Tango is in the air, everywhere...

We were positioned cheek-to-cheek on a Buenos Aires dance floor. My eyes were closed, my arms wrapped tightly around his neck as I followed his every delicate movement almost instinctively. After a six-week extended stay in Buenos Aires, it wasn't until this evening, my very last evening in the city, until I met Paulo, that is, that I finally understood the tango.

T

Did he just nod at me?

Claudia, a world-renowned tango dancer and teacher, sat across from me on a worn couch in her downtown Buenos Aires studio. 'First, you must learn the rules of the dance,' she told me as she took a sip of Mate (typical Argentinean tea) from a large silver thermos. 'First and most importantly,' she continued, 'the man must always invite the woman to dance. And the woman should never say no.'

A lean, dark-haired woman, Claudia was obviously seasoned by years of late nights and shady men in the tango scene; she looked significantly older than her chronological age of 34. She proceeded to explain the following rigid, but essential tango protocol: (1) A man makes eye contact with a woman and nods ever so subtly to indicate that he would like to dance with her. (2) The woman then nods in assent. (3) The two get up to meet on the dance floor.

Argentinean men have very fragile egos and, according to Claudia, if you turn down even one potential dance partner, no others will risk your rejection. Should the woman not wish to dance with the man who is nodding to her, the events should proceed as such: (1) A man makes eye contact with a woman and nods ever so subtly to indicate that he would like to dance with her. (2) She pretends not to notice.