Michael Adam-Smith

“They didn't talk the way new lovers often do, sharing everything; they were selective and wary. Sometime it seemed to her their relationship was mostly physical, something she enjoyed.”
― Jennifer Vandever, American Tango

“OK! Let's get started," Mariela announced brightly. "Now, can anyone tell me the meaning of 'tango'--the actual word?"

Helen, of course, knew. "In Latin, it means 'I touch."

Mariela nodded emphatically. "'I touch.' Or 'I play.' As in playing an instrument only here our instrument is ourselves," Mariela paused, allowing this insight to sink in. "And it means, 'I touch. I touch my partner in embrace," Dan and Mariela faced each other in an opening stance, "also called an abrazo--" and danced a simple eight step.

"And I touch my inner life. I touch the core of my essence. Tango is not just learning or following steps."

"It's improvisation," Barry said in a deep baritone.

"That's right. There's a saying that tango is a 'sad thought danced.' But that's only part of it. It's touching the sadness in you, the pain, yes--but also the joy, the humor, the everything life has. It's touching everything.”
― Jennifer Vandever, American Tango

“The woman danced with an economy of motion Rosalind had noted among the very talented. There was always something self-contained about the better dancers; they held something in reserve, a restraint formed mysteriously by something they'd given up opposing. This surrender made the dancers beautiful. Rosalind had noticed it from the first, the way that skill reordered things; skill altered the economy of beauty so that this woman with a face like an old spoon would be the one men wanted to dance with all night. The dance and her skill made her desirable. She moved with a calm dignity as though it never occurred to her that someone wouldn't want to dance with her.”
― Jennifer Vandever, American Tango

“How had it escaped her, Rosalind wondered. How had she never appreciated that her mother was a human being with her own desires and disappointments?”
― Jennifer Vandever, American Tango