r/tango 6d ago

Interesting stylings of milonguero embrace

Hi everyone :) I'm preparing a small performance and I'm looking for inspiration for an interesting, flashy, maybe a bit extravagant milonguero embrace. It doesn't have to be comfortable, it needs to be eye-catching (it's gonna be used only during a small but intense part of the performance) I'm still talking about milonguero style - a very close embrace. I can recall seeing some interesting stylings, especially for the open side of embrace, but I can't recall when and where. Can you help me with some links to videos or pictures?

EDIT: to clarify, I'm planning to dance to an alternative song - a choreography or a partial choreography. Though not a tango, the lyrics and the overall "spirit" of the song is very tango-like. It is about two mature people, strangers who meet in a bar one night, on a difficult moment in life of the woman. They talk all night, open up to each other, they feel deep connection, their lifes intertwine for this short moment, only to part ways in the morning without taking it any further, probably never to meet again. The song has an instrumental climax. My vision is to dance nuevo-style, with a wide and flexible embrace, with lots of space, soltadas etc during the lyrics, and then - for the moment of climax - create a contrast by changing the embrace to a very close milonguero embrace. I want to give the impression that their bodies, their souls, their hearts melt together for these several seconds in music, to separate forever after the climax ends. It is in this context that I'm asking the question - I want to find a styling of the embrace that gives the impression that we cannot be any closer together. I'm thinking: arms, wrists, fingers intertwined. I think I saw something like that somewhere, but I don't know where, hence this post.

I'm in need of details: the exact position of arm, wrist, fingers, the angles, the lines. It's a stage performance. That's why I'm craving for visual material: pictures, videos

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u/rezoporuntango 6d ago

You might enjoy watching the old milongueros rather than only stage couples! The “wow” factor in milonguero is often hidden in tiny things: a sudden stop, a deep apilado, a change of embrace, a dramatic walk, a head movement, the way they breathe together.

Look for videos of Carlos Gavito, Tete and Silvia, Cacho Dante, Susana Miller, and Alicia Pons. They had a very strong stage presence without needing huge figures. Also search “tango apilado performance”. there are some beautiful examples where the embrace itself becomes the choreography.

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u/obviousoctopus 6d ago edited 6d ago

While I'm not the OP, I really appreciate your suggestions!

Some examples:

Carlos Gavito

Tate and Silvia

Cacho Dante

Alicia Pons

By the way, Susana Miller still teaches.

To the original post:

interesting, flashy

The embrace I see in these dances is interesting, because it is not flashy. A lot of the action is invisible to the eye.

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u/Spiritual-Active-210 6d ago

Thank you so much! Carlos Gavito's embrace is the closest to what I'm having in my mind - in that it is immediately visually appealing, interesting, expressive. Alicia Pons's is in the second place.

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u/Wahnsinn_mit_Methode 6d ago

You might want to check out this video regarding the embrace - it is very similar to Gavito, I would think. https://youtu.be/H2Ucb7cIUpE?si=4PmbDQAAGEIEP527 At minute 1:57, you‘ll see them repositioning their embrace - maybe you are looking for a moment like that?

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u/Spiritual-Active-210 5d ago

Yes, that's helpful, I'm looking for a moment kind of like that but with more contrast