Taking the Tango to a spatial image…the dance is a person-to-person confrontation; the union of unresolvable opposites, the division of existence into life and death. I immediately think of spatial boundaries and the spatial figures they produce. And in Melbourne, the ubiquitous version of such a boundary is that between neighbours. Its physical form is the paling fence.
The suburban paling fence is at once - like all boundaries - a separation of space and promise of a contact. In mediation, some 80% of disputes involve the paling fence - its actual location, height, shared costs and so on. It is a built line of confrontation, sometimes of a bitter nature. The fence can also be used as a plane where friendliness and cooperation can occur. This can take place over the top of the fence, at its ends, holes and sometimes even through gates. The fence can be a spatial sweetener.
I can envisage some models and drawings of Tango Fences; maybe an installation in a place which would highlight its strange adaptation (to the Tango) or even a kit of parts (or set of actions/manoeuvres) that could turn any existing fence into its Tango Other. To do this I would need to know the Tango moves in actuality, so that the foot sweeps, stops, knee movements and so on, could be translated to fence-making.
Given the knife fight origins of the dance, it occurs to me as I write this that "fencing" is a perfect word for the associations of this translation.
Alex Selenitsch
25th Oct 06
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