Dancing Tango at a Milonga

A Newbie’s Guide

 

Tango is fundamentally a social dance, and the places where it is danced socially are called milongas.  The music and dance developed together, originally in Buenos Aires in the early 20th century, by immigrants to the city.   Over the years, a set of social expectations and courtesies developed that are followed to this day.  They’re often called codigos or “codes,” not in the sense of some encrypted communications, but in the sense of expectations, like “codes of conduct.”

Here’s a brief guide to the codes—you’ll be expected to follow them closely at any milonga you may attend.  Remember that they aren’t arbitrary; they are a way to be kind to one another and to ensure that everyone has the best experience possible at the milonga.

Music:

The music will be one of three rhythms: tango, vals [or waltz] and milonga.  This last one is indeed its own rhythm, faster and sharper than the others.  It’s unfortunate that the word “milonga” has these two different meanings, but there you go.

The music, is played in sets called tandas, usually of three or four tunes by the same orchestra and always of the same rhythmic pattern.  When the tanda ends, the d.j. plays a cortina, literally a curtain.  This is a piece of music that is unmistakably not tango (or vals or milonga) .

The Invitation to Dance:

Traditionally, it is the leader who invites the follower to dance, always with a cabeceo or nod of the head after making eye-contact. If the follower doesn’t wish to accept, they just don’t make eye-contact. That way no egos are hurt. But if the invitation is welcome, the follower maintains that eye-contact and offers a little nod or smile of their own.  The leader then approaches the follower and extends a hand.  Followers: that’s the moment to stand up.  It is painfully embarrassing if the leader was really inviting someone sitting behind you and you misinterpreted!

While it is expected that you will dance the whole tanda with the same partner once you begin, it is perfectly ok to start mid-way through the tanda or even while a tune has already begun.  It is fine—even expected—to chat with your partner between songs, but save your thank you for when the cortina comes.  Saying it before the tanda ends has come to mean “This isn’t fun for me and I’m leaving the floor now.”  Do that if you must, but be aware that it is reserved for extreme situations.
 

The Ronda

Dancers always follow a line-of-dance, basically a counter-clockwise path around the floor, called the ronda. If it’s a big room with many couples dancing, there may be two or even three parallel rondas all moving counter-clockwise.  Before entering the ronda, if the floor is busy, the leader should catch the eye of another leader already dancing as a way to say “is it ok for us to enter ahead of you?”  That look will be returned with a nod or  a smile if indeed it is ok.

It’s considered rude to pass a couple in your line-of-dance, just as it is considered rude to be “that couple” that’s holding up everyone else.

 

One Last Suggestion:

Tango has been called a silent conversation between a leader and a follower about a piece of music. Starting a verbal conversation about something else while dancing is usually not a good idea.

Now with these ideas in place, go make eye-contact, listen to both the music and your partner’s movements and enjoy!

 

Argentine Tango
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_tango

Argentine tango dancing consists of a variety of styles that developed in different regions and eras, and in response to the crowding of the venue and even the fashions in clothing. Even though the present forms developed in Argentina and Uruguay, they were also exposed to influences re-imported from Europe and North America. There are records of 18th and early 19th century tango styles in Cuba and Spain, while there is aflamenco tangos dance that may share a common ancestor in a minuet-style European dance.  Consequently, there is a good deal of confusion and overlap between the styles as they are now danced - and fusions continue to evolve.

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.

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 dancing relies heavily on improvisation, although certain patterns of movement have been codified by instructors over the years as a device to instruct dancers, there is a "basic step" called "basico". One of the few constants across all Argentine tango dance styles is that the follower will usually be led to alternate feet. Another is that the follower rarely has his or her weight on both feet at the same time. In many modern variations of Argentine Tango, particularly in Europe, teachers of Tango may establish a "basic step" in order to help students to learn and pick up the "feel" of the dance.

Argentine tango is danced counterclockwise around the outside of the dance floor (the "line of dance") and dance "traffic" often segregates into a number of "lanes"; cutting across the middle of the floor is frowned upon. In general, the middle of the floor is where one finds either beginners who lack floor navigation skills or people who are performing "showy" figures or patterns that take up more dance floor space. It is acceptable to stop briefly in the line of dance to perform stationary figures, as long as the other dancers are not unduly impeded. The school of thought about this is, if there is open space in front, there are likely people waiting behind. Dancers are expected to respect the other couples on the floor; colliding or even crowding another couple, or stepping on others' feet is to be avoided strenuously. It is considered rude; in addition to possible physical harm rendered, it can be disruptive to a couple's musicality.

Ballroom Tango steps were standardized by dance studios. The steps have been relatively fixed in style for decades. However, Argentine tango has been an evolving dance and musical form, with continual changes occurring every day on the social dance floor in Argentina and in major tango centers elsewhere in the world. Argentine tango dance is, still based heavily on improvisation. While there are patterns or sequences of steps that are used by instructors to teach the dance, even in a sequence every movement is led not only in direction but also speed and quality (a step can be smooth, pulsing, sharp, ... etc.). Although Argentine tango evolves mostly on the dance floor, the government of Argentina does host an annual competition of Argentine tango dance in Buenos Aires, attracting competitors from around the world.

ARGENTINE TANGO: The Argentine Tango is a beautiful, improvisational social dance that has developed over the last century in the City of Buenos Aires. It is a true dance of leading and following. Many find Argentine Tango quite challenging, commanding an advanced knowledge of dance skills for partner dancing. Argentine Tango, with it’s dramatic character and use of leg and foot actions, uses slower music and progresses counter clockwise in the line of dance.