Essays

I started writing in 2013 and have so far written 32 essays and 1 special publication. All of them are available to read on this page but are also published in two books, Why Tango Volume I and Why Tango Volume II, that you can order in paper format or as a ebook.

Below you will find a list of all my writings and their known translations.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: I published my essays in public mode on Facebook, so you can read them even if you don’t have a Facebook account. They are accessible on a laptop and all Android phones without problems (as far as I know), but sometimes when trying to open the essays on an iPhone you might get a message that the link is broken. It is not, but you will get this message if you are logged into Facebook in a browser. The workaround is to log out of Facebook in the browser on your iPhone (not the Facebook app) and then access the link.

Translations

Various of my essays have been translated into a total of 18 languages so far. Would like to translate one of my essays into your language? Just make sure you mention my authorship and include a link to the original (English) essay. If you would like me to add a link to your translation in the list below, just send me a message to vero@tangomonamour.com.

Les traductions françaises / French translations

Voici une liste des traductions de mes articles en français. 

Special Publications

If you would like your friends or family to understand why you are so crazy about this dance, let them read this article:

Argentine tango as intimacy practice

FRENCH, RUSSIAN, HUNGARIAN, CHINESE

An article on the topic of love relationships between dancers for TanGossip magazine:
In love as in tango. In tango as in love.
It is available in English, French and Italian in the same view.

An interview for TanGossip, available in English and French, April 2022:
INTERVIEW WITH VERONICA TOUMANOVA

All my essays in one place

If you are new to my writings, the full list of titles can be somewhat overwhelming. Therefore I grouped them into categories.

Understanding Tango

Why tango is a difficult dance

POLISH, RUSSIAN

Why we marvel at steps but yearn for embraces

RUSSIAN, ITALIAN, VIETNAMESE, BULGARIAN, GERMAN, CHINESE, CZECH, ROMANIAN, POLISH, HUNGARIAN, FRENCH

Why leading and following actually work

RUSSIAN, ROMANIAN, POLISH

Why there is often so little dance in people dancing tango

RUSSIAN, CHINESE, CZECH, GERMAN, POLISH

Why we often misunderstand the words “lead” and “follow”

RUSSIAN, FRENCH, TURKISH, GERMAN, CHINESE, MACEDONIAN, POLISH

Why women lead and men follow

RUSSIAN, FRENCH

Learning & Teaching

Why years of tango will not make you an advanced dancer and what will

RUSSIAN, HUNGARIAN, ITALIAN, POLISH, CHINESE, BULGARIAN, KOREAN, CZECH, GERMAN, ROMANIAN, SLOVENE, TURKISH, FRENCH, FINNISH

Why technique in tango really matters and why often it really doesn’t

RUSSIAN, CHINESE, CZECH, ROMANIAN, ITALIAN, FRENCH, HUNGARIAN, POLISH

Why your tango teacher desperately wants you to dance but keeps teaching you steps

RUSSIAN, TURKISH, CHINESE, CZECH, GERMAN, ROMANIAN, POLISH

Why we suffer when learning tango and how that is a good thing

RUSSIAN, HUNGARIAN, CHINESE, CZECH, GERMAN, ROMANIAN, FRENCH, POLISH

Why the most important thing in tango is not a tango thing

RUSSIAN, CZECH, GERMAN, CHINESE, ROMANIAN, HUNGARIAN, POLISH

Why we always go back to basics

RUSSIAN, ROMANIAN, CHINESE, GERMAN, FRENCH, SPANISH, POLISH

Why we are told to dance with our hearts

GERMAN, RUSSIAN

Why all tango teachers tell you different things

POLISH, RUSSIAN, FRENCH, CHINESE

Why sometimes you learn nothing from the best teachers

RUSSIAN, POLISH

Why tango teachers ask you to imagine things

RUSSIAN, ITALIAN, HUNGARIAN

Why musicality is hard to teach, but not impossible

RUSSIAN, CHINESE, GERMAN

Practicing & Improving

Why we believe that dancing with better dancers makes us dance better

RUSSIAN, FRENCH, FINNISH, POLISH

Why most advice you get about your dancing is wrong

FRENCH, RUSSIAN, CHINESE, CZECH, ROMANIAN, POLISH

Why we sometimes fly and sometimes crawl

RUSSIAN, CHINESE, FRENCH, POLISH

Why you should practice tango both alone and in couple

CHINESE, RUSSIAN, SLOVENIAN, GERMAN

Why your dance does not look good despite all the practicing

RUSSIAN, ROMANIAN, POLISH

Why leaders get bored with themselves and what to do about it

RUSSIAN, HUNGARIAN, CHINESE, GERMAN, ROMANIAN, FRENCH, POLISH

Why tango dancers lose interest in improving their skill

RUSSIAN, SPANISH, FRENCH, CHINESE, GERMAN, TURKISH, POLISH

Why we believe technique kills emotion

RUSSIAN, GERMAN, CHINESE, ROMANIAN

Psychology & Personal Growth

Why tango changes your life

RUSSIAN, FRENCH, GERMAN, ROMANIAN, CHINESE, POLISH, MACEDONIAN

Why love and tango do not always go well together

RUSSIAN, GERMAN, CHINESE, POLISH

Why tango often feels like therapy (Latest)

RUSSIAN, GERMAN, CHINESE

Social Dynamics

Why you should get out of the sandbox and start asking yourself questions

RUSSIAN, BULGARIAN, ROMANIAN, POLISH

Why we are often confused about what it means to be “social”

RUSSIAN, CHINESE, GERMAN, POLISH

Why in tango we are not that social

RUSSIAN, ITALIAN, CHINESE#1, CHINESE#2, ROMANIAN, POLISH

Why tango is tough on women and what to do about it

RUSSIAN, CHINESE

Why we fight when practicing, especially with people we love

RUSSIAN, HUNGARIAN, ROMANIAN