MTW: What has changied in the way that you and your contemporaries danced, over these twenty years?
Pablo Inza: Tango has changed a lot in different ways, the dance itself and fashions and the impressions imposed by different times. Also pedagogy has changed a lot, I think we’ ve evolved in the sense that we understand the tango more formally. And, we can now better understand and transmit. this knowledge When I started, teaching was much more basic. But, this implies something very nice because it was like a passage. You got something. But, you were unable to explain it. Today, there are more ways to approach the tango that are much more sophisticated. With respect to my dance, my colleagues have influenced me a lot. There are things that are interesting to me and the things that I needed to develop. Perhaps, these two ingredients are the ones that have given me my dance.
MTW: Are there mainstream trends that are more than cosmetic changes to the dance?
Pablo Inza: Yes of course. There have been trends in dance. Milonguero Style, Salon, Nuevo, etc. Those are some of the styles. Until recently, newer tango styles were fashionable. They provided a structural compression of dance. Today, this is indispensable for the teaching. From the outwrd appearance of the dance, tango is understood differently. This comes from a new pedagogy that is useful for all styles. In addition, there are tango fashions, such as more open, more closed, more simple, more complex, etc.
Pablo Inza: The important thing is that it always tries to be tango. I do not believe in the war of styles. I think one of the best things about tango is the diversity, where each dancer seeks expression and if it is genuine, generates a personal style. Unfortunately today, we see a tendency towards uniformity. This is most evident outside Buenos Aires.
MTW: Who have been your primary influences?
Pablo Inza: This is very difficult to answer because there are many people who inspire me. Anonymous and acquaintances. And it changes over time. My tastes change and I change my identifications. Before traveling, in the nineties, I identified with the Urquiza Style dancers, practiced with the neighborhood dancers and frequented those milongas. Today, this style is often called the Tango Salon. I practiced with old milongueros, people who were going, and many of them are totally unknown.
On the other hand, I remember my first image of the tango. I saw a performance, named Tango for Two. It shocked me, it must have been in 1991 or 1992. Miguel Angel Zotto with Milena Plebs and Osvaldo Zotto with Guillermina Quiroga. There have been other couples who inspired me since, such as Roberto Herrera with Vanina Bilous. The tango was taken from the roots, developed into choreographed shows. I also had a taste of improvisation, especially those of the old milongueros, They could be more basic but at the same time rich in nuances, each one was special, they were all unique. One of the things that I like about the tango is the unique personalities of the dancers.
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