Tango (dance)

Tango is a social dance form that originated in Montevideo, Uruguay and then emmigrated to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The musical styles that evolved together with the dance are also known as "tango".

Early tango was known as tango criollo or simply tango. Today, there are many tango dance styles including Argentine tango, ballroom tango (American and International styles), Finnish tango, Chinese tango, and vintage tangos. The Argentine tango is regarded as the "authentic" tango since it is closest to that originally danced in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay.

Music and dance elements of tango are popular in activities related to dancing, such as figure skating, synchronized swimming, etc., because of its dramatic feeling and rich opportunities for improvisation on the eternal topic of love.

History

The dance originated in lower-class districts of Montevideo (Uruguay) and then emmigrated to Buenos Aires, during the late 19th century. The music derived from the fusion of music from Europe, the South American Milonga, and African rhythms. Jorge Luis Borges in "El idioma de los argentinos" writes:"Tango belongs to the Rio de la Plata and it is the son of Uruguayan "milonga" and grandson of the "habanera". The word Tango seems to have first been used in connection with the dance in the 1890s. Initially it was just one of the many dances, but it soon became popular throughout society, as theatres and street barrel organs spread it from the suburbs to the working-class slums, which were packed with hundreds of thousands of European immigrants.

In the early years of the twentieth century, dancers and orchestras from Buenos Aires travelled to Europe, and the first European tango craze took place in Paris, soon followed by London, Berlin, and other capitals. Towards the end of 1913 it hit New York in the USA, and Finland. In the USA around 1911 the name "Tango" was often applied to dances in a 2/4 or 4/4 rhythm such as the one-step. The term was fashionable and did not indicate that tango steps would be used in the dance, although they might be. Tango music was sometimes played, but at a rather fast tempo. Instructors of the period would sometimes refer to this as a "North American Tango", versus the "Rio de la Plata tango" also called "Argentine Tango". By 1914 more authentic tango stylings were soon developed, along with some variations like Albert Newman's "Minuet" Tango.

In Argentina, the onset in 1929 of the Great Depression, and restrictions introduced after the overthrow of the Hipólito Yrigoyen government in 1930 caused Tango to decline. Its fortunes were reversed as tango again became widely fashionable and a matter of national pride under the government of Juan Perón. Tango declined again in the 1950s with economic depression and as the military dictatorships banned public gatherings, followed by the popularity of Rock and Roll. The dance lived on in smaller venues until its revival in the 1980s following the opening in Paris of the show Tango Argentino and the Broadway musical Forever Tango.

Tango styles

There are a number of styles of tango:

Argentine Tango
- Tango Canyengue
- Tango Liso
- Tango Salon
- Tango Orillero
- Tango Milonguero (Tango Apilado)
- Tango Nuevo
- Vals (the tango version of waltz)
- Milonga (a related dance that has a faster tempo)
- Show Tango (also known as Fantasia)
Ballroom Tango, see Ballroom dance
- American Style
- International Style

Argentine Tango (Tango Argentino)

Ballroom tango

Ballroom tango, divided in recent decades into the "International" (English) and "American" styles, has descended from the tango styles that developed when the tango first went abroad to Europe and America. The dance was simplified, adapted to the preferences of conventional ballroom dancers, and incorporated into the repertoire used in International Ballroom dance competitions. English Tango was first codified in October 1922, when it was proposed that it should only be danced to modern tunes, ideally at 30 bars per minute (i.e. 120 beats per minute - assuming a 4/4 measure).

Subsequently the English Tango evolved mainly as a highly competitive competitive dance, while the American Tango evolved as an unjudged social dance with an emphasis on leading and following skills. This has led to some principal distinctions in basic technique and style. Nevertheless there are quite a few competitions held in the American style, and of course mutual borrowing of technique and dance patterns happens all the time.

Ballroom tangos also use different music and styling from Argentine tangos, with more staccato movements and the characteristic "head snaps". The head snaps are totally foreign to Argentine tango.

Finnish tango

Ilpo Hakasalo provides a historical perspective for the Finnish tango in article The melancholy Finnish tango. The article can be found at http://www.fimic.fi/.

The tango spread from the dominant urban dance form to become hugely popular across Finland in the 50's after the wars. The melancholy tone of the music reflected the themes of Finnish folk poetry; Finnish tango is almost always in minor key.

The tango is danced in very close full upper body contact in a wide and strong frame. Dancers are very low, allowing long steps without any up and down movement. Forward steps are made heel first and backward steps push dancer from heel. In basic step passing leg moves quickly to rest for a while close to passed leg. The melancholy Finnish tango is also revealed in smooth continuing horizontal movements that are very strong and determined.

Each year the Tangomarkkinat, or tango festival, draws over 100,000 tangophiles to the central Finnish town of Seinäjoki, which also hosts the Tango Museum. This leads Finns to regard this unlikely provincial town as the "second city of tango" after, of course, Buenos Aires.

Technique comparison

The ways that steps are taken in tango are quite different in ballroom versus Argentine tango. Ballroom tango does not use gliding steps but instead uses staccato steps. Teachers sometimes call out the steps as SLOW SLOW QUICK QUICK SLOW, where the SLOW steps are better described as QUICK-HOLD as the dancer rushes to make a step and then holds it as long as possible before rushing to make the next step. That is what gives the staccato action of the steps. This is an attempt to match the staccato accents that always appear in ballroom tango music.

In ballroom tango the feet move before the whole body weight is moved, in contrast to Argentine tango where the body center starts to move and is then supported by the movement of the feet.

Other forms of tango, including Chinese tango and Argentine tango, use more gliding steps that match the music which tends to be romantic and less staccato. The basic position is a closed position similar to that of other kinds of ballroom dance. In Argentine Tango, the "close embrace" with full upper body contact is often used. In Ballroom tango, the "close embrace" involves close contact, too, but the contact is with the hips and upper thighs and not the upper torso. In Argentine Tango, the ball of the foot may be placed first. Alternately, the dancer may take the floor with the entire foot in a cat-like manner. In the International style, "heel leads" (stepping first onto the heel, then the whole foot) are used for forward steps. Ballroom tangos, including American and International, are based mainly on the movement of the feet across the floor, while the Argentine Tango includes various other moves such as the gancho (hooking one's leg around one's partner's leg), the parada (in which the leader puts his foot against the follower's foot), the arrastre (in which the leader appears to drag the follower's foot), and several kinds of sacada (in which the leader displaces the follower's leg, by stepping into her space).

Argentine Tango is not danced in a rigid dance position, or "frame" but inside an embrace, known as the abrazo. The embrace can be very close, somewhat open, or offset in a "V" position. One style that has gained popularity within the past ten years is the "milonguero" style, characterized by a very close embrace, small steps, and syncopated rhythmic footwork. It is based on the petitero or caquero style of the crowded downtown clubs of the '50s. In contrast, the tango that originated in the family clubs of the suburban neighborhoods (Villa Urquiza/Devoto/Avellaneda etc.) emphasizes long elegant steps, and complex figures. In this case the embrace may be allowed to open briefly, to permit execution of the complicated footwork. The complex figures of this style became the basis for the theatrical-performance style of Tango seen in the touring stage shows. For stage purposes, the embrace is often very open, and the complex footwork is augmented with gymnastic lifts, kicks, and drops.

A newer style sometimes called "Nuevo Tango" has been popularized in recent years by a younger generation of dancers and involves endless creativity in steps. The embrace is often quite open and very elastic, permitting a large variety of very complex figures. These dancers often enjoy dancing to rhythmic jazz- or techno-inspired music, in addition to more traditional tango compositions. Related groups preferring the identifier "Neo-Tango" dance almost exclusively to "Alternative" musical genres.