Tango is a ballroom dance that originated among the working class of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the early 20th century. Though Tango has its influence from African, South American, and European cultures, popular cultures help shape what it is today. It has quickly evolved into a dozen distinct styles practiced in different parts of the world through popularization.

Though several differences led to the formation of distinct styles, significant distinctions between different kinds of Tango are mainly:

Leg Positioning: Legs of the dancers can be intertwined and hooked together or kept away from one another. This is one significant distinction for recognizing the style of Tango. Placement of the foot on the floor can also offer insight into different tango types, as some require landing the foot flatly on the ground, while for others, the toes.

Intimacy: The two tango dancers are almost always in some kind of embrace (called frame) when dancing the Tango. It could be either an open embrace or a close embrace where the chest or the legs are touching. This can even change several times during a single dance routine.

Speed: In contrast to other dances, such as rumba and flamenco, the Tango is a relatively slow dance. But compared to the original versions of Tango that originated in Argentina, Modern Tango is fairly fast-paced and requires quick footwork.

Three Major Different Styles of Tango:

There are plenty of variations of Tango around the world, but Tango can be classified into three major distinct styles:

Argentinian Tango: The Argentinian Tango, also known as the traditional Tango, is a style of Tango in which the dancers have their chests closer to each other than their hips. This version allows for intimacy and playfulness. This is one of the most original types of Tango that contains all the fundamental elements of traditional Argentine Tango from the 19th century.

Ballroom tango: This version originated in Europe, is arguably the most famous version of Tango, and has been majorly used for modern ballroom dancing and international competition. In ballroom tango, there’s less intimacy than in the traditional ones, the steps are more standardized, and the dancers’ upper bodies are arched away from each other. It’s also characterized by distinct head snaps, which are not found in any different style of Tango.

North American Tango: The North American version of Tango is characterized by a slightly faster music tempo. This version of Tango is also danced to popular songs, not only tango songs. The music of North American Tango is developed by musicians such as Carlos Gardel and Astor Piazzolla. It is used primarily as a social dance and is not commonly used in global competition.

Tango is a ballroom dance that originated among the working class of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the early 20th century. Tango has its influence from African, South American, and European cultures. The tango dance requires a display of close intimacy and passion between the dancers and is typically performed by a man and a woman.

Music of Tango:

Music used in Tango is characterized by a repetitive style typically consisting of 2/4 or 4/4 beats (in other words,16 or 32 beats). The instruments used in Traditional Tango are guitars. In contrast, the instruments used in Modern Tango are an ensemble made of violins, piano, flute, double bass, and a traditional instrument called bandoneon.

In the past, Tango music was associated with the lower class owing to its origins among the working class of Argentina. But as Tango spread across the world, fueled by the passion of new composers, tango music also found its way into the mainstream. As the tango dance form developed into different variations across the globe, tango music also found its place in high-class ballrooms and theatres. ‘El Merenguengué’ is one of the earliest tango songs that became widely popular. Some of the other popular tango songs include ‘Señora casera’, ‘Andate a la recoleta’ and “El queco’.

Some of the earliest composers and musicians that contributed to the evolution of present-day Tango Music are Carlos Gardel, Juan d’Arienzo, Astor Piazzolla, and Carlos di Sarli among many others.

Clothing of Tango: 

Traditional Tango dresses for women were very long, modest, and orange in color. Today, red is the most favored color for a tango dress, and the length of the skirts is comparatively shorter compared to the older versions.

In the 1900s, Victorian fashion styles were moving away from popularity. Conveniently Tango was getting popular during the same time, and it allowed women an excuse to ditch the tight corsets and hooped skirts. Women were choosing to clothe in ways that no longer restricted their bodies from moving. The first proper tango dress, known as the ‘Tango Visite,’ was introduced in 1913. These dresses were light and comfortable, with their skirts extending up to mid-calf, allowing easier dancing.

Men’s tango clothes are much closer to regular clothing items than female clothing. Men’s clothing in Tango is traditionally white or black in color. Men dancers prefer straight-cut elegant shirt and pants combinations made from flowy materials such as Silk. They can also use hats and vests.

Figures of Tango:

Tango is a reactive dance form based on improvisation, but there are some basic figures such as Baldosa, Salida basica, Ocho, Giro, Parada, Sacada, and Barrida.

Baldosa or commonly known as a square, is a figure that draws a rectangle in six steps. Salida basica is a sequence of eight steps. Ocho is a step in which the man helps the woman draw an eight by rotation, while Giro is the figure in which the man turns the woman around his axis. Parada is the figure made when the man interrupts the woman’s pace, while Sacada is made when one partner invades the other’s space with a movement towards the leg on which the weight of his/her body is not resting. And Barrida is the figure made when one of the two dancers moves the foot away. This is typically the foot on which no weight is resting.

Tango is a social dance usually performed by partners. Tango has its influence from African, South American, and European cultures. The tango dance requires a display of close intimacy and passion between the dancers and is typically performed by a man and a woman. This dance form originated in the 1880s among the working class in Argentina. It was then introduced to the World by Spanish Settlers. It was brought into vogue by popular culture and by the Argentinian dancers who traveled across Europe in the early 20th century. Tango spread like wildfire throughout Europe after it was first introduced in Paris. Eventually, in the 1910s, New York was also caught up in a tango frenzy. As Tango was picked up and practiced by different cultures all across the globe, it eventually developed into the various distinct styles of Tango we see today.

When the Tango began to spread worldwide during the 1900s, cultural norms were rather conservative; therefore, Tango was widely considered extremely sexual and inappropriate for the public. In Europe, many were not comfortable with the intimate embrace exhibited by Argentine Tango and the underlying sexual tones of the dance, which resulted in the development of a variety of traditional Tango known today as Ballroom Tango. Ballroom tango is characterized majorly by the stiff-ballroom frame and the distinct head snaps. While in Europe, the conventional Argentinian Tango varied into the present-day Ballroom Tango, in America, Tango developed into another variation known as North-American Tango. It is to be noted that Tango practiced in Argentina is much more intimate than Modern Tango and retains many of the elements of Traditional Tango.

During the Great Depression in the 1930s, the government of Argentina was in danger of overthrowal, and Tango faced a period of disapproval and hatred. This changed after the new government of Juan Perón and his immensely loved wife Eva Perón took power. The Peróns viewed Tango as a matter of national pride, and they revived Tango, helping it become more widespread throughout the country. Tango faced yet another period of distress during the military dictatorship in Argentina in the 1950s. Public gatherings were banned during this time, but Tango continued being performed in the smaller venues throughout Argentina until once again finding its foot in Paris in the 1980s. In 2009, UNESCO added this dance form to the Intangible Cultural Heritage List, forever etching its place into history.