really can make our living with a job that we like. Not everyone is so lucky.
As for the travelling, that‘s really not so much of an asset, as we never have the time to do sightseeing or just stay in one place to spend time with the new-found friends. I do not know how other teachers organise their lives, but we basically work every day. When we‘re teaching in Europe, we spend 2 days per week in the car/train/plane to get to the place and back home again. 2-5 days are spent teaching/performing/DJing all day and the rest of the time (nights, breaks, maybe a day at home) I have to squeeze in all the management.
As we are booked a year in advance, there is basically no space for spontaneous decisions, e.g. to go to Festivals or whatnot. Two weeks ago, we spent our weekend teaching in Leipzig, whilst all our friends were at a great Milonguero-Festival in the south of France. We had reserved the weekend for the Festival ages ago, but then the organiser shifted the date to another date, when we already had a working-contract. I do not want to complain too much, but something like that can be really frustrating.
I wrote a blog entry from which you can easily deduct the – let‘s say difficulties – with which we are confronted as travelling tango teachers.
Aga: Travelling for the first time to the USA to teach tango to an “unknown” community. How was your first USA impression versus teaching tango in Europe?
Detlef: Our very first trip to the US was one of the exploring kind. In autumn 2006, we went to dance in New York City and to Washington D.C., where Shashins ‘Tangosutra’ festival took place. Just to see and to feel how it is to dance over there. We were curious about it. And see, neither Melina nor I had ever visited North America. It was the first time at all, completely new territory, in all respects. We met very inspiring people, also in the following years. Some of them are good friends until today.
In NYC we did our first tango steps on US ground. The Dance Manhattan milonga on Monday night. And from the very beginning we made friendly contacts. Some people came and recognised us from Youtube. Others were just curious who we are. And without having in mind to do any teaching there, we got requests for a few private classes. We rented a studio and we got ourselves our first US students.
Only half a year later, we put together our first small US tour. We combined it with a trip to Buenos Aires were we did some performances. On this first trip, we worked in New York, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. And all of these experiences were positive. Open and welcoming people all the way. Interested, interactive and challenging students and very conscious. They were eager to learn, but they did also question authority. Many of them had an idea of quality, in many regards (dance technique, communication, musicality, floor craft, community building, politeness, hospitality, self-criticism, beauty …).
Not everything was perfect though:
The average dance level in 2006 was lower than in Europe (by what we could judge). Some milongas in NYC were a disaster – dance level, floor craft and music wise. But this may also be part of a special phenomenon found in the capitals. Dancing there is often very chaotic. More agreeable tango seems often to be found ‘off capital’. It‘s the same in Europe.
The economic side did never really work out for us. Flight costs, money spent for the P-3 visas and for sure the weak US currency didn’t help to make our US tours financial highlights. Maybe if we would have been staying there for three or four months! But we could only fly over for five or six weeks each time and actually lost money. Which is the main reason that we restrict ourselves to Europe this year and there are no further US trips planned at the moment. 
The differences to Europe. Well, tango people do not differ so much, no matter where you go. Tango is our common denominator and we are indeed missing the work in the US. We got so much from it! And while I’m at it, I want to say a big „thank you“ to our first US organisers in New York City, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, who took the risk and initially invited us to their communities. You were great hosts!
Melina: I want to add, that the level of dance quality in the US improved enormously within these last years. Maybe due to the fact, that there are so many talented and eager young people channelling all their energy into Tango, they managed to close the gap to Europe. I‘ve met a lot of nice dancers in the US, lots of them of the more nuevo-orientation, but perfectly able to dance in a close embrace and adapt their movements to a crowded Milonga. Speaking of it… It would be really nice to dance with Damian again!
Aga: Yes, Damian would love to dance with you again too!
Aga: You have taught at many festivals and tango events throughout Europe and the USA. Do organizers have any influence on what you are going to teach during their events? Or, this is just your decision predetermined and will be taught by you?
Melina: Usually I send out a list of workshop topics and descriptions and the organizers make a choice. Very often, I then have to negotiate about details – a logical order of classes building onto each other, eliminating not-so important workshops, selling the more important ones… When we‘re new in a community, we will want to introduce our most important workshops on walking, the embrace or certain musical aspects. We want to present our general philosophy, not some step, that any other teacher could do as well or better. So, if an organiser chooses a more „fancy“ workshop or one of the very few, in which we develop steps, I will have to convince him/her that this does not make a lot of sense. We can do these, when we come back for a second or third time. Then, if someone knows our concepts, then we can show him a step without having a bad conscience!
Aga: Once, I was at the milonga at Dance Sport on 34th street and you were performing. After your performance the host announced that you were giving workshops but unfortunately all lessons had been already booked! Your classes and workshops fill out at a glance!. What is the main focus of your teaching? What do you concentrate during the workshops, and what level of dancers are they addressed to?
Melina: Our classes usually address all levels. We concentrate on communication, improvisation and musicality in their purest forms. We almost never show steps and can spend an entire festival with walking and nothing else. This is a challenge for everyone, no matter how long he or she dances, as we require our students to dig deep into their very personal issues. A beginner may find other difficulties in a simple change of weight than a very advanced dancer – but every one will have to work on something. It‘s all about awareness of your body, your partner and the music… It‘s about the quality of movement and not the quantity of new steps. And we think, that this is, what people are looking for.
Aga: Melina, you are an ex-psychologist. As I understand, you quit your profession to fulfill your life as a tango professional. Do you use your psychology skills whilst teaching?
Melina: Nah! I use common sense – just as I did as a psychologist. 
For more information about Melina & Detlef’s teaching & performing go to: www.tangodesalon.de
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