Osvaldo was a brilliant dancer as a young man already. In his time, the tango was practiced strictly among men, and the beginners were allowed merely to watch and learn. After a while, they were allowed to dance the female steps, so that the experienced dancers could practice theirs. After a couple of years they were able to dance with younger beginners, and only when they were truly confident about their dancing skills did they dare to set their foot on the dance floor.
After marrying Coca, Osvaldo did not dance for three decades. In 2004 however, Osvaldo and Coca took part in the great tango competition in Buenos Aires together with 665 other couples. They went on to win the World Tango Championship.
Osvaldo was proud of his nickname “Honey Feet”. He used to explain that his way of dancing is so soft out of respect for the female dancer, and liked adding mischievously, “When I set foot on the dance floor, I close my eyes. When I open them again, the dance floor is completely red, filled with fragile red hearts. I walk softly in order not to break them.”
As for their dance style, we particularly like how Osvaldo uses asynchronocity: Coca often follows the melody, moving on the beat or even slower whilst Osvaldo marks the beats and half beats. Their style of dancing is very sophisticated and very musical. Although their steps look very simple, don’t be fooled, they require a high level of coordination and strong connexion within the dance couple.
Sadly, Osvaldo passed away in October 2015, but he left behind quite a few beautiful tango moments.
They have performed numerous times on “El adiós” from Francisco Canaro. If you look close enough, you’ll spot some of the steps we did in class last week!
We also like this performance on Tigre Viejo at the mythical milonga Sunderland in Buenos Aires.
By all means, don’t limit yourself to these 3 videos, if you search for “Coca Osvaldo Tango” on Youtube, you’ll find many more!
Source
– information about Osvaldo: https://www.facebook.com/Fans-of-Osvaldo-y-Coca-Cartery-39589108219/info/?tab=page_info
– picture: http://tangograna.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/tango-coca-y-osvaldo-cartery-argentina.html
