Introduction

The goal of this project was to become deeply immersed in what tango dancers experience. First, there are the movements. Two bodies closely connected, moving along the floor at various speeds and rhythms. The physical experience involving the contraction and elongation of the muscles used in the embrace and the sequences of steps performed jointly with and around the partner. The bodily movements of the couple are framed by tango music and a dance floor filled with moving couples whose actions present obstacles and challenges to the other dancers.
Spectators can view the complexity of the couple’s tango movements from the outside, but their perspective mostly only sees the dancers as performing a show, which contrasts sharply with the experience of the dancers, who are not merely executing their dance for others but attempting to respond to the music, to their bodies and to the energies that generate the feeling and emotions in their dance.
My project attempts to examine the movements of the dancers without being limited to the spectator’s way of thinking by being more faithful to how the dancers feel and experience their dance. My medium for doing this is multiple acrylic paintings, similar to a series of photographs.