Tango (dance)

TangoCouple — A couple dances Argentine Tango.

Tango is a musical genre and its associated dance forms that originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay, and spread to the rest of the world soon after that.

Early tango was known as tango criollo, or simply tango. Today, there are many tango Dance styles, including Argentine Tango, Uruguayan Tango, Ballroom tango (American and International styles), Finnish tango and vintage tangos. What many consider to be the authentic tango is that closest to that originally danced in Argentina, though other types of tango have developed into mature dances in their own right.

History[]

Tango is a dance that has a large African influence. Dances from the candombe ceremonies of former slave peoples helped shape the modern day Tango. The dance originated in lower-class districts of Buenos Aires. The music derived from the fusion of various forms of music from Europe. . 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, primarily Italians, Spanish and French.

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". 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 1983 following the opening in Paris of the show Tango Argentino created by Claudio Segovia & Hector Orezzoli. This show made a revolution worldwide, and people everywhere started taking tango lessons.

In 1990, dancers Miguel Angel Zotto and Milena Plebs founded the "Tango X 2" Company , generating novel spectacles and that a great current of young people incline for the dance of the tango, an unusual thing at the time. They created a style that recovered the traditional tango of the milongas, renewed it and placed it as central element in its creations, doing an archeological search of the diverse styles of the tango.

Many shows toured around the world, such as Broadway Musicals Tango Argentino & Forever Tango, Tango X 2, and Tango Pasion among others.

Tango styles[]

TangoPostcard1920 — Tango postcard, c. 1919

Tango-Show-Buenos-Aires-01 — Tango Show in Buenos Aires

The Tango consists of a variety of styles that developed in different regions and eras of Argentina as well as in other locations around the world. The dance developed in response to many cultural elements, such as the crowding of the venue and even the fashions in clothing. The styles are mostly danced in either open embrace, where lead and follow have space between their bodies, or close embrace, where the lead and follow connect either chest-to-chest (Argentine tango) or in the upper thigh, hip area (American and International tango).

Different styles of Tango are:

Tango Argentino
Tango Oriental (uruguayo)
Argentine Tango
Tango Liso
Tango Salon
Tango Orillero
Tango Milonguero (Tango Apilado)
Tango Nuevo (New Tango)
Show Tango (also known as Fantasia)
Ballroom Tango
Finnish tango

These are danced to several types of music:

Tango
Vals (the tango version of waltz)
Milonga (a related dance that usually has a faster tempo)
Tango Electronico
"Alternative Tango," i.e. non-tango music appropriated for use in the dance

The "milonguero" style is 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 a 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 "Tango Nuevo" or "New Tango" has been popularized in recent years by a younger generation of dancers. The embrace is often quite open and very elastic, permitting the leader to lead a large variety of very complex figures. This style is often associated with those who enjoy dancing to jazz- and techno-tinged "alternative Tango" music, in addition to traditional Tango compositions.

Ballroom tango[]

TangoLesson4 — Ballroom tango illustration, 1914.

Ballroom tango, divided in recent decades into the "International" (English) and "European" styles, has descended from the tango styles that developed when the tango first went abroad to Europe and North 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 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 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 and Uruguayan tango, and were introduced in 1934 under the influence of a similar movement in the legs and feet of the Argentine tango, and the theatrical movements of the pasodoble. This style became very popular in Germany and was soon introduced to England, one of the first proponents being Mr Camp. The movements were very popular with spectators, but not with competition judges (Source: PJS Richardson, History of English Ballroom Dancing, Herbert Jenkins 1946, page 101-102)

Tango Canyengue[]

Tango Canyengue is a rhythmic style of tango that originated in the early 1900s and is still popular today. It is one of the original roots styles of tango and contains all fundamental elements of traditional Argentine Tango. In Tango Canyengue the dancers share one axis, dance in a closed embrace, and with the legs relaxed and slightly bent. Tango Canyengue uses body dissociation for the leading, walking with firm ground contact, and a permanent combination of on- and off-beat rhythm. Its main characteristics are its musicality and playfulness. Its rhythm is described as "incisive, exciting, provocative".

Each year in March, the international festival of tango roots Camicando draws tango canyengue lovers to Buenos Aires.

Finnish tango[]

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

The tango is danced in very close full upper body contact in a wide and strong frame, and features smooth horizontal movements that are very strong and determined. Dancers are very low, allowing long steps without any up and down movement. Forward steps land heel first, and in backward steps dancers push from the heel. In basic steps, the passing leg moves quickly to rest for a moment close to the grounded leg.

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.

Tango Nuevo[]

In the late 1990s a new style of tango dancing began appearing worldwide. Tango Nuevo dance style features an open embrace, fluid partner movements, trading of lead and further regional reinventions of the tango dance. Tango Nuevo is largely fueled by a fusion between tango music and Electronica, though the style can be adapted to traditional tango and even non-tango songs. Gotan Project released their first tango fusion album in 2000, quickly following with La Revancha del Tango, released in 2001. Bajofondo Tango Club, a Rioplatense music band consisting of seven musicians from Argentina and Uruguay, released their first album in 2002. Tanghetto's album Emigrante (electrotango) appeared in 2003 and was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2004. These and other electronic tango fusion songs bring an element of revitalization to the tango dance, serving to attract a younger group of dancers.

Technique comparison[]

Argentine, Uruguayan and Ballroom Tango use very different techniques and vocabularies, to the point where some consider them related in name only. In Argentine tango, the body's center moves first, then the feet reach to support it. In ballroom tango, the body is initially set in motion across the floor through the flexing of the lower joints (hip, knee, ankle) while the feet are delayed, then the feet move quickly to catch the body, resulting in snatching or striking action that reflects the staccato nature of this style's preferred music.

In Argentine tango, the steps are typically more gliding, but can vary widely in timing, speed, and character, and follow no single specific rhythm. Because the dance is led and followed at the level of individual steps, these variations can occur from one step to the next. This allows the dancers to vary the dance from moment to moment to match the music (which often has both legato and/or staccato elements) and their mood.

The Argentine Tango's frame, called an abrazo or "embrace," is not rigid, but flexibly adjusts to different steps, and may vary from being quite close, to offset in a "V" frame, to open. The American Ballroom Tango's frame is flexible too, but experienced dancers frequently dance in closed position: higher in the elbows, tone in the arms and constant connection through the body. When dancing socially with a beginners, however, it may be better to use a more open position because the close position is too intimate for them. In American Tango open position may result in open breaks, pivots, and turns which are quite foreign in Argentine tango and International (English) tango.

There is a Closed position as in other types of Ballroom dance, but it differs significantly between types of tango. In Argentine Tango, the "close embrace" involves continuous contact at the full upper body, but not the legs. In American Ballroom tango, the "close embrace" involves close contact in the pelvis or upper thighs, but not the upper body. Followers are instructed to thrust their hips forward, but pull their upper body away, and shyly look over their left shoulder when they are led into a "corte."

In Argentine tango open position, the legs may be intertwined and hooked together, in the style of Pulpo (the Octopus). In Pulpo's style, these hooks are not sharp, stacco ganchos, but smooth ganchos.

In Argentine Tango, the ball or toe 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 of Tango, "heel leads" (stepping first onto the heel, then the whole foot) are used for forward steps.

Ballroom tango steps stay close to the floor, while the Argentine Tango includes moves such as the Boleo (allowing momentum to carry one's leg into the air) and Gancho (dance move) (hooking one's leg around one's partner's leg or body) in which the feet travel off the ground. Argentine Tango features other vocabulary foreign to ballroom, such as the parada (in which the leader puts his foot against the follower's foot), the Arrastre (in which the leader appears to drag or be dragged by the follower's foot), and several kinds of sacada (in which the leader displaces the follower's leg by stepping into her space).

Finnish tango is closer to the Argentine than to Ballroom in its technique and vocabulary. Other regional variations are based on the Argentine style as well.

Tango influence[]

Music and dance elements of tango are popular in activities related to Gymnastics, Figure skating, synchronized swimming, etc., because of its dramatic feeling and its cultural associations with romance.

Mural Paez Vilaro — Mural of Carlos Gardel painted by Uruguayan Carlos Páez Vilaró

For 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, Adidas designed a ball and named it Tango[1] likely a tribute to the host country of the event. This design was also used in 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain as Tango Málaga[2], and in 1984 and 1988 Europes in France and West Germany.

Tango in film[]

Argentine tango is the main subject in these films:

Adiós Buenos Aires (1938)
The Tango Bar (1988), starring Raúl Juliá
The Tango Lesson (1997), starring Sally Potter and Pablo Verón, directed by Sally Potter
Tango (1998), starring Cecilia Narova and Mía Maestro, directed by Carlos Saura
Assassination Tango (2002), starring Robert Duvall, Rubén Blades and Kathy Baker, directed by Robert Duvall
Orquesta Tipica (2005), Documentary film about typical orchestra Fernandez Fierro, directed by Nicolas Entel
12 Tangos - Adios Buenos Aires (2005), directed by Arne Birkenstock

A number of films show tango in several scenes, such as:

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), starring Rudolph Valentino and Alice Terry, directed by Rex Ingram.
Last Tango in Paris (1972), starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.
The World's Greatest Lover (1977), starring Gene Wilder (who also directed), Carol Kane and Dom DeLuise.
Death on the Nile (1978 film) (1978), Peter Ustinov and Olivia Hussey tango whilst David Niven is the unfortunate partner to Angela Lansbury's rather eccentric version of the dance.
Never Say Never Again (1983), starring Sean Connery and Kim Basinger, directed by Irvin Kershner.
Scent of a Woman (1992), Al Pacino as blind Colonel dances Argentine Tango.
Strictly Ballroom (1992), directed by Baz Luhrmann
Addams Family Values (1993), Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston dance a tango so passionate that it literally burns the floor and makes all the champagne bottles in the nightclub pop their corks.
Schindler's List (1993), starring Liam Neeson
True Lies (1994), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis, directed by James Cameron
Evita (film) (1996), Madonna and Antonio Banderas dance a ballroom tango.
Happy Together (movie) (1997), directed by Wong Kar-wai
Moulin Rouge! (2001), featuring Ewan McGregor and "El Tango de Roxanne"
Le Tango Des Rashevski (2002)
Chicago (2002 movie) (2002), starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere, directed by Rob Marshall includes a song titled "The Cell Block Tango" and is accompanied with a dance.
Frida (2002), Salma Hayek and Ashley Judd dance a tango to the Lila Downs performed song Alcoba Azul.
Shall We Dance (2004), starring Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon, directed by Peter Chelsom.
Madonna featured choreography inspired by the Argentine Tango styles for the Die Another Day section of her 2004 Re-Invention Tour. Segments of the 2005 documentary I'm Going To Tell You A Secret show this choreograpy in use.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, directed by Doug Liman.
Rent (2005) had Anthony Rapp and Tracie Thoms perform a semi-elaborate ballroom tango in the song "Tango:Maureen" to describe their emotional relations and issues over a promiscuous girl they both dated.
Mad Hot Ballroom (2005), documentary directed by Marilyn Agrelo
Take the Lead (2006), starring Antonio Banderas, directed by Liz Friedlander
Another Cinderella Story (2008), starring Selena Gomez and Drew Seeley Performed during the Black and White Ball in the scene where Mary drops her Zune

Finnish tango is featured to a greater or lesser extent in the following films:

Onnen maa (1993), starring Pertti Koivula and Katariina Kaitue, directed by Markku Pölönen.
Levottomat (2000), starring Mikko Nousiainen and Laura Malmivaara, directed by Aku Louhimies.
Tulitikkutehtaan tyttö (1990), starring Kati Outinen, directed by Aki Kaurismäki.
Mies vailla menneisyyttä (2002), starring Markku Peltola and Kati Outinen, directed by Aki Kaurismäki.
Varjoja paratiisissa (1986), starring Matti Pellonpää and Kati Outinen, directed by Aki Kaurismäki.
Kuutamolla (2002), starring Minna Haapkylä and Laura Malmivaara, directed by Aku Louhimies.
Tango Kabaree (2001), starring Martti Suosalo and Aira Samulin, directed by Pekka Lehto.
Minä soitan sinulle illalla (1954), starring Olavi Virta, directed by Armand Lohikoski.

References[]

External links[]

"Tango", a Government of Argentina webpage

"Show en el siglo XXI", a New tango shows - Compañia Experimental de Tango Arte webpage

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