"Old Saying Shows it Takes Two" by Susan Pearl

"It takes two to tango".


What does it mean to "work in tandem"?  I know a tandem bicycle is a bicycle built for two.  The two riding the bike have to work in conjunction with each other with the person behind following the lead of the person in front.  It takes two working in conjunction with each other to make a wonderful and pleasant bike ride.

So it is with a dance except that the two people are facing each other.  These two people are moving in conjunction with each other to be dancing and one of them is designated the leader.

When describing a situation where two people were involved with the same objective and working in conjunction for it, that situation can sometimes be described by the old saying "It takes two to tango".  This Old Saying expresses that it took both of them for the events to happen the way they did.  Neither one of them could have done it alone but working in conjunction with each other they could accomplish it--- because "It takes two to tango". A tango dance takes two people--one person on the dancefloor alone is not a tango.