Interview with Sabrina Masso by Ina Eriksen
Oslo, 7th Nov 2024
When did you start to dance tango, where and why?
I started dancing in 1998 in a place where cultural activities were held. It was called La Florcita. I always liked to dance, and the tango made me curious. The idea of dancing as couple attracted me.
Who were your first teachers, and then the most important inspiration/ influences.
My first teachers were Nancy Louzan and Damian Esell. They were the first to inspire me. Later, other great couples came to inspire me like Natalia Games and Gabriel Angio, Milena Plebs and Miguel Ángel Sotto, Vanina Bilous and Roberto Herrera, and many more.
Was tango a part of your culture in childhood, What neighborhood did you grow up in?
Tango was always part of my life. My grandfather and father always listened to it. But they never dance to it. I grew up with tango music as something natural in my life. Until I was nine years old I lived in the town of Avellana in Buenos Aires, and later I moved to Capital to Congress neighborhood and stayed there for many years.
What has been your main interest in tango?
I love the feeling of dancing with another person and connecting with music. That combination is addictive, and the dance and performance possibilities are endless.
What is your main interest in tango now?
The same but as time goes by, one can go deeper into that same idea. It is amazing
Why is tango so popular?
I think that the immediate possibility of meeting and coming in contact with people is very attractive and from there go to the side that interest you most, from meeting someone to have a romance, or going to Milonga to dance and have fun, or wanting to become a professional dancer. Just to name a few of the many possibilities.
What do you think of the future of tango worldwide?
I think that there is tango for a while, that it is a dance in expansion, sometimes fashions change the focus of what I think the essence of tango is but despite that, I think it continues to evolve.
Is there a difference between tango in Buenos Aires and Europe? Or other places?
Yes, the difference is that tango is not only a dance, but also poetry, song, painting and music, and it is part of the idiosyncrasy of Argentines, no matter if you dance it or not. Tango is in the air of the city; it is something that is rooted in the Rio de la Plata form.
Have you met tango in other places in the world that impressed you for a reason?
What impresses me has no country. What impresses me is to see someone capable of showing what he feels dancing. I am impressed by someone who despite having the necessary thing to dance such as technique and body skills, leaves it aside to show something deeper from herself. That does impress me. And I have seen dancers from different countries expressing themselves in that way, which is the one I am interested in seeing.
Is tango an Argentine expression or is it an urban global expression?
It could be something global, but it should always start in Argentina because the roots are there.
What do you love about tango?
I love that it has no end. That stimulates my creativity. And You can always learn something new, because the new is in the eye of the beholder. That is Magic
What is your favorite tango, tema?
Of course I don’t have one favorite…could be any Pugliese.
Who are your biggest inspirations also outside of tango?
Movies are always a source of inspiration, also a good book, also the Argentine soccer team hahaha, there are so many things about football and tango that I think are similar hahahaha
What is your best advice to new Tangodancers?
To know why they are doing it, why they learn, also understand that it is a partner dance, and that it is no use being right, even if you are. Complaining about your partner is useless. Complaining never works. Never. I think it is also important to be responsible, judicious, committed and kind.
