I have written before about Dr. Temple Grandin in relation to the embrace. The other connection I make between Dr. Grandin and tango is with regard to venue selection and layout. Dr. Grandin is a designer of livestock handling facilities and a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. She feels that her autism gives her insight into how an animal thinks and views the world. In her view an animal hangs between fear and curiosity constantly wondering “will this eat me or can I eat it”. To this end in North America, almost half of the cattle are handled in a centre track restrainer system that she designed for meat plants.
A lot of her work is based on simple observation of how the animals are reacting to the handling environment. How animals are fearful of shadows. How a piece of rubbish in a cattle chute will distract the animals and disrupt the operation. Simple things such as noticing that cattle prefer shallow steps as opposed to a ramp with cleats.
What has this got to do with tango? An Irish euphemism that is applied to night clubs is ‘meat market’ or ‘cattle mart’ and really I wish their designers would pay as much attention to detail as the designers of actual cattle marts do. Dark, dingy, with pointless steps up and down, random changes of ceiling level (which is annoying for those of a taller stature) and in general uncomfortable. Which is why, when I have gone to tango events in such venues, I find them to be not the best. If getting to the floor is an ordeal then you are going to spend the half of the first song getting comfortable with yourself before you turn your attention to getting comfortable with your partner (who may have already written you off by now). And constantly as new people are getting up to dance more unease is being added to the floor. Usually this unease exhibits itself as floorcraft going to pot and soon the floor descends into chaos1.
Dancers may dislike being compared to livestock but there is more to good husbandry than people think.
1For various values of chaos
I am definitely an animal. I don’t like going into a strange place if I can’t see in through the windows; and it really matters to me what sort of division there is between seating and dance floor.