Keeping the beat

I always considered that I kept to the beat until dancing with a portena who insisted I should be more careful: I made a note of this earlier. Today I found this quote from Kathryn Stott, pianist, who was introduced to Piazolla's music by Yoyo Ma, and who subsequently performed with members of Piazolla's quintet, including Pablo Aslan:

"After the release of the album, we toured the US and far east and my real tango lessons began. Our bass player, Pablo Aslan, was tough in insisting on my left hand playing in time with the notes of his bass ... if that four-note upbeat was not in sync, it simply sounded weak. I thought I knew how to play in time, but this was metronomic on a scale I had not encountered."

"...metronomic on a scale I had not encountered." That's from a trained classical musician, and my experience exactly. Keep the beat with the feet, and let the upper body be moved by the melody.