Let's tango!

Argentina has three passions – Football, Asados (BBQ) and Tango. I love my asados but now I have also fallen in love with tango, Argentine Tango. Living in Buenos Aires, the capital of tango allows for plenty of opportunities to practice this beautiful dance.

The origin of the tango is unclear but is thought to have originated in Buenos Aires in the 1800s based on the large number of immigrants and the mixture of cultures that resulted thereof. It supposedly started off as a dance of the poor neighbourhoods (called “barrios”) of Buenos Aires but by the 1900s tango gained popularity in the higher social classes as well thanks to young upper class men who liked to mingle in the barrios. In the 1930s it spread worldwide.

It is not like everyone here dances tango but many do and many tourists want to give it at least a go...Unlike in Europe where you go to a dance school, here you usually go to a Milonga. This is a place at which they give tango lessons and afterwards (usually after midnight) it turns into something like a “tango nightclub” with an open dance floor and you can dance pretty much all night through. During the lessons it is very common to change dance partners. This is considered to be useful because one learns to dance with different people rather than just with your partner. People say that this way you really learn to dance.

However, at the same time “Milonga” also refers to a special kind of tango. It is quicker and has somewhat a different rhythm to that of a “normal” tango.

The focus of the tango does not lie in the most elaborate steps and figures (even though these are definitely a major part of advanced level tango dancing) but in the connection between the couple. The woman has to learn to follow the man blindly and men have to learn to lead women through slightest movements of their bodies. A tiny change in posture of the man already signals a change in steps to the woman.

This dance really is a challenge but it is a beautiful and passionate one. And when you are on the dance floor with your partner, with your eyes closed and let yourself get taken away by the music, it is very easy to get hooked...