"Abrazos" - Monica Paz

El abrazo, (the embrace) in tango is one of the most distinctive things about tango dancing. And very probably one of the most important reasons why tango has captivated people from very different parts of the world.

Different cultures, creeds or socio-economic conditions come together in an embrace to dance tango. All are welcome!

All looking for that embrace.

Today I share with you my reflections about the tango embrace

“That embrace”, the one that that couple “agrees” without words, determines a tango style.

• “Apilado” embrace with more or less “apile”. Milonguero style sharing the axis.

• Open embrace with distance between the bodies. Salon style, each one on its own axis.

• Close embrace without distance between the bodies. Closed style, each one maintains its own axis.

For some years now I knew that for those who observe it is easy to confuse the Milonguero Style with the Closed Style because they LOOK alike, in both there is no distance between the bodies.

But what you FEEL is very different. For this reason, for those who dance (not those who observe) the similarity is found between the Salon Style and the Closed Style.
So the ones that really resemble each other are the Salon style and the Closed Style. Isn’t that interesting?

In my opinion that subtlety of agreeing without the need for words is an art.
It is also an art of the woman who proposes to dance the Milonguero Style offering to share her shaft without putting weight on her partner.

How many times have we heard men ask their partners to stay in their axis, which is otherwise heavy …
Poor women! Undoubtedly they want to dance the Milonguero Style, but will they know that it is possible to stack without weight?

Making that connection through the torso, managing to share the axis without offering weight.
The art of “apilar” the minimum necessary to achieve that connection. Sharing the axis without weighing the man down.

Below is a video regarding this subject.

I would like to know about your experience. Which embrace do you prefer? What is your way of proposing it to your partner?

Un abrazo (milonguero is the one I propose)

Monica