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Background
on Argentine Tango
Sensibility and Practice of Tango
Part of tango's fascination is surely its reputation for sensuality and passion — qualities which emerged early on, first as a creation of marginalized immigrants and laborers in the rough dance halls and clubs of the Río de la Plata in the late 19th Century, and later as an exotic import to the salons of Europe in the early 20th Century.
Today, that legacy continues in the intimate mind/body/spirit connection between partners that's still the foundation of a successful dance. As the Argentines are fond of saying,
"Tango is a dance with four legs, two heads, and one heart ..."
In the land of its origin, tango is also widely seen as an evocative synthesis of feeling, philosophy and culture that comes very close to expressing the collective soul and imagination of its people.
Non-Argentines who embrace the possibility of tango quickly discover a river that not only runs deep and strong with tradition, but one that is still defining its banks, and still adding new branches and fresh tributaries, all while contributing its rich current to a wider sea where all forms of dance share and blend their waters.
Improvisation and Creativity in Tango
The other aspect that dancers find both compelling and challenging is the improvisational nature of tango, which has several implications:
- There are no "steps" or patterns to memorize or execute — dancing tango is more like having a conversation or taking a journey ... the outcome is always in doubt, dancers work without a script or net, and no one ever dances the same tango twice.
- Dancers interpret the music, but are not "married" to the music — dancers are free to step or move on the beat, between the beat, around the beat, against the beat ... or any combination thereof, at any moment, and different again from one moment the next.
- The partners do not "do the same thing" — they don't (necessarily) "mirror" or echo each other, or any other dancer or couple in the room ... instead the partners in tango create what are essentially two different but nevertheless highly integrated and coordinated dances.
- And the partners somehow manage to do all of this together, at the same time, in the same moment — something which demands a kind of trust, openness, awareness, and courage that goes well beyond the basics of good technique.
Add all this up, and you have the basis for a very provocative and challenging mode of expression — a rich "kinetic language" with pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, syntax — which blossoms into an art form as the dancers begin to access and communicate ever deeper layers of feeling through ever greater levels of skill, experience, sensitivity and insight.
More Perspective on Argentine Tango
New to Argentine Tango:
For more on Tango's history, culture and aesthetic, as well as some advice on getting started as a beginning dancer in tango, try "Beginner's Guide to Argentine Tango" by Susan's Brown ...
Philosophy & Aesthetic of Tango:
For a cut at some of the deeper and more elusive issues at play in Tango -- philosophical, spiritual and otherwise -- try Sharna Fabiano's article, "The Essential Tango" ...
Tango in Relation to Other Dance Forms:
For some incisive discussion about creative improvisation, effective partnering, and the "lateral thinking" used in Tango (and other "freestyle" dances), see Richard Powers' interlocking essays on dance ...
20th Century Tango Music & History:
To hear classic Tango music, and for additional insight into its history and culture, try this excellent three-part radio documentary originally from the CBC -- now available only as an .mp3 archive ...
Tango's Deeper History & West African Roots:
For an overview on some of the many currents, influences, traditions and cultures that have blended together to help inform and create Tango, check out this interview with Robert Farris Thompson of Yale, who wrote "Tango: The Art History of Love" ...
Tango on Film & Video:
Tango video is all over the web these days (youtube has thousands of examples), but if movies are your thing, you can see some enticing Tango in several forms -- lessons, social dancing in Argentina and Paris, stage performance, fantasy, etc. -- in THE TANGO LESSON, a film by Sally Potter ...
And you can catch a little bit of the flavor, passion and devotion that Tango often inspires in the amusing TANGHI ARGENTINI from Belgium, nominated for an Academy Award in 2008 as "Best Live Action Short."
Wide World of Tango:
To get a small taste of the ever-expanding reach and vibrancy of Tango as a worldwide phenomenon, try browsing a few of the many thousands of international links available at Cyber-Tango ...
Weeky Milonga - in Santa Barbara:
Closer to home, one of the best places to experience Tango -- both the music and the dance -- is in Santa Barbara at the Cafe Buenos Aires, where the area's oldest weekly milonga (tango dance party) unfolds each Wednesday night, from 7:30 p.m. until closing ...
Also during the evening, look for either live Tango music with dancing on the patio, or a "tango performance" presented by local dancers -- for the latest details, please contact the restaurant ...
More Tango in Southern California:
And for all things Tango in and around Southern California, be sure not to miss one of the best Tango portals in the world, Tango in L.A., the elegant creation of Los Angeles-based tanguero, teacher and aficionado, Vladimir Estrin ...
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