Rita Alcaire, 23, an anthropology student in Portugal researching Argentine tango for an anthropology of dance seminar, interviews ToTANGO publisher Keith Elshaw.

Where were you born, what is your career?

Orillia, Ontario (85 miles north of Toronto). It was in this small town that I managed to wangle my way into broadcasting, getting a job at the local radio station when I was 13. At 15, I had my own rock 'n roll show every evening. At 16, I began moving around the country working in radio ... landing in and staying in Toronto (until the end of 1999). I became a record producer, music publisher, recording studio owner/engineer and voice artist/teacher. Most (non-francophone) people in Canada have heard my voice repeatedly on radio and TV for years (whether they know it or not).

When was your first contact with tango?

In December, 1989, knowing nothing about Argentine Tango, I happened to see a big Copes show called, "A Rose For Mr. Tango." It played in Toronto for 5 months, during which time I saw it 34 times (it featured 38 performers/musicians including Maria Nieves, Pepito Avellenada, Guillermo Merlo, Cecilia Saia, Aurora Lupes, Jorge Firpo and Roberto Pansera, to name a few). I started taking classes and married my teacher (Maria Nieves' sister and herself an incredible dancer, Cristina Rey - who had been in the Copes company for 35 years), who stayed in Canada, of course. We started the first weekly milonga in Toronto (1994).

When did you start dancing?

This is actually an interesting question. For the first 5 years I was in tango, I didn't feel like I could dance. My teaching was all of the "memorize/choreography" kind. Everything counted out. I "knew" a lot of figures, but felt frustrated because I wasn't a fluid dancer. I didn't know how to lead. And at the time, there were no regular dances in Toronto. Can you imagine? I only had a weekly class and practice at home.

Eventually, I broke away from my teacher's ways and sort of taught myself. I found my persona. Gavito came along and I got close to him. Finally, I had a man to emulate, to show me expression. I lost my feelings of intimidation and inferiority (mostly) and went out dancing a lot (there being more opportunities by this time). That was my break-through.

Where did you practice? (There are many persons that move their furniture so that they have more space to practice at home).

I always live in a place with space (no wall-to-wall carpeting!). I listen to the music and walk/dance (assuming the posture and feeling the music) in my house. As I can sometimes spend most of the day working on the restorations, I'm always moving, thinking about adding a little something to my vocabulary - mostly in terms of rhythmic subtleties. All I really want to achieve is ever more control for crowded dance floors.

Did the persons who taught you how to tango influence the way you dance?

I was both fortunate and unfortunate in this. As I have said, I was taught figures to memorize. That is not conducive to social dancing.

But, I was also given insight into the high-level tango performers' life and attitudes. About what it was like to dance with Pugliese, Troilo, Piazzolla playing the music live for them. With Goyeneche singing for them. (All of my first knowledge of tango came from sitting around late at night over dinner and wine with Copes, Nieves, Cristina and the others, hearing their stories. That was wonderful). I learned many good things about correct posture and positioning and attitude.

Is tango a big part of your life?

Excuse me? Tango practically IS my life. Tango has shown me how to communicate more effectively; how to be with people and how to approach life. It continues to show me the way to enjoy "the moment" and reap life's rewards (which involves relationships). This is the reason I have such strong feelings of affinity for the culture of Argentinos, from whence it came. Only a people particularly blessed could have given the world such an awesome gift of spiritual enlightment through body motion, human contact and the music of the gods.

What kind of persons do you like dancing with (creative, confident)? (Some people say that when you really connect with your partner you enter another world...)

I am fortunate (well, I made big changes in my life to have it) to live in a city (Montréal) deep in tango knowledge with LOTS of good dancers and milongas.

I always let the woman decide how close we will be ... but my natural way is close embrace. I like a woman to take me close and listen to the music and move with it and me. I like surprises. When a woman has neat embellishments, she inspires me. And yes, the partner I like will join me in entering "another world." We get lost in the music and the moment. It is intensely sensual and satisfying. I dream about those moments with partners after. That can last for days - until the next weekend's (Wednesday - Sunday ... sometimes Monday) dancing begins.

What countries/cities have you visited because of the tango?

Buenos Aires, Montréal (then I moved here), Miami, Tampa Bay (to teach). More to come (I am being invited to Congresses to dj and make presentations about my restorations).

Have you had any experience teaching? If so, what is the most difficult part of teaching: the steps or making people understand the meaning of the tango?

I enjoy teaching because I am also a teacher in my professional life. It is truly rewarding to help people get from "here" to "there." But, strictly speaking, I don't call myself a teacher in tango. That should remain the right of the professionals.

Because it was so hard for me to "get" tango leading, I believe I am good at shortening the learning curve for leaders. And for followers - who I just take in my arms and dance with. I give them the feeling; I give leaders the pictures/concepts/goals. Unlike everyone I learn from, I teach how to social dance in a milonga. (I also sometimes enjoy being a follower with a good leader).

What kind of message do you have for people that are interested in learning the tango? (I think that newcomers have a different idea of what tango really is ...)

Listen to the music a lot when you are NOT dancing. Walk to the music as much as you can around the house. Listen to it in the car or walking or doing the dishes. Dance with everybody (sticking with one partner keeps your learning slow). Learn about the music ‚ identifying the orchestra, etc. Watch good dancers like a hawk. Develop good posture and body position. Always touch your ankles (and women, keep your knees together). Study with the professionals from Argentina. Take private classes every once in a while. Go out dancing a lot. Stay late at every opportunity. And listen to the music some more.

Is there a place outside of Argentina that has a special "tango energy"?

Montréal is a very special place. There are perhaps 1200 people who dance tango - and 5 venues/schools. The French (Latin) culture, the architecture (often similar to Buenos Aires), the closeness of the physical lay-out of the area where people live and dance; the economic circumstances - all allow for a vibrant scene. The people are wonderful and have the sense of tango in their blood. There is considerable inter-action with Buenos Aires.

About the music: What tangos are part of your life?

Special to me are Pugliese, Di Sarli, Caló (with Berón). D'Arienzo. Biagi. Fast Valses. Donato's and Canaro's milongas. (Generally speaking, I like fast vals and slow milongas). Tanturi with both Castillo and Campos. D'Agostino/Vargas. Piazzolla for when I have a lovely woman in my arms late at night. Like most dancers who have been doing it for a while, I am absolutely transported by vals. Time is frozen when Pugliese plays "Desde El Alma." All the longing of the human spirit can be expressed inside this music.

I read something that a tango dancer wrote about the personal life of people involved with tango dancing: almost everyone is divorced or single. When one of the 2 persons in a couple gets seriously involved in dancing and spends a lot of nights out, that becomes a problem. When people meet dancing and then fall in love they also have problems because they feel they are sharing a lover. What do you think about that?

Yes, it tends to be complicated. But then, all relationships are.

The first year I lived in Montréal, I was dealing with a loss of a love. I couldn't go dancing or listen to the music for a long time (well, I also had a demanding job that stole my time and energy). I do not want that to happen again!

Most people who have been around tango for a while have experience dealing with emotional issues with partners and have learned to navigate these tricky waters.

Does tango influence your private life?

Duh! As I have said, it IS my life. It is a consuming passion. And if there is one thing I would wish for every person (aside from good health), it is to have a passion in life.

Because of my restoration/dj work, daily maintenence of this website, future projects in the planning stage and the love of social dancing, it is often hard for me to think about anything else. And this is after 13 years. I expect to be like the old milongueros - dancing with the young women and giving them something special (I hope) when I am 80.

Do you think tango is sensual or sexual?

Most definitely sensual. I think the more polite and considerate one is in social dancing, the more sensuality freely flows.

But, close contact has a way of introducing desire and excitement. Some people at times feel like being seductive; some playful; others stay as far away from all that as possible. My experience is that good dancing calls for sensuousness. Certainly tango asks for expression, sensuality, sensitivity, compassion, humility, honesty and the more generosity, the better. While we're dancing, I feel blessed.

When all the full panolply of alluring chemistry happens, I am reduced to moving, walking, standing in sway with body contact; "figures" or the need for variety - even tango itself - are a distant abstraction. There is only the emotional intimations and swell of the music (it's always about the music), the intoxication of my partner's embrace and my gratitude to her for the moment; enjoying it too much to do anything but dance on a cloud with no thought for it being anything but holding, taking, giving. Here, I know bliss. Tango dancing has receded, but only Tango could have brought me here. So, I love it more than ever.

And I certainly do feel a tenderness for the woman who will go deep into the moment in such close physical/spiritual contact with me. Why should one not also feel tenderness towards a woman who holds no romantic interest, but who has tango excitement in her heart. It's a sincere, lovely appreciation. The rare extra feelings of attraction are just that much more precious when they appear.

The line between sensual/sexual is not easily seen by onlookers. I recall the quote of the mayor of Paris just before the first World War. In reference to Argentine Tango he said, "In France, we do it lying down!"

What kind of emotions do you have when you're dancing? Do you think that there are feelings usually repressed that come out when you dance (like in therapy)?

Honestly? Yes. I am who I want to be when I dance tango with a wonderful partner. I am giving as I desire; I am being given to. There is caring; there is sharing; there is mutual respect. There is Agreement. There is controlled passion. It can take your breath away. Even with people whose name one doesn't know - whom you might not have seen until moments before. Life is sublime and reaffirming when that happens.

But I should also describe another kind of pure pleasure I find in tango, that - while it is sensuous - is not overtly so. That pleasure comes when I dance with a woman too tall for us to be strictly in close embrace (or with a woman who choses a more open embrace).

In this style, I am moved to use many of the Copes walks I learned so long ago that ask for a woman to extend her legs straight back to let me between them for displacements. Our turns will be more athletic. I leave lots of openings for my partner to be creative. This is an exciting type of tango that rewards me for not just looking for a woman to take me close. I am always surprised at the many different things I will do with these partners that I would never think of when in close-close embrace. This is why I always tell students that it is their BODY memory, not their head memory, that is the key to developing fluency and style.

When I go to dance tango, I'm sure that I will enjoy myself if I dance with the nice people who come there and look only to give dancing pleasure to my partners. Everything I've just talked about - in the sensuality/sexuality vein - relates to a smaller part of the whole. It is not specifically why I dance.

I feel priviledged to share a tango moment with another.

Great tango nights happen when you dance with a few partners in the tango trance - letting everything go when you say thank you.

Happy is the soul who knows there will be good dancing no end into the future.

And there is yet another kind of tango that seems to me very important to experience. That is the odd time when you and a partner are feeling very loose and when everything seems almost comical. You aren't totally coordinated. You make mistakes. AND YOU BOTH LAUGH A LOT. I believe real break-throughs happen and much valuable experience is gained in this occasional abandon.