There are many legends and stories about the origins and development of Tango. The favorite
history of Tango is that it started in the suburbs of the melting pot of Buenos Aires,
Argentina. Tango is a dance, a music, and a poetry that
originated in Buenos Aires at the turn of the century – about 1900. European and South
American immigrants all brought their native music and dances with them. One of the earliest
Tangos was written around 1905 by Angel Villaldo. It was “El Choclo”, one tune almost everyone
recognizes as Tango. The word TANGO was used at the time to describe the various music
and dances of the area. Buenos Aires was a very poor city with penniless
immigrants coming to make their fortunes on the plains of Argentina and Uruguay. Those
who failed ended up in the cities. Most of the immigrants were single men with nothing
to their name but their macho pride, hoping to earn enough to return to Europe or buy
a bride from Europe. A poor, desperate, male population bred crime, brothels, gangsters,
and TANGO. With few women around, Tango moved to where
women could be found…..the brothels. The women there could choose their clients by
their dancing skill. The man had 3 dances to prove himself.
With few women around, men learned together. It was not uncommon for men to dance with
men, practicing their dance skills. This dance and music was popularized and moved
up the social scale where it was embraced by the sons of the rich who were sent to Europe
to study or do a grand tour. By 1910, the rich sons of Argentina made their
way to Paris where society was eager for innovation and not averse to the risqué nature of Tango.
Polite society in Paris saw the dance and fell in love which let loose a Tangomania.
1913 was the year of the Tango and Tango became an international phenomena. As it was now
fashionable in Paris, the upper class of Argentina embraced it and Hollywood glamorized the Tango
with Rudolph Valentino as its most famous Tango Gaucho. Films, lyrics, and music developed
and recordings were made. By the end of the 1st World War, Argentina was one of the richest
countries of the world. Some of the most renowned Tango recording artists of this early time
included Carlos Gardel, who sang the Tango stories of abandoned lovers which became the
story of Tango. Notable dancers during this period included Petroleo, or Carlos Estevez
who got his nickname by being so slick on the dance floor. He would bend low at the
knees and his footwork was characteristically fast. Others included Gerardo Portales, José
Vasquez, Luis Lemos, Miguel Balmaceda, and Ramón Rivera.
By 1930 however, Tango was out of fashion in Europe and a military coup in Argentina
suppressed and censored Tango for 10 years. But Tango flourished again the 1940s which
developed into the Golden Age of Tango. Tango came to be a fundamental expression of Argentine
culture and it was championed by the national political movement of Juan and Eva Peron beginning
in 1946. Tango changed with political and economic
conditions as evidenced in the music. In poor economic times, the larger dance salons closed,
giving way to the once popular smaller venues. Orchestras too became smaller again and by
the end of the 1950s Tango was again out of fashion. The arrival of American Swing and
Rock and Roll had taken over. Tango is really a passion play and a tango
dance ends quite often with a falling woman. In fact, the falling woman has become the
popular icon of tango. It is the melodramatic portrayal of a fallen woman. Stories of tango
can be about the lives of women who are “fallen” according to the morality of their societies.
A great part of tango speaks of women who leave a man, often poor, for another man,
in general of higher class, and el guapo takes revenge by killing the woman. According to
the universal codes of love and betrayal, she must be thrown away.
Tango’s current popularity began in the 1980s when a popular stage show “Tango Argentino”
toured the world, starring such dancers as Juan Carlos Copes and Maria Nieves. The newest
surge in popularity began in 1990 with an explosion around the world.
Most people see Tango primarily as a dance but getting to know and understand the music
is part of knowing Tango. The classic Tango orchestra is made up of
badonéons, violins, piano, and string bass. The guitar is also a commonly included instrument
especially when a singer is present. The BANDONEÓN is the key to the Tango sound.
It is a large, rather complicated concertina originally developed in Germany for churches
that could not afford organs. The bandoneón is a rather complex instrument because most
of the buttons produce a DIFFERENT note when played pushing in rather than pulling them
out. Also, since the bandoneón is asymmetrical, the right and left hand keyboards are different,
it means that four different keyboard layouts must be learned. The bandoneón has become
almost the symbol of tango. As the music developed it became less rigidly
rhythmic, more harmonic, and melodic. Some people see tango as primarily a dance – a
connection between two people in a beautiful pas de deux. Most will say however that tango
is the music, the lyrics, and the dancers’ interpretation of the music, and the sentiments
it expresses. Argentine tango music is much more varied than ballroom tango music. While
Argentine tango dancing has historically been danced to tango music, in the 1990s a younger
generation of tango dancers began dancing tango steps to alternatives to tango music.
In the 21st Century, the new generation of musicians is mixing tango with contemporary
music styles. This has been branded ‘Tango Nuevo’
Argentine tango is danced in an embrace that can vary from very open, in which leader and
follower connect at arm’s length, to very closed, in which the connection is chest-to-chest,
or anywhere in between. Three things happen as the Tango dance begins. First, the man
signals through his body that the first step is about to begin. Second, the lady responds
with a move backwards acknowledging her awareness of the move and making room for the man by
starting a step backward. Third, the man senses the response of the lady and begins his first
step forward. Tango dance is essentially walking with a partner and the music. Dancing appropriately
to the emotion and speed of a tango is extremely important to dancing tango. A good dancer
is one who transmits a feeling of the music to the partner, leading them effectively throughout
the dance. Also, dancers generally keep their feet close to the floor as they walk, the
ankles and knees brushing as one leg passes the other. Argentine tango is danced counterclockwise
around the outside of the dance floor. A striking difference between Argentine tango
and ballroom tango is in the shape and feel of the embrace. Ballroom technique dictates
that partners arch their upper bodies away from each other, while maintaining contact
at the hip. In Argentine tango, it is the opposite: the dancers’ chests are closer
to each other than are their hips. One very important characteristic of Argentine tango
is the walk outside of the legs of the follower. This inside walk belongs originally to the
American Tango. It is seen in Argentine Tango but it does not belong to it originally.
Argentine Tango is not a set step, but a completely improvised dance comprised of various elements.
Some elements include caminar (walk), cruce (cross), ochos (figure eight), ganchos (leg
hooks), giros (turns), contragiros (turns in the other direction), sacadas (displacements),
boleos, Llevadas de pie (moving foot by foot), cortes (cuts), and quebradas (breaks).
Argentine tango developed a set of codes and superstitions throughout its history. One
example is “cabeceo” – an eye invitation by a man to a woman to dance, which is practiced
in Buenos Aires. The man raises an eyebrow, or both. The woman accepts by smiling or nodding
agreement. If the woman is not available or not interested, she averts her eyes as though
she didn’t see. Tango music is played in sets of 3 or 4 dances called Tandas and it
is expected that one will dance the entire Tanda with one’s partner. Between Tandas
a Cortina is played. It is a short piece, about 30 seconds and not Tango music to let
the dancers know that the Tanda is over. One Tango superstition is that one does not
dance to the well-known tango “Adios Muchachos” as it is believed to be the last song sung
by Carlos Gardel before his death. There is nothing more tango than nylons. Sexy
nylons lengthen the leg and are super soft to touch. Also worn is fishnet stockings,
almost a tango trademark. When tango was born it was customary that
women wore long skirts. As time went by however, women began making openings in their skirts
and dresses in order to have a wider range of motion. Today it is customary to wear all
lengths of skirts as long as movement is not impeded. Women tango dancers wear long skirts
or dresses with long slits or really short skirts or dresses usually with asymmetrical
hemlines adorned with fringes and crochet applications. The tops normally show cleavage
and are very sensual. Accessories can be worn on special occasions or for shows. This includes
flowers made from fabric or feathers attached to the hair or legs. Tango shoes for women
sport high heels with plenty of support and two straps, one from around the ankle and
the other up the middle of the foot. For the men, a typical outfit is a silk shirt
and straight cut trousers. The man never wears cuffed trousers as it is too easy for a stiletto
heal to get caught. The man can also wear suspenders, vests and hats, all contributing
to the tango image. Although the 1930s and 40s are often referred
to as the Golden Age of Tango, many see the modern resurgence as the new Golden Age of
Tango. As with Tango itself, or how one interprets
Tango and its origins, when 2 people step into the embrace, a truly sensual experience
begins as Tango is NOT JUST A DANCE.