At many North American nuptials, among the first things couples do after the ceremony is step onto a dance floor. Some choose to improvise: They might wrap arms around each other and sway to a beloved song. Others prepare in advance by taking classes and attending social dance events in ballroom, salsa or swing. But once in a while, a couple is drawn to a dance with a reputation for drama, intimacy and passion. They want tango. Argentine tango. The partners step into the world of molinetes and ochos months before their special day to secretly prepare a dance that will knock the socks off family and friends. Their comfort levels with performing a public dance can differ dramatically, but each of these couples has a vision, a chosen song, determination — and a deadline. In the Burlington area, these tango-seekers often come to me: In addition to my work as an assistant arts editor and proofreader at Seven Days, I'm a dance instructor, choreographer and Argentine tango specialist. I'm so enamored with the art form that I wrote a 500-page doctoral dissertation on it. Just call me Dr. Tango; it's actually on my license plate. I never intended to get into the wedding business, but in 2008, friends asked me to help with their dance, and I've been choreographing for engaged couples ever since. It's one of the most satisfying and joyful things I do — from identifying each person's strengths and incorporating them into the dance to helping them move as a graceful unit. It's also a rather difficult task. Tango is normally improvised: It's a kinesthetic conversation to music, using a complex movement vocabulary. For most people, the tango learning curve is long, but engaged couples don't often have that kind of time. So the process of choreographing a tango wedding dance becomes equally as rich as the end product, inviting the three of us to create magic by combining their vision with my knowledge. Couples' reasons for performing one of these choreographed wedding dances vary widely. "I think the most important thing to us was to incorporate the song [in our wedding], and we felt like the best way to do that was with the dance," said Jessica Bridge of Malletts Bay in Colchester. She and Chris Mason danced to "Fools Rush In" by Ricky Nelson on their wedding day in June 2016 at the…
At many North American nuptials, among the first things couples do after the ceremony is step onto a dance floor. Some choose to improvise: They might wrap arms around each other and sway to a beloved song. Others prepare in advance by taking classes and attending social dance events in ballroom, salsa or swing. But once in a while, a couple is drawn to a dance with a reputation for drama, intimacy and passion. They want tango. Argentine tango. The partners step into the world of molinetes and ochos months before their special day to secretly prepare a dance that will knock the socks off family and friends. Their comfort levels with performing a public dance can differ dramatically, but each of these couples has a vision, a chosen song, determination — and a deadline. In the Burlington area, these tango-seekers often come to me: In addition to my work as an assistant arts editor and proofreader at Seven Days, I'm a dance instructor, choreographer and Argentine tango specialist. I'm so enamored with the art form that I wrote a 500-page doctoral dissertation on it. Just call me Dr. Tango; it's actually on my license plate. I never intended to get into the wedding business, but in 2008, friends asked me to help with their dance, and I've been choreographing for engaged couples ever since. It's one of the most satisfying and joyful things I do — from identifying each person's strengths and incorporating them into the dance to helping them move as a graceful unit. It's also a rather difficult task. Tango is normally improvised: It's a kinesthetic conversation to music, using a complex movement vocabulary. For most people, the tango learning curve is long, but engaged couples don't often have that kind of time. So the process of choreographing a tango wedding dance becomes equally as rich as the end product, inviting the three of us to create magic by combining their vision with my knowledge. Couples' reasons for performing one of these choreographed wedding dances vary widely. "I think the most important thing to us was to incorporate the song [in our wedding], and we felt like the best way to do that was with the dance," said Jessica Bridge of Malletts Bay in Colchester. She and Chris Mason danced to "Fools Rush In" by Ricky Nelson on their wedding day in June 2016 at the…