WHERE to LOOK in TANGO EMBRACE

POSITION and MEANING of ladies head in the close or open position of Tango.

Some students often come back to our lessons after visiting other teaching and places. Recently, I asked one lady to explain to me why she keeps her head over her husband's right shoulder. She said that in such position her "neck is less tired".

The close or open position has nothing to do with the position of the follower’s head in the most cases. For some who learned about the history of the tango movements, it is obvious that everything that we dance has historical, psychological or sociological meaning. When you dance with a man, choose what to dance with him, think about the meaning of the steps.

1. Lady’s head is looking over the man's RIGHT shoulder. (Use ONLY when you both have almost the same heights). This position is NOT sign of the close embrace. It is NOT useable for short ladies with a TALL partner!
MEANING: a girl does not care about her partner, does not want to face him, have anything in common with him, does not want to be involved emotionally with this specific man; and might be looking for somebody
else behind him.

2. Ladies head is looking over the man's LEFT shoulder ("a window of the dreams").
Her chin is up, and parallel to the floor (but not DOWN; she should NOT look to the floor). This position is used for ANY partner's heights.
MEANING: friendly, polite welcome to communicate; I don't care about other men right now; I am with you to investigate 3 min of this music. This position saying: we could go together in one the same direction, as a union.
However, the position of the head is the personal choice of a
woman; as well as, the close or open embrace historically was and still IS HER personal choice. Tango is a very intimate dance, besides just “Fun” dance. It is NOT exercise with the music. If a woman does not want to be intimate with a partner (during these 3 min), she choose "open embrace," she choose the distance between her and her leader.
Men could not force her, he could not insist on tight hug with every “unknown” female. Tango was born not in a family business, but is the brothels. Women, who wanted to be hugged, danced in a close embrace. Some others, who wanted just experiment with the movements, and were waiting for somebody else, danced in the open embrace. Moreover, for some skilled dancers, the open - close embrace would be
changed all the time during the different movements. Some movements expect more close embrace and many others- should be dance in open embrace (when right arm and hand of the leader slides to the left side of the woman).
In any case, it is very the technical question, which should be well taught, or at least historically explained.

VIDEO: Libertango. Improvisation by Elena and Gustavo in Mexico:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O_ZA-7_Eds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-feI_l4p4o