Fatal Tango by Wolfram Fleischhauer; Dance Interpretation and Giveaway

Wolfram Fleischhauer was born in Karlsruhe, Germany, and developed a passion for foreign cultures at an early age. He spent a year abroad at an American high school before going on to study comparative literature at the Free University of Berlin and at the University of California-Irvine. He has lived in Spain, France, Italy, and Belgium and traveled on four continents. His eight novels combine American storytelling with the thematic richness of the wider European tradition.

His latest book to be translated into English is Fatal Tango (trade paperback, Kindle ebook, and audiobook editions); it was originally published in German in 2002 as Drei Minuten mit der Wirklichkeit.

In the story, Giulietta Battin has devoted herself to ballet, earning a coveted spot as a dancer with the Staatsoper Berlin. But when she decides to explore a new style of music — the tango — life as she knows it changes forever. Soon after beginning her musical adventure, she meets Argentinean tango dancer Damián Alsina. They begin a torrid affair … which quickly turns into a nightmare. Damián suddenly sabotages his own performance with a bizarre, improvised choreography. His passionate creativity excites Giulietta, until Damián's strange behavior culminates in a shocking act: he kidnaps and tortures her jealous father. Horrified, she demands answers, but Damián has fled to Buenos Aires and her father, his victim, is being suspiciously unforthcoming. So Giulietta follows her lover to South America, where her journey into the world of tango confronts her with the unspeakable horrors of the country's brutal past.

But denial will never silence art, and as Giulietta learns to decipher the true significance of Damián's dance style, she finds the key to the mystery of her lover's past and the terrifying truth that connects it with her own.

We are thrilled to be giving away three copies of Fatal Tango, courtesy of EMG Promotions. At the bottom of this post is information on how you can enter to win one of these books. But first, the author gives us a brief introduction this exotic dance, the tango.

— ◊ —

The Art of Tango …

In real life, tango can also be in code. Wolfram Fleischhauer interviewed professional dancers in Buenos Aires and asked them to reveal their personal tango notation systems. Most couples have some kind of system to memorize their complex choreographies.

How Tango Can Reveal Secrets …

In the example below, Fleischhauer shows from a dancer's perspective how tango code might reveal the truth about a romance — will it be a thriller, or just more filler?

The music starts …

Step: Tijera — Scissor: A movement, usually danced by the man, in which an extended leg is withdrawn and crossed in front of the supporting leg without weight so that it remains free for the next step or movement.

Possible Interpretation: "Interesting, he really likes to dance these tijeras. Not the kind of sequence you would expect the first time you are dancing with a stranger, but let's wait and see where this is all going."

Step: Enganche — Hooking; coupling; the little hook: Occurs when a partner wraps a leg around the other's leg, or uses a foot to catch and hold the other's foot or ankle.

Possible Interpretation: "That enganche is really a little early for my taste. Strange, he does not really strike me as the pushy type at all. I've been watching him with other women, obviously, and I know he has been watching me. Is he doing all of this to show off to someone else?"

Step: Adorno — Adornment; embellishment; decoration: Complicated or syncopated movements which the dancer uses to demonstrate their skill and to interpret the music.

Possible Interpretation: "Yes. I better stay on my guard with this guy. All these adornos probably aren't event meant for me. Is he dancing with me at all? He's so self-absorbed he probably would not even notice if I did one myself. Let's see. OK, I was wrong. He did notice. And I can just sense he is going to pick up on it …"

Step: Desplazamiento — Displacement: Displacing the partner's leg or foot using one's own leg or foot.

Possible Interpretation: "I was right. But what is he really trying to say now with this desplazamiento. My guess still is he is just very much in love with himself."

Step: Ocho Cortado — Cut eight: change of direction. Typical in club-style tango where many such brakes are used to avoid collisions. Describes a movement done on either foot, pivoting forward or backward, and going either left or right.

Possible Interpretation: "Well, maybe not, after all. The way he just looked at me while he was doing these subtle ocho cortados. I must say, that was really exquisite. I wouldn't mind to dance a whole tanda with him."

Step: Rabona — A walking step with a syncopated cross. Done forward or backward the dancer steps on a beat, quickly closes the other foot in cruzada, and steps again on the next beat. Adapted from soccer.

Possible Interpretation: "Hmmm, I just love it when the ochos get even more syncopated into rabonas. And he's only looking at me now. Who is he, anyway? He's cautious, but confident, and likes to surprise with suggestive little details."

The music stops. We stand in a tight embrace, maybe a little too tight now, leaning on each other as the cortina jingle sets in.

"Otra vez?" he asks as the cortina fades and tango music sets in again. "Once more?" And then the penny drops: tijeras, enganche, adorno, desplazamiento, ocho cortado, rabono … otra vez? "Te adoro" … I adore you! What a charmer.

— ◊ —

For a chance to win a trade paperback edition of Fatal Tango, visit Mystery Book Contests and click on the "Wolfram Fleischhauer: Fatal Tango" contest link, enter your name, e-mail address, and this code: 9872. (One entry per person. US and Canada residents only. Contest ends May 5th, 2012.)