Is tango primarily a mind-game? I found this passage from Robertson Davies, World of Wonders, Penguin/ McMillan 1975 about hypnotism and it suggests some strange parallels with the mystique of the tango embrace:
"It's part kindness and part making them feel they're perfectly safe with you. That you're their friend even though they never saw you until a minute ago... You mustn't overdo it. No saying, "you're safe with me," or anything like that. You have to give it out, and they have to take it in, without a lot of direct talk... You to to look at them as if they was all you had on your mind at the moment, and you couldn't think of anything you'd rather do. You got to look at them as if it was a long time since you met an equal. But don't push; don't shove it. You have to be wide open to them or else they won't be wide open with you."
Intriguing, yes?
"It's part kindness and part making them feel they're perfectly safe with you. That you're their friend even though they never saw you until a minute ago... You mustn't overdo it. No saying, "you're safe with me," or anything like that. You have to give it out, and they have to take it in, without a lot of direct talk... You to to look at them as if they was all you had on your mind at the moment, and you couldn't think of anything you'd rather do. You got to look at them as if it was a long time since you met an equal. But don't push; don't shove it. You have to be wide open to them or else they won't be wide open with you."
Intriguing, yes?
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