Analysis Of The Movie 'Take The Lead'

There is no dance like Tango that has so much connection, intensity and passion. Tango is the dance of love as its beauty grabs ones attention leaving a desire to see more. It creates exciting and attractive images that inspire many associations, as well as interpretations such as passion, sensuality, gender, nationality, and a universal form of art. Tango evokes an elusive relationship between music and dance. “A Feeling that is danced, a secret danced between two people, a walking embrace. It’s not in the feet, it’s in the heart! It’s about the connection of feelings rather than about the choreography”. This statement is a true testament of what Tango represents when analysing the ‘Tango scene’ in the movie ‘Take the Lead’.

The Tango is

In the movie, ‘Take the Lead’ the tango scene starts disjointed with the female entering the basement. She is intense as she enters, walking gracefully down the stairs, with her head raised up, as she briskly walks across the floor to the music player. In the time from when she walks down the stairs till the end of the dance, her intensity remains, engaging little eye contact with the other students in the room. Her entrance makes quite an impact with the people in the basement as they are drawn by her stunning looks and reason for being there. The male lead then follows with a purpose, purely focussed on the female. The female begins with seductive moves to draw her male dancer to her. He initiates and suggests a move as the submissive partner accepts and interprets it and follows. The dancers are intertwined, engaged in a dialogue of limbs, as they gently float across and utilise the small area of the basement floor as they caress each other, creating a moving seduction. The movements are sensual and passionate. The leader continually invites the follower to take a step, and the partner responds in a style that is unique with raw new energy. There are fast kicks, spins, tilts, poses, small jumps and the free movement of legs

The appearance of disorder and a feeling of roughness were visible. There were chairs and desks stacked against the wall and around the room with graffiti seen on sections of the walls. Natural lighting filtered in from large windows. This natural lighting cast many shadows on the characters and floor adding to the rawness of the scene. The floor space was minimal, however the dancers covered all of the area available. The female wore a tango inspired black, flowing, seductive dress with her hair slicked back into a bun with a striking large red flower to the side. She wore black tango shoes that complimented the outfit. The male lead wore a black suit and white shirt. He carried his jacket over his shoulder and threw it away when the dance began adding to the intensity of the scene. The music was called ‘Asi Se Baila el Tango’ or translated as ‘This is how to dance tango’ is a song symbolising the power struggle between classes. It has a unique place in the history of tango and the Argentine society (Tanguito, 2014). The song was chosen for the ‘Tango Scene’ with this distinct purpose in mind, to teach the students in the movie that it doesn’t matter what class you come from or what hardships you face, the Tango is for everyone. ‘Asi Se Baila el Tango’ is a repetitive up-tempo style of music allowing the dancing style to flow with the smooth