There is too much emphasis on the “Connection”. The main thing is the FEEL of your other, so that you move like a 4-legged animal. You cannot feel any movement from an inanimate object. Secondly, as far as musicality is concerned, again the emphasis is on expressing the FEEL of the music, not just copying the pulse, rhythm (resulting in “Mikey Mousing”). This can be done especially if the music is not known beforehand because we are then forced to IMPROVISE, the essence of the tango. – Read

Well, thank you for your comment! Great to see it sparked some interest… I won’t disagree with you… You need to feel….period… The question is where to start from to be able to get there, and these exercises have helped and my students, get started. Because no matter how much someone might want to reach that cliche: “Tango is danced by one body with 4 legs” they can’t do that if they are not first connected with their body, if they don’t practice on understanding their movement and the dynamics they can create, and how the power they put in their arms actually feels. The wall is the greatest partner for that, as it throws it right back at you without any tenderness or compensation. So if you are feeling tension, a lot of power, a lot push…then you KNOW you are overdoing it, you will hopefully then avoid creating such discomfort to another human being! Also this is an addition to a page on musicality with more videos going well beyond doing steps on the beat. – Read