A Shift in Tango Consciousness

Last month marked my twelve year anniversary dancing Argentine tango. After over a dozen years of dancing with strangers, I have moved into dancing almost exclusively with one. This is because my dance partner and I are practicing for the competition. Of course, we take some breaks to dance with others so that we don't alienate our favorite and regular partners during this process.

I always used to have some kind of an attitude about couples that danced exclusively with each other. I thought they were anti social and didn't want to mix with the crowd. What I failed to realize, and am beginning to understand now - is that you can go much deeper with one partner. It's amazing how united we are becoming the more we dance together. It is anything but boring. In fact, it's the most interesting tango experience I have had in years. At the same time, I am going deeper with my life partner in a way that I have never been able to with the relationships that came before. Funny how tango runs parallel to real life.
Last week, a fellow complained to me that lately guys are hogging partners. They are not breaking apart in the cortinas but rather dancing multiple tandas with the same woman. He was annoyed and seemed to think this was a forced situation. He could not see the obvious mutuality in the choice. I looked up to see a specific couple (or shall I say culprits) he had pointed out. Ah, years ago I would have been right there commiserating with him but last week, when I looked up, I felt their connection and responded only with a deep and knowing smile.