One of the incredible things about tango is that it is so multi-dimensional: art, hedonism, competitiveness, healing. Its all there. Daniel Trenner Tango Maestro and Revivalist, Northampton, Massachusetts Tango is a strange beast. Its intimate embrace and intertwining legwork prove as irresistible for some as they are intimidating for others. Erotic images typify the portrayal of tango in popular media, but curiously, experienced social dancers tend to liken what they do to mind-body practices like yoga or martial arts, highlighting experiences of connection and creative flow. What is it about tango that cannot be perceived from the outside? It would seem that this dance, while being sensual, romantic, and intimate, also demands a great deal of focus and discipline. Devotees the world over have left their jobs, emptied their living rooms, and changed their wardrobes to study and dance tango. On the other hand, many try tango once and never return, citing it as too difficult, a judgment rarely made of other partner dances. Michael Autrey, a freelance writer in Portland, Oregon, draws a comparison between tango and yoga as experiences that must be felt rather than seen: When it comes to tango and yoga, a picture or video is not worth a thousand words Close-embrace social tango does not make for telling images; nor does meditation. Why? [In tango and yoga,] the principal sense is touch Dancing, one is in touch with the floor, ones partner, the music: the whole, greater than the sum of its parts, is touching in every sense of the word. The touch of the foot on the floor or the arm on the back, even the touch of musical sound waves on the inner ear brings our focus into the sensory realm. By cultivating our natural proprioceptive abilities (sense of the position of the body), tango can give us the feeling that we are one with what we touch. If tango is defined by this connective sensation, rather than specific shapes or steps, its easier to understand why its essential qualities are invisible. You have to do it with your body in order to get it with your brain.