Paso Doble is all about drama, a sense of confidence or power, and being strong enough to take on a bull (or other challenges.) So, what kind of playlist do you pull together for the rockstar and the queen who’s trying to pretend she’s icy? How do you survive appels that feel more like getting your ego or pride stomped on instead? Is getting gored by a bull better than emotional bruises? Because their past is sharp, and their bite is precise.

I am working on the same scene playlist. It’s tension, history, anger, passionate love, memory and disregard all in one. The spoken words? Oh those words are on par with the paso doble. Except there might be better odds surviving a bull’s horns. Only someone who loved and lost you knows the best ways to hurt you.

So, how do you hold out from emotionally bleeding your truths long enough for the other person to bleed theirs? And also, how do you survive a dance that requires closeness when at least one of you wishes to never touch again? Because we’ve already seen the electricity in a different moment.

This is a battle of wills and who can touch the fire the longest without burning.

And the playlist for something that stomps on your heart but reminds it of all the good times in the same beat? That’s a fun challenge.

First up has to be the strongest memory tie. Maybe not that exact song, but that artist is enough to start pulling on the tightly packed cork in this memory. The first time was in a car ride after their best connection yet. But before something gets christened. So yeah, instant memory and instant defense. Perfect start place for being stiff and hard to hold in a dance, right? Especially if this song speaks to how they started, and were with each other. Nostalgia before the first steps even happen.

Livin’ On A Prayer – Bon Jovi

Of course, it wasn’t just living on a prayer that defined them. They got famous in their own rights. So it couldn’t be the hard times alone that caused the rift? What else could have caused it? Being prideful, thinking the other did the wronging. Love, even if it feels like a bad romance and the sharpened horns aim for your heart or any other vulnerable areas. That sort of thing would keep the standoff going.

Bad Romance – Lady Gaga

The witty retorts that land like gut punches? This next choice feels like it explains how they both got there. Both hitting that survival mode. Hunters, not prey, never again. Except… They are fighting each other. They used to be a power couple on what they did well together. Now one fights in defense, the other jabs to see if the fire stokes up or is truly out cold. And yet, it’s still so natural for them that they can still preform a dance for anyone watching.

Natural – Imagine Dragons

So, what’s it like during? It’s slow for the audience, but so fast and driving for them. Bonus points for his rock star vibes feeling like that solo. If he plays like that, you know his words have a cadence and accuracy too. And her? Full on trooper mode. It might be a miracle if she lasts the whole dance, and doesn’t harm him for it. But, love and hate are such a fine line… especially when all that passion didn’t have a way out.

The Trooper – Iron Maiden

This one hits the mood during the dance. They have their war paint on, they fundamentally changed each other in the past, and now it’s time to see if they can rise from this too. All to the thumping beat of someone else’s song. But them? Their bodies never needed music to follow each other’s leads.

The Phoenix – Fall Out Boy