Tango Genial Blog (En)

Reading time: approx. 4 minutes

Sounds sparkly, right?
Like some kind of add-on, sprinkled on top – like chocolate chips on the cherry on the whipped cream on the sundae.

A cute extra.

Yeah… I see it differently.

Tango adornos aren’t decoration. They’re expression. Personality. Intention. Mood.
And yes – a little bit of dance philosophy.

Because a tango adornment doesn’t start with a boleo, rulo or bandera. It starts the moment you decide how to move. Your first weight change. A simple side step.
Do you go over the ball of your foot? The heel? The inside edge?
Do you lift your toe? Release your hip?

That’s YOU.
Your body, your muscles, your neurons… YOU.

(Except maybe the self-appointed kind.)

You don’t need ten years of stage experience to use adornos. You just need one decision:
To dance tango the way you feel it.

Let’s be honest – the scene is full of unsolicited advice, style gurus and people who should probably fix their own 1000 issues before commenting on others.
Let them talk.

If you move intentionally – the way YOU imagine it, the way YOU feel it –
then that’s your style. Who cares if it’s not perfect?

And honestly…
Who wants perfect anyway?

The moment you take the music back.

As a tango follower, adornos are a gift. You don’t just execute steps on command – you interpret.
You create.

You draw a sad circle on the floor with your foot, followed by a gentle tap on his, then wrap yourself into an even closer embrace, saying: “Hold me. I need love.”

Next time, you tap out the piano solo: “Bling, bling, bling – did you hear that? I did ...”

You can dance playfully. Dramatically. Dreamily. Quietly.
You can write what you hear – right onto the floor.

And that’s beautiful.
Because that’s YOU.

It’s about quality, not quantity.

I’ve never heard a follower say:
"Wow, I love dancing with him – he leads such complicated stuff I can barely keep up!"

More likely:
"I love dancing with him because I have space. He gives me time to complete my steps. To feel. To contribute."

The magic is in the how.
Whether you step on the ball of your foot, the heel or the outer edge – it’s never “just a step.”
That’s tango.

And please: don’t do a side step just to get to the fifth step of your big sequence.
Poor side step! It could’ve been beautiful, if you’d let it.

Every step deserves to be danced – fully.

Let’s talk about those adornos that go… too far.

When the knees open up like you’re at the gynecologist – does that really say “elegant tango” to you?

My take:
Knees in tango stay together – or move with an intention to reconnect.
Not fly apart like two magnets with the same polarity.

And yet…
You see it often: in rulos, banderas, or between a forward and side step.
And some so-called tango pros on social media aren’t shy about selling it as “stylish.”

Stylish?

What exactly is stylish about flashing the treasure box?

Like: “Here! Take it! Stuff something in it!”

Uhm… no thanks. That’s not sexy. That’s just vulgar.

(Unless you’re doing it on purpose – in which case, go wild. Your tango, your choice.)

And those infamous banana feet – twisted joints, feet rolled inward, collapsed lines…

Not cute.

Quick glossary:

• Supination: Foot rolls inward = short inner line (banana foot)

• Pronation: Foot rolls outward = long inner line (tango foot)

And yes, even pros post videos with techniques that really shouldn’t be copied.
Or teaser clips from online classes featuring footwork that screams: “Emergency podiatrist, please!”

Unless, of course, you really like bananas... bananas ... bananananananas...
Bananas are full of potassium. Maybe that’s the idea?

Practice. Practice. Practice.

In the mirror.
With feeling.
With feedback.

I get inspired by what I see, hear, feel.
I take classic adornos and put them in new contexts.
I play with shapes – dots, waves, spirals.

I ask myself with every movement:
Does this feel like me?
Is this true?

If yes – then it belongs in my tango dance.

And yes, I absolutely take regular feedback classes, too.
Never stop learning.

Tango is beautiful when you express yourself.
Not when you hold back.
Not when you wait until you’re “good enough.”

But when you feel:

That’s me.
And I’ve got something to say – with my body.

In my Adorno Special Private Lesson Bundle (3 lessons, 1 topic)
we work exactly on this:

Not (just) on big gestures –
but on small decisions with real impact.

Also available as online classes. Just send me a message.