Mamié Sancy – The Tango Hub Interview
Mamié Sancy is a Tango Dancer and Researcher for the military in Santiago, Chile. She has been dancing since 2002 and has, over the past 3 years, become something of a Tango celebrity after videos of her dancing started to appear on the old YouTube; First with Carlitos Espinoza and then with her current partner, the awesome, Felipe (Pipe) Zarzar. Since then her most popular videos have racked up thousands of views and Mamié has become one of the most well known Tango dancers in the world.
She wowed us a few months back when we featured her video in a “dancers we love” episode and now we are lucky enough to have had a moment with the exceptionally affable Mamié Sancy…
Tell us a little about your work
MS: I work at Chilean Air Force as researcher focused on corrosion of aluminium alloys for aerospace applications. I got a B.Sc. in Chemistry from University of Santiago of Chile and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from University Pierre et Marie Curie with a work focused on copper corrosion. I got a postdoctoral position on cast iron corrosion at the UPMC and later another postdoctoral position on modified electrodes used as biosensors at the USACH.
How long have you been dancing?
MS: It was winter of 2002 and I was with some friends in a one of the most bohemian neighborhoods of Santiago and suddenly, we hear Tango music from a Santiago Fire Brigade where Karina Anton (Arg) and Laura Vásquez (Chi) were given a Tango lesson. Immediately, I was very interested because I remembered every morning in the summer when I was child. I would take my summer vacation with all my family and my Grandfather always turned on his radio at 8:00 am and listened to tango until midday!! It was horrible for my sister, my cousins and me at the time! However, I have very nice memories of these summers. So, when I entered to this Tango association, I felt really interested and I started my tango lessons with them.
What first attracted you to Dance?
MS: The Tango music fascinated me immediately, I loved its nostalgic and melancholy sounds. But also, in the beginning, I felt attracted by Tango because I visualized it as a sport that wouldn’t impact my right knee. I always loved to practice sports, however, since the end of 2001 an injury in my knee has effected me. Now, I often practice pilates and I feel much better!
Do the people that you work with know about your fame in the Tango world?
They know that I love tango, even they have even caught me dancing alone in the lab more than once. It the same with my family too, all of them know that I love my job but I also love Tango.
What is your favourite aspect Tango?
The Tango allows me to dreams even when I am awake.
& your least?
Jealousy and envy ☹
How often do you dance, and do you ever wish you could dance more (or less)
I dance frequently on Friday or Saturday night and sometimes on Sunday evening. During the week, unfortunately I cannot go as often as I would like because I must get up me very early in the morning, but, some Tuesday evenings I go to “milonguear” and I come back home close to midnight.
How would you describe your style of dancing? (salon, milonguero, other)?
MS: I try to adapt me to each leader who invites me. I try to respect his style and if He dances with short or longer steps, I try to do it as He does it. With or without turns, with my legs flexed or stretched, with my hips in front of him or making a lot of pivots. However, I must be honest, more than once, I have forgotten that I am dancing with someone else and I have danced like if I had been alone hihihihi!
In Chile, the most of people dance in close embrace, so I frequently dance tango like this and I love to dance like this. But, if somebody invite to dance in another way, I enjoy it too!
What is your favourite form of the dance (tango, milonga, vals?) or what is your favourite track/orchestra to dance to?
MS: I love the three forms, tango, milonga and vals, but depending of the time, place and partner. When I started my tango lessons, I loved tango, but after, once in Santiago, I saw Gustavo Chidichimo and Virginia Martorani dancing milonga in close embrace and I loved it! Then, I met Alejandra Arrue and Sergio Natario dancing close embrasse in Santiago too and I felt really in love of close embrace.
Concerning the orchestra, it’s almost the same, depends of time, place and partner. I love D’Agostino/Vargas, Canaro, Típica Victor, Donato, Calo, Di Sarli, De Angelis, Donato Racciatti, D’Arienzo, etc, etc, etc, etc. I love tango music.
Would you ever think of leaving your regular job for a career in Tango?
MS: I love my regular job as scientific researcher, I love to study science and to be in contact with the scientific world. I could not leave it, I need it as I need to dance tango. If I am with Pipe and/or my tango friends, I love to go to milongas and/or to organize tango parties at home or at some friend’s homes or to go to some restaurant and speak about tango. If I am alone, I also like to listen tango. But I also love to practice pilates, bicycle, to take advance of every free time for reading and/or watching/listening a TV/Radio programs related to economy and politics. If I must go to Paris by a researcher stay at the UPMC, I love to learned and study there and I also love to dance tango there or to be invited to some tango’s WE, even if the next Monday morning I will arrive more tired than I left.
I love to dance for me and for and with my partner, in fact, I don’t feel relax when I have had to dance in an exhibition. Always, the five minutes before, I feel pain in my stomach and my hands start to sweat and shiver. The first times were really horrible, I was shivering all the first tango and when we finished, I wanted to go out as faster as possible. Now, I try to control myself, to relax me, to enjoy the moment, but it is not easy for me!
If tango would be my regular job, perhaps, it would lose the sense what it have for me and I would not feel completely satisfied.
Is tango an important aspect of your relationship with Felipe?
MS: It’s important because both of us love to dance, listen and watch tango, I met him when I started my lessons of tango and as was mentioned before, many times we organize dinners at home or in some restaurant and then we to go to some milonga with our tango’s friends. We love it! But we have a lot of other things in common too that we also enjoy to do it together.
What makes a good dancer for you?
MS: Not easy answer!. Perhaps, a good dancer as leader as follower is who makes feel so well to her/his partner, which, maybe, not only depending of her/his technical level. Sometimes, I love certain dancers who don’t dance well for the most of people and another times, I felt so captivated for dancers who dance very well for everybody!
Who were your influences when you started tango & who influences you now?
MS: The first time I went to Paris by a doctoral stay, on 2004, a friend of mind told that a very famous of tango will dance as exhibition in a milonga, Oxygène, a Wednesday evening. So, I went with her because tango performances were not common in Chile at the time. When we arrived there, She showed me the famous argentine couple and they were Geraldin Rojas and Javier Rodriguez. It was their last performance together in Europe and definitely, that exhibition influenced me a lot, even if I have never seen to Geraldin again in live. I took a workshop with Alejandra and Sergio once on summer 2005, then, a workshop with Javier and Andrea on summer of 2006 in Santiago, then, I took a particular lesson with Javier on Fall of 2009. I had wished to take much more lessons with them and another couples, but, it have not could do it due to my job. Fortunately, Javier and Andrea come again to Santiago this week!
How would you like to be remembered in 100 years?
In 100 years!!!!…..I would like to have children and grandchildren and they can remember me such as I am.
