Tango and Chaos (rebuilt)

The Essential Tango On this page we'll look more closely at what separates tango from other types of music and dancing. As an experiment, put on some tango music, relax, maybe have a drink, and listen. Something like Di Sarli’s  A la Gran Muñeca , or maybe Pugliese’s  La Yumba  would be good… but almost any of the rhythmic tangos from the Golden Age orchestras will work. Tango music is dominated by bandoneons. Here are four of the great Golden Era Orchestras: Top: Tanturi, Biaggi. Bottom: Canaro, De Angelis We're looking for the thing that makes tango different—and we really don't have to look very far. A quick glance at photos of the great orchestras that have defined tango the last 80 years reveals the answer: they were dominated by bandoneons.  The crowded conditions discussed earlier affected tango dancing in every way, from the embrace, and the ways of stepping and expressing cadence, to the very nature of tango movement. But tango is more than just m

Tango in a Small Space Like it or not, stop-and-go tango is a reality in BsAs, and we have tried to show how the tools needed to survive these conditions have formed tango. But you still need to express the music. What do you do when the floor is packed, and the DJ decides to play a tanda of fast milongas?  Raul Poli *  Not only are Raul Poli and Pocho very well known and respected milongueros, but people in the clubs say that both also played a part in the popularization of “ traspie ”, the quick tripping-step that is now a part of milonga style tango dancing. Dancing milonga the right way means stepping in the cadence without pausing or skipping beats (pauses are part of tango and  vals , but they're almost never used in milonga). The problem is that walking every beat, especially the quick cadences of many milongas, can use up a lot of territory. This is fine in a practice studio, or when the floor isn’t crowded. But what do you do on Friday night in  Canning  when ther

Turning and Tipping Dealing with traffic is the same everywhere. Whether your driving on a crowded street in Buenos Aires, or a freeway in Los Angeles, you need to be able to stop, accelerate, swerve… and then accelerate again. And, dancing tango in crowded conditions requires the same tactics. But in fact, it is more than just a tactic. Because tango was born and raised in this environment, crowding has affected its very nature. The ways of moving, the ways of stepping and expressing the music, and the connection between the couples, are all a direct result of dancing in the heavy traffic of the milonga. They have become part of tango. In fact, they have become tango. These conditions define what tango is. Now, you could describe tango in several different ways. You could say tango is made up of one part technique and one part passion. Or you might say dancing tango is expressing the cadence of the music with the feet, and the melody with the upper bodies. Or you could say good t