Education Site Content

Staccato steps and sharp head turns set the Tango apart from the Foxtrot and the Waltz. This dance is extremely sensual and provocative. In general, the hold used by the dancers binds the couple much closer together than in other dances.

At one time it was said that the Tango was a dance performed between a prostitute and her pimp in the brothels outside Buenos Aires, Argentina. Another explanation for the stance and movements of the Tango dance is that the Argentinian cowboys (Gauchos) would show up at nightclubs without the benefit of a shower so, when a lady agreed to take to the floor, she would dance in the crook of her partner’s right arm, keeping her head back. The knees bent stance of the dance was basically the way the Gauchos naturally walked as a result of wearing chaps that get soaked from the sweat of their horses then harden as they dry.

The Milonga was the forerunner of the Tango. It used the same sharp head and shoulder moves and characteristic sudden stops of the Tango. Early in the 20th century, the Milonga was entertainment for the high society of Brazil and during that time the name was changed to the Tango

There is the American Ballroom Tango, the International Ballroom Tango and the Argentinian Tango. Unlike the American and International styles, the Argentinian Tango is danced in a close embrace, utilising intricate footwork and leg movements.  Because the Argentinian Tango doesn’t require a great deal of movement, it is well suited for nightclubs and other venues with small dance floors. Unlike the Waltz, the sway and the rise and fall motions are to be avoided at all costs. The desired movements are very sharp and well defined.

The music for this ballroom dance is usually provided by an orchestra that has a piano, guitar, violin, flute and a bandoneon (an offshoot of a concertina which looks a little like a small accordion). The bandoneon is essential to Tango music.   

The Tango has always been a very popular dance with Hollywood moviemakers. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tia Carrere danced a sexy, sultry Tango in True Lies, while Al Pacino showed Gabrielle Anwar the secrets of the Tango in Scent of a Woman. To an earlier generation, Rudolph Valentino was the heart-throb who Tangoed in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Incoming search terms:

• argentinian tango steps (1)