Vertical Tango

The Vertical Tango (Chinese Pole) (gold medal and Prix de la Ville de Paris), by Sandra Feusi (Switzerland) and Sam Payne (California) is magic as expression, lightness, freedom, achievement. The two partners move on their pole like souls in paradise. The Vertical Tango is husband and wife duo Sam Payne and Sandra Feusi, whose tango act is stupendous. Payne's attempts to woo Feusi to tango with him at ground level initially fail, so it's a race up a 20-foot pole to dance a dance that only Olympic athletes should try at home. At one point Payne and Feusi cling to the pole, both their bodies stretched as if a gale wind is blowing them horizontally, striking a pose that is near impossible.