Latin dance

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  (Redirected from International Latin)

Intermediate level international-style Latin dancing at the 2006 MIT ballroom dance competition. A judge stands in the foreground.

Latin dance is a general label, and a term in partner dance competition jargon. It refers to types of ballroom dance and folk dance that (with few exceptions) originated in Latin America.
The category of Latin dances in the international dancesport competitions consists of the cha-cha-cha, rumba, samba, paso doble, and also the jive of United States origin.^[1][2]
Social Latin dances (Street Latin) include salsa, mambo, merengue, Rumba, bachata, bomba, plena, and the Argentine tango. There are many dances which were popular in the first part of the 20th century, but which are now of only historical interest. The Cuban danzón is a good example.^[3]
Perreo is a Puerto Rican dance associated with Reggaeton music with Jamaican and Caribbean influences. Latin folk dances of Argentina include the chacarera, gato, escondido and zamba. Typical Bolivian folk dances are the morenada, kullawada, caporales and the recently created tinku. In Colombia one of the typical dances is the cumbia.^[4][5]

Contents

• 1 Origin
• 2 Development
• 3 The Modernization of Latin Dance
• 4 Conclusion
• 5 See also
• 6 References
• 7 Further reading

Origin

Latin dance is mainly derived from three styles: Native Latin, European, and African influences. The roots of Latin dance is deep and geographically embedded because it dates back to the fifteenth century when indigenous dances were first recorded by Europeans.
Its influence was first derived from their native roots, the Aztecs and Incas. When sixteenth century seagoing explorers returned home to Portugal and Spain, they brought along tales of the native peoples. According to Rachel Hanson, no one knows how long these dance traditions were established, but they were already being developed and ritualized when they were observed by the Europeans. This suggests that these Native influences became the foundation for Latin dancing.^[6] Indigenous dance often told stories of everyday activities such as hunting, agriculture, or astronomy. When European settlers and conquistadors began to colonize South America in the early sixteenth century, they reinvented the local dance traditions, but still kept the styles of the natives. Catholic settlers merged the native culture with their own and incorporated catholic saints and stories to the dance. The Europeans were captivated by the highly structured, large member dance working together in a precise manner. It was not until the integration of European styles that modern Latin dancing became its true form.
After the Europeans brought home the Aztec/Inca influences in the sixteenth century, they incorporated their own styles to the dance. Since the Aztec/Inca dances were performed in a group, many of the European dances were performed by a male and female. This was a new practice because European dances prohibited male and female dance partners from touching each other. The benefits of such dance style allowed musical appreciation and social integration, which became the form of Latin dance. However, “much of the storytelling element disappeared from the genre as the focus moved toward the rhythm and steps,”^[6] Hanson explains. The movement evolved differently because it brought a certain element of daintiness to the Aztec dances since the steps were smaller and the movements were less forceful. Combining African styles along with the Native and European influences is what truly makes Latin dance unique.
The movement and rhythms of African influences left a permanent mark in Latin dance. When the African slaves entered Europe in the 1500s, they brought styles such as basic, simple movements (putting emphasis on the upper body, torso, or feet) and intricate movements like the coordination of different body parts and complex actions such as “fast rotation, ripples of the body, and contraction and release, as well as variations in dynamics, levels, and use of space.”^[7] The difference between the African and European styles was that it included bent knees and a downward focus (grounded to the earth) rather than a straight-backed upward focus like the Europeans, and whole-foot steps than toes and heels. Such influences of African roots allowed the beauty and uniqueness of Latin dance.

Development

Many dance styles from different areas of the world were integrated into Latin dance. Such styles came about which comprised the main categories of Latin dancing: Salsa, Mambo, Merengue, Rumba, Cha Cha Cha, Bachata, and Samba. Music became the engine for Latin dancing because it guided the dance steps with its measure, speed, and the feeling it evoked, from energetic to sensual. Various Latin American regions developed independent styles, and from each genre, or combination of styles, a different genre was born. For example, the Mambo which was created in the 1940s emerged through the combination of American swing and Cuban Son music.

The Modernization of Latin Dance

Following the music, movement history, and the rhythms, Latin dance evolved over time and individual steps slowly shifted the repertoire of each dance. It has several different forms and many modernized styles which creates a problem because it is shifting away from its Native, European, and African roots. A popular aerobic dance class known as Zumba is said to be influenced by Latin rhythm and steps. However, there are disagreements among Latin dancers about whether Zumba is true Latin dance. One skeptic is Darlin Garcia, salsa dancer and instructor. She says: “You're taking a salsa step and in the middle of it you jump into a jumping jack. When you're mixing the two, that's just funny.”^[8] Zumba is including and expanding moves from international and western influences such as Coast swing, belly dancing, and bhangra.

Conclusion

Although Latin dance has been evolved and modified over the centuries, its Native Latin, European, and African roots will always remain in the movements and rhythms of the genre. The great thing about such genre is the rich, cultural history embedded in each dance. When you are participating in an aerobics dance class or even dancing the Cha Cha Slide, remember to look back at the true Latin influences that make these modern dances unique.Power Moves

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Acro dance

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An elbow stand, performed as part of an acro dance routine.

Acro dance is a style of dance that combines classical dance technique with precision acrobatic elements. It is defined by its athletic character, its unique choreography, which seamlessly blends dance and acrobatics, and its use of acrobatics in a dance context.^[1] It is a popular dance style in amateur competitive dance as well as in professional dance theater and in contemporary circus productions such as those by Cirque du Soleil. This is in contrast to acrobatic, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, which are sports that employ dance elements in a gymnastics context under the auspices of a governing gymnastics organization (such as FIG) and subject to a Code of Points. Acro dance is known by various other names including acrobatic dance and gymnastic dance, though it is most commonly referred to simply as acro by dancers and dance professionals.
Acro is an especially challenging dance style for dancers as it requires them to be trained in both dance and acrobatic skills. Acro dancers must be in excellent physical condition as well, because acro is a physically demanding activity.

Contents

• 1 History
• 2 Characteristics
  • 2.1 Dance technique
  • 2.2 Acrobatic elements
• 3 Apparel
  • 3.1 Footwear
    • 3.1.1 Acro shoes
    • 3.1.2 Foot thongs
  • 3.2 Clothing
• 4 Competitive acro
• 5 See also
• 6 References
• 7 External links

History

Vaudeville dancer La Sylphe (c. 1908)

Acrobatic dance emerged in the United States and Canada in the early 1900s, as one of the types of acts performed in vaudeville. Although individual dance and acrobatic acts had been performed in vaudeville for several decades prior to 1900, it was not until the early 1900s that it became popular to perform acts that combined dance and acrobatic movements.
Acrobatic dance did not suddenly appear in vaudeville; rather, it appeared gradually over time in a variety of forms, and consequently no individual performer has been cited as its originator. Sherman Coates, who performed with the Watermelon Trust from 1900 to 1914, was recalled by fellow dancers as the first acrobatic dancer they had ever seen.^[2] Another of the earliest documented acrobatic dance performers was Tommy Woods, who became well known for his slow-motion acrobatic dance in Shuffle Along, in which he would execute acrobatic movements precisely in time with the music.^[3] In 1914, acrobat Lulu Coates formed the Crackerjacks, a popular vaudeville troupe that included acrobatic dance in their performance repertoire up until the group disbanded in 1952.^[4] Many other popular vaudeville companies combined acrobatics and dance in their shows, including the Gaines Brothers.
Since the decline of the vaudeville era, acrobatic dance has undergone a multi-faceted evolution to arrive at its present-day form. The most significant aspect of this evolution is the integration of ballet technique as the foundation for dance movements, thus bringing into acro dance a precision of form and movement that was absent in vaudeville acrobatic dance. Also, vaudeville acrobatic dances were often little more than acrobatics set to music, whereas modern acro dance is fundamentally dance, with its acrobatic movements performed in a dance context.

Characteristics

A defining characteristic of acro is the smooth, graceful transitions between dance and acrobatic movements. Also, a dance must have a significant percentage of dance movement, with respect to its acrobatic content, in order for it to be categorized as acro. For example, a gymnastics floor exercise is not considered to be acro because it has little or no dance movement compared to its acrobatic content, and also because it lacks smooth transitions between dance and gymnastic movements.

Dance technique

The dance movements in acro are founded in ballet, jazz, lyrical and modern dance styles. Acro dance movements are not restricted to these dance styles, but the complete absence of these styles will typically cause a dance to be categorized as something other than acro (e.g., breakdance).

Acrobatic elements

The acrobatic movements and acts of balance performed in an acro dance are referred to as tricks. A variety of tricks are commonly performed in acro dance, varying widely in complexity and the skills required to perform them. Aside from the obvious requirement that dancers possess the requisite skills to perform tricks, the types of tricks that can be performed in an acro dance depends on the number of dancers.
Solo tricks can be performed by independent dancers in solo or group dances. Examples of this are:^[5]

Back layout Back tuck Back walkover Cartwheel Chest stand Elbow stand Front tuck Handspring Handstand Nip-up Roundoff Side aerial

Front aerial Hand walking Valdez One-hand front walkover

Double tricks—also known as partnering tricks—can only be performed by a pair of dancers. An example of this is the pitch tuck, in which one dancer forms a "saddle" with his hands. The second dancer steps onto the saddle and then the first dancer thrusts the saddle upward. The second dancer, who is propelled upward with back rotation, lands on her feet after a complete revolution in the air. Acro partners will sometimes execute lifts and adagio in addition to single and double tricks.

Double back walkover Double cartwheel

Lawnmower Pitch tuck Swizzle Shoulder stand

Group tricks generally require three or more dancers. Examples of this are:

• Bridge pyramid
• Triple cartwheel

Apparel

Footwear

A pair of acro shoes.

A foot thong, as viewed from the bottom.

Acro dances are typically performed on hard stages with widely varying surfaces. Such floors differ substantially from a gymnastics floor, which is constructed by layering a standard surface over cushioning foam and spring floor. Whereas gymnasts perform barefoot and rely on the standard gymnastics floor for traction and cushioning, acro dancers seldom dance barefoot, instead depending on footwear such as acro shoes or foot thongs to provide the necessary traction and cushioning.
All of the most common types of acro footwear provide both traction and cushioning. In addition, acro performance surfaces are frequently rough, so acro footwear must protect the bottom of the foot from skin abrasion. Abrasion protection is particularly important on the ball of the foot, which is subjected to a great deal of friction during dance turns and leaps. Traction is essential to prevent lateral slipping that could result in dangerous falls to the hard floor. Cushioning serves to soften the impact when performing tricks such as tucks and layouts, in which a dancer's feet may strike the floor at high velocity. Cushioning is especially important when a Marley floor is unavailable, because uncovered performance surfaces have no cushioning whatsoever and thus may be extremely hard and unyielding.

Acro shoes

Acro dancers most often wear jazz dance shoes, which are commonly referred to as acro shoes by acro dancers. Acro shoes are called jazz boots, jazz ankle boots, jazz booties and other names, by their various manufacturers. They are typically laceless, slip-on shoes, with tight-fitting leather uppers that are designed to prevent the dancer's feet from shifting inside the shoes. Because of their thin, pliable leather uppers and split soles, acro shoes have excellent flexibility, thus enabling dancers to attain both good dance form and acrobatic control. The sole is made of soft, composite rubber so as to provide both high traction and cushioning, and it provides excellent protection from skin abrasion as it covers the entire bottom of the foot.

Foot thongs

Less commonly, acro dancers may wear foot thongs, which are variously called Dance Paws and FootUndeez, depending on the manufacturer. Foot thongs—which are slip-on, partial foot covers that protect only the ball of the foot—are sometimes preferred over acro shoes for aesthetic reasons. In particular, flesh colored foot thongs endow the wearer with the appearance of having bare feet, while retaining some degree of the traction, cushioning, and abrasion protection provided by acro shoes.

Clothing

The skirt of this acro costume is short so it will not contact the headpiece when the dancer is inverted.

Acro dancers commonly wear flexible, form-fitting clothing for both safety and aesthetic reasons. Form-fitting clothing is preferred over loose clothing because the latter does not move synchronously with the body and thus may interfere with a dancer's ability to maintain control. This is especially important when a dancer is performing tricks, as loss of control can lead to serious injury. Aside from the safety aspect, form-fitting clothing also helps to expose a dancer's body lines, which can add significantly to the visual impact of an acro dance performance.
Competitive acro dancers frequently wear costumes when performing at dance competitions. Acro costumes often have loose fabric pieces such as short skirts, but the sizes and locations of these pieces are carefully calculated to ensure that they pose no safety risks. As an extra safety measure, skirts are sometimes pinned or stitched at the back below the waistline so that they will not hang at full length when the dancer is inverted, as in hand walking; this prevents the skirt—which might otherwise become entangled in the dancer's hair or costume headpiece—from contacting the dancer's head.

Competitive acro

Acro dance is not uniformly defined within the competitive dance industry.^[1] Some dance competition companies require an acro routine to have a minimum of four or five tricks with at most fifty percent acrobatic content. Other companies require an acro routine to have exactly, or more than, fifty percent acrobatic content. Also, at some competitions an acro dance may fit into an explicitly defined "acro dance" performance category, while at others it may fall into a similar category such as "acro/gym," or an alternative category such as "open." Because of these differences, it may be necessary to enter a specific acro routine into different performance categories at different competitions.

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Baroque dance

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Final plate from Kellom Tomlinson's dancing manual The Art of Dancing Explained (London, 1735).  Play notation (help·info)

Baroque dance is dance of the Baroque era (roughly 1600-1750),^[1] closely linked with Baroque music, theatre and opera.

Contents

• 1 English country dance
• 2 The French Noble style
• 3 Theatrical dance
• 4 Other social dance styles
• 5 Modern reconstructions
• 6 References
• 7 External links

English country dance

Further information: English Country Dance

The majority of surviving choreographies from the period are English country dances, such as those in the many editions of Playford's The Dancing Master. Playford only gives the floor patterns of the dances, with no indication of the steps. However other sources of the period, such as the writings of the French dancing-masters Feuillet and Lorin, indicate that steps more complicated than simple walking were used at least some of the time.
English country dance survived well beyond the Baroque era and eventually spread in various forms across Europe and its colonies, and to all levels of society. See the article on English country dance for more information.

The French Noble style

Further information: French ballet

A costume design for Louis XIV as The Rising Sun, from the final entrée of Le Ballet de la Nuit (1653).

The great innovations in dance in the 17th century originated at the French court under Louis XIV, and it is here that we see the first clear stylistic ancestor of classical ballet. The same basic technique was used both at social events, and as theatrical dance in court ballets and at public theaters. The style of dance is commonly known to modern scholars as the French noble style or belle danse (French, literally "beautiful dance"), however it is often referred to casually as baroque dance in spite of the existence of other theatrical and social dance styles during the baroque era.
Primary sources include more than three hundred choreographies in Beauchamp-Feuillet notation,^[2][3] as well as manuals by Raoul Handsome Auger Feuillet and Pierre Rameau in France, Kellom Tomlinson and John Weaver in England, and Gottfried Taubert in Germany. This wealth of evidence has allowed modern scholars and dancers to recreate the style, although areas of controversy still exist. The standard modern introduction is Hilton.^[4]
French dance types include:

• Allemande
• Bourrée
• Canarie (canary)
• Chaconne
• (French) courante
• Entrée grave
• Forlane (forlana)
• Gavotte
• Gigue
• Loure (slow gigue)
• Menuet (minuet)
• Musette
• Passacaille (passacaglia)
• Passepied
• Rigaudon
• Sarabande
• Tambourin

The English, working in the French style, added their own hornpipe to this list.
Many of these dance types are familiar from baroque music, perhaps most spectacularly in the stylized suites of J. S. Bach.^[5] Note however, that the allemandes, that occur in these suites do not correspond to a French dance from the same period.

Theatrical dance

The French noble style was danced both at social events and by professional dancers in theatrical productions such as opera-ballets and court entertainments. However, 18th century theatrical dance had at least two other styles: comic or grotesque, and semi-serious.^[6][7]

Other social dance styles

Other dance styles, such as the Italian and Spanish dances of the period are much less well studied than either English country dance or the French style. The general picture seems to be that during most of the 17th century, a style of late Renaissance dance was widespread, but as time progressed, French ballroom dances such as the minuet were widely adopted at fashionable courts. Beyond this, the evolution and cross-fertilisation of dance styles is an area of ongoing research.

Modern reconstructions

Young ladies enjoying a Time Travelers Ball – dances from the 15th to early 20th century including Baroque

The revival of baroque music in the 1960s and '70s sparked renewed interest in 17th and 18th century dance styles. While some 300 of these dances had been preserved in Beauchamp-Feuillet notation, it wasn't until the mid-20th century that serious scholarship commenced in deciphering the notation and reconstructing the dances.
Perhaps best known among these pioneers was Britain's Melusine Wood, who published several books on historical dancing in the 1950s.^[8] Miss Wood passed her research on to her student Belinda Quirey, and also to Pavlova Company ballerina & choreographer Mary Skeaping (1902–1984). The latter became well known for her reconstructions of baroque ballets for London's "Ballet for All" company in the 1960s.
The leading figures of the second generation of historical dance research include Shirley Wynne and her Baroque Dance Ensemble which was founded at Ohio State University in the early 1970s and Wendy Hilton (1931–2002), a student of Belinda Quirey who supplemented the work of Melusine Wood with her own research into original sources.^[9] A native of Britain, Hilton arrived in the U.S. in 1969 joining the faculty of the Juilliard School in 1972 and establishing her own baroque dance workshop at Stanford University in 1974 which endured for more than 25 years.
Catherine Turocy (b. circa 1950) began her studies in Baroque dance in 1971 as a student of dance historian Shirley Wynne. She founded The New York Baroque Dance Company (http://www.nybaroquedance.org/) in 1976 with Ann Jacoby, and the company has since toured internationally. In 1982/83 as part of the French national celebration of Jean Philippe Rameau's 300th birthday, Turocy choreographed the first production of Jean-Philippe Rameau's Les Boréades - it was never performed during the composer's lifetime. This French supported production with John Eliot Gardiner, conductor, and his Orchestra was directed by Jean Louis Martinoty. Ms. Turocy has been decorated as Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
In 1973, French dance historian Francine Lancelot (1929–2003) began her formal studies in ethnomusicology which later lead her to researching French traditional dance forms and eventually Renaissance and Baroque dances. In 1980, at the invitation of the French Minister of Culture, she founded the baroque dance company "Ris et Danceries". Her work in choreographing the landmark 1986 production of Lully's 1676 tragedie-lyrique Atys was part of the national celebration of the 300th anniversary of Lully's death. This production propelled the career of William Christie and his ensemble Les Arts Florissants. Since the Ris et Danseries company was disbanded circa 1993, choreographers from the company have continued with their own work. Béatrice Massin with her "Compagnie Fetes Galantes", along with Marie Genevieve Massé and her company "L'Eventail" are among the most prominent. In 1995 Francine Lancelot's catalogue raisonné of baroque dance, entitled "La Belle Dance" was published.

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Pogo (dance)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pogo during a concert.

The pogo is a dance in which the dancers jump up and down, while either remaining on the spot or moving around; the dance takes its name from its resemblance to the use of a pogo stick, especially in a common version of the dance, where an individual keeps their torso stiff, their arms rigid, and their legs close together. Pogo dancing is most associated with punk rock,^[1] and is a precursor to moshing.

Contents

• 1 Style
• 2 History
• 3 References
• 4 External links

Style

The basic steps allow for a variety of interpretations, some of which might appear quite violent. Pogo dancers have their choice of:

• Keeping their torsos rigid or thrashing them about;
• Holding their arms stiffly at their sides or flailing them;
• Keeping their legs together or kicking about;
• Jumping straight up and down, jumping in any direction, or spinning in the air.

Occasionally, dancers collide, but this is not necessarily part of pogo dancing. An uninformed bystander might get the impression that the dancers are attacking one another. People sometimes get injured when pogoing, but, more often than not, pogoers who fall to the ground are helped up instead of getting trampled. There is a general understanding that the pogoing is fun, not a fight. As the more aggressive hardcore punk emerged in the early 1980s, dancing became more violent and evolved into both moshing and slam dancing, in which dancers run and jump around, deliberately shove and slam into each other.

History

In The Filth and the Fury, Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious claimed that he invented the pogo sometime around 1976 at punk shows in the early days of London's punk scene.^[2] Vicious supposedly invented the dance as a way of mocking people who came to see Sex Pistols' performances, but who were not part of the punk movement. Whether Vicious actually invented the dance or not, the pogo quickly became closely associated with punk rock. Shane MacGowan, himself an early follower of the punk scene, also attributes pogo dancing to Vicious, claiming that a leather poncho he wore to gigs prevented him from any form of dancing other than jumping up and down. In her autobiography, Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys., Viv Albertine of The Slits claims that the Pogo was inspired by the way Sid jumped up and down while playing saxophone.^[3]

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Argentine tango

Argentine tango is a musical genre of simple quadruple metre and binary musical form, and the social dance that accompanies it. Its lyrics and music are marked by nostalgia, expressed through melodic instruments including the bandoneon. Originating at the ending of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires,^[1] and Montevideo, Uruguay, it quickly grew in popularity and spread internationally. Among its leading figures are the singer and songwriter Carlos Gardel and composers/performers Francisco Canaro, Juan D'Arienzo, Carlos Di Sarli, Osvaldo Pugliese, and Ástor Piazzolla.

History of tango

Main article: History of the tango

The origins of tango are unclear because historical documentation from that era hardly exists. However, in recent years a few tango aficionados have undertaken a thorough research of that history^[2] –so it is less mysterious today than before. It is generally thought that the dance developed in the late 19th century in working-class neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay as practiced by Uruguayan and Argentine dancers, musicians, and immigrant laborers.^[3][4]

Music

Main article: Tango music

Argentine tango music is much more varied than ballroom tango music. A large amount of tango music has been composed by a variety of different orchestras over the last century. Not only is there a large volume of music, there is a breadth of stylistic differences between these orchestras as well, which makes it easier for Argentine tango dancers to spend the whole night dancing only Argentine tango. The four representative schools of the Argentine tango music are Di Sarli, d'Arienzo, Troilo and Pugliese, all four descendent from Italian immigrant families. They are dance orchestras, playing music for dancing. When the spirit of the music is characterized by counterpoint marking, clarity in the articulation is needed. It has a clear, repetitive pulse or beat, a strong tango-rhythm which is based on the 2x4,^[5] 2 strong beats on 4 (dos por cuatro). Ástor Piazzolla stretched the classical harmony and counterpoint and moved the tango from the dance floor to the concert stage. His compositions tell us something of our contemporary life and dancing it relates much to modern dance.^[6]
While Argentine tango dancing has historically been danced to tango music, such as that produced by such orchestra leaders as Osvaldo Pugliese, Carlos Di Sarli, Juan d'Arienzo, in the '90s a younger generation of tango dancers began dancing tango steps to alternatives to tango music; music from other genres like, "world music", "electro-tango", "experimental rock", "trip hop", and "blues", to name a few. Tango nuevo dance is often associated with alternative music, see nuevo tango, but it can be danced to tango as well.

Dance

 

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,^[7] while there is a flamenco tangos dance that may share a common ancestor in a minuet-style European dance.^[8] 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 arms 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 no "basic step." 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.

This article contains instructions, advice, or how-to content. The purpose of Wikipedia is to present facts, not to train. Please help improve this article either by rewriting the how-to content or by moving it to Wikiversity, Wikibooks or Wikivoyage. (March 2010)

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.

Open embrace

Close embrace

Elements

Embrace

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 an offset frame.
In Argentine tango, it is nearly the opposite: the dancers' chests are closer to each other than are their hips, and often there is contact at about the level of the chest (the contact point differing, depending on the height of the leader and the closeness of the embrace). In close embrace, the leader and the follower's chests are in contact and they are dancing with their heads touching or very near each other. In open embrace, there can be as much space as desired between the partners, but there should always be complete contact along the embracing arms to give optimum communication. Since Argentine tango is almost entirely improvisational, there needs to be clear communication between partners. Even when dancing in a very open embrace, Argentine tango dancers do not hold their upper bodies arched away from each other; yet, each partner is not always over their own axis, there are even styles that demand a constant leaning against each other. Whether open or closed, a tango embrace is not rigid, but relaxed, like a hug.

Cross system walk.

Parallel system walk.

Walking

One characteristic of Argentine tango is the walk outside of the legs of the follower. The inside walk belongs originally to the American Tango. It is seen in Argentine Tango, but it does not belong to it originally^{[citation needed]}. Another difference is that the leader may freely step with his left foot when the follower steps with her left foot. In English, this is sometimes referred to as a "crossed" (e.g. "walking in the crossed system") or "uneven" walk in contrast to the normal walk which is called "parallel" or "even." In ballroom tango, "crossed system" is considered incorrect unless the leader and follower are facing the same direction^{[citation needed]}. Furthermore, the flexibility of the embrace allows the leader to change his weight from one foot to another while the follower's weight remains unchanged. This is another major difference with ballroom tango, where a weight change by one partner usually leads to a weight change by the other.
The nomenclature originated with the Naveira/Salas "Investigation Group." Early on, they used 'even/uneven' to describe the arrangement of legs in the walk (or turn). By the mid-1990s, they began using 'parallel/crossed' and later 'normal/crossed'. In dance the changing of feet is named contrapaso, or "contra-step". This change can be made off or on the normal beat.

Figures

Main article: Figures of Argentine tango

Unlike the majority of social dances, Argentine tango does not have a basic step; instead is a completely improvised dance combining various elements in a spontaneous manner, as determined by the lead. To be able to improvise, the dancer needs to learn the lead and implementation of the different single elements of Tango, so they can be produced later by leading appropriately in space and music. The elements are just a few as caminar (walk), cruce (cross), ochos (figure-eight), ganchos (leg hooks), giros (turns), contragiros (turns in the other direction), sacadas (displacements), boleos (this expression comes from boleadoras, balls linked with cords, thrown to hunt animals), llevadas de pie (moving foot by foot), cortes (cuts), and quebradas (breaks).^[9][10] Well-known and simple combinations are called figura básica (basic figures), especially when they contain just one element. Some of the elements are named as a figure.

Cabeceo

Códigos and yeta

Argentine tango developed set of codes and superstitions throughout its history. One important and charming example is the "cabeceo," a head nod and meeting of eyes which signifies an invitation by a man to a woman to dance mainly practiced in Buenos Aires. "Cabeceo" has the advantage, that not wanted dances can be avoided, because a spoken invitation might be hard to resist for the woman or the refusal of a woman embarrassing for the man. Somewhat related is "yeta" - superstitions. For example, one doesn't dance to the well known tango "Adios Muchachos" as it is (falsely) ^[11] believed the last one sung by Carlos Gardel before his untimely accident leading to his death.

Vals and milonga

Argentine tango dancers usually enjoy two other related dances: vals (waltz) and milonga.
Music for the vals is in 3/4 time. Tango dancers dance the vals in a rather relaxed, smooth flowing dancing style in contrast to Viennese Waltz where the dancers often take 3 steps per measure and turn almost constantly. Experienced dancers alternate the smooth one-beat-per-measure walk with some double time steps (often incorrectly called syncopated walks), stepping on one- two- or (rarely) all three beats in a measure. Vals dancing is characterized by absence of pauses; continual turns (giros) in both directions are not done as in ballroom quick waltz, although turns are sometimes introduced for variety.
Milonga, in 2/4 time, has a strongly accented beat, and sometimes an underlying "habanera" rhythm. Dancers avoid pausing, and often introduce double time steps (incorrectly called syncopation and more appropriately called traspies) into their walks and turns. Milonga dancing uses the same basic elements as tango, with a strong emphasis on the rhythm, and figures that tend to be less complex than some danced in other varieties of tango. Some tango instructors say that tango steps should not be used in milonga and that milonga has its own special rhythm and steps, which are quite different from tango.
Milonga is also the name given to clubs and events specially for dancing tango. This double meaning of the word milonga can be confusing unless one knows the context in which the word "milonga" is used. People who attend milongas are known as milongueros.

Styles of Argentine tango dance

Tango canyengue

Tango canyengue is a rhythmic style of tango that originated in the early 1900s and is still popular today. It is one of the original roots styles of tango and contains all fundamental elements of traditional Argentine tango. In tango canyengue the dancers share one axis, dance in a closed embrace, and with the legs relaxed and slightly bent. Tango canyengue uses body dissociation for the leading, walking with firm ground contact, and a permanent combination of on- and off-beat rhythm.^[12] Its main characteristics are its musicality and playfulness. Its rhythm is described as "incisive, exciting, provocative".^[13]
The word canyengue is of African origin. It came into use to describe the tango rhythm at the time of the first so-called 'orquestas típicas' (including bandoneón, violin and piano).^[14]
Leading exponents of tango canyengue:

• Romolo Garcia (deceased)
• El Negro Celso (deceased)
• Rodolfo Cieri (deceased) and Maria Cieri
• Luis Grondona
• Marta Anton (deceased) and 'El Gallego' Manolo Salvador
• Roxina Villegas and Adrian Griffero
• Ernest Williams and Maricela Wilson^[15]

See also: Movimiento Cultural Canyengue Argentino

Tango orillero

Tango orillero refers to the style of dance that developed away from the town centers, in the outskirts and suburbs where there was more freedom due to more available space on the dance floor. The style is danced in an upright position and uses various embellishments including rapid foot moves, kicks, and even some acrobatics, though this is a more recent development.

Salon tango

Tango Salon does not refer to a single specific way of dancing tango. Rather, it is literally tango as it is danced socially in the salons (dance halls) of Buenos Aires. Salon tango was danced throughout the Golden Era of Argentine Tango (1935–1952) when milongas (tango parties) were held in large dance venues and full tango orchestras performed. Salon tango is often characterized by slow, measured, and smoothly executed moves, never moving against the line-of-dance, and respecting the space of other dancers on the floor around them. The emphasis is on precision, smoothness, musicality, good navigation, and following the códigos (tango etiquette) of the salons. The couple embraces closely, with some variants having a flexible embrace, opening slightly to make room for various figures and closing again for support and poise. The walk is the most important element, and dancers usually walk 60%-70% of the time during a tango song.
When tango became popular again after the end of the Argentine military dictatorships in 1983, this style was resurrected by dancers from the Golden Era:

• Carlitos (Carlos) and Rosa Perez. The legendary teacher couple at Club Sunderlad, Buenos Aires. Almost all World Tango Championship winners have taken lessons from them.
• Carlos Estévez "Petróleo" †
• Gerardo Portalea †
• Jose "El Turco" Brahemcha
• Jose "Lampazo" Vazquez †
• Luis "Milonguita" Lemos †
• Miguel Balmaceda †
• Mingo and Esther Pugliese
• Osvaldo Cartery † and Luisa "Coca" Inés
• Toto Faraldo
• Pedro "Tete" Rusconi †
• Ramón "Finito" Rivera †
• Virulazo †
• In the milongas at Club Sin Rumbo, Sunderland, Club Glorias Argentinas, Salon El Pial and Salon Canning.

One variant of Tango Salon is the Villa Urquiza style, named after the northern barrio of Buenos Aires where the clubs Sin Rumbo and Sunderland are located. Some argentinian dancers or couples who were or are current practitioners and teach the Villa Urquiza style of tango are:

• El Chino Perico (one of the old milongueros)
• María and Carlos Rivarola
• The Dispari family with Jorge Dispari and Marita 'La Turca' and their daughters Samantha Dispari and Geraldine Rojas with their respective couples, Santiago Fina and Ezequiel Paludi.
• Miguel Angel Zotto and Milena Plebs
• Andrés Laza Moreno
• Osvaldo Zotto† and Lorena Ermocida
• The Rodriguez family with Jorge and Liliana Rodríguez their daughter Malena, and son Javier Rodríguez.
• The Missé family (Andrea Missé †, Sebastián Missé with Andrea Reyero, Gabriel Missé and Stella Missé)
• Carlos Perez and Rosa Forte
• Fabián Peralta
• Adrián and Amanda Costa. Teaching in Europe. They live in France as of 2014. Studied under Jorge Dispari and Marita 'La Turca'.
• José Luis González (CL) and Paulina Cazabón (CL). They live in Chile as of 2015 and tour in Europe (mainly France).
• Juan Martin Carrara (UY) and Stefania Colina (UY). They live in Uruguay as of 2015 and tour in Europe
• Carlos Rodriguez de Boedo (AR) and Brigita Urbietytė (LT). They live in Kaunas, Lithuania as of 2015 and teach mostly in Baltic and eastern countries.
• Chiche Nuñez (AR). He lives in Berlin, Germany as of 2015.
• Alper Ergökmen and Selen Sürek. They live in Ankara, Turkey as of 2015 and teach mostly in Europe.
• Ney Melo. He lives in US as of 2015.

Millonguero embrace with upper body contact and lean.

"Estilo milonguero" (tango apilado/confiteria style; estilo del centro de Buenos Aires)

Main article: Milonguero style

This is a close-embrace style named by Susana Miller in the 1990s.^[16] Ideal for crowded dance floors, it is danced chest-to-chest, knees relaxed, back straight, with the partners leaning - or appearing to lean - slightly toward each other to allow space for the feet to move. The center line of the leader's and follower's spines are directly in front of each other, requiring that each dancer turn their head to their left slightly to find space over their partner's right shoulder. The follower's left arm reaches directly up over the leader's shoulder without resting any body weight on the leader's shoulder. The leader's left hand and the follower's right hand clasp in the same manner as other styles of Argentine Tango, with elbows pointed down (contrasting with elbows up and pointed back as in ballroom tango), with little or no pressure applied by the arms or hands. The leader's right arm is held high across the follower's shoulder blades to help facilitate the upper chest connection, to avoid pulling the follower's lower torso and hips in toward the leader, thus allowing more flexibility of movement in the mid and lower spine and better extension of the follower's legs. In the case of followers that are not tall enough to place their head over the leader's shoulder, it is recommended that the follower's head be turned to the right and touch the left side of the head to the leader's chest, and the follower's left arm may wrap around the outside right arm (although this is generally not preferred as it limits the leader's flexibility of movement, and is a danger on crowded dance floors to have the follower's elbow sticking out). It is generally not recommended for a leader to dance milonguero style with a follower that is too tall for the leader to see over the follower's shoulder since it would be very difficult to navigate around the dance floor.
A style of Carlitos Espinoza can be considered a modern development of tango milonguero.^[17]

Tango nuevo

Main article: Nuevo tango

Starting in the 1990s in Buenos Aires, the Tango Investigation Group (later transformed into the Cosmotango organization) founded by Gustavo Naveira and [[:es:Fabián Salas|Fabian Salas]] applied the principles of dance kinesiology from modern dance to analyze the physics of movement in Argentine tango. Taking what they learned from this analysis they then began to explore all the possibilities of movement within the framework of Argentine Tango. From the work of these founders of the Tango Nuevo movement, there was shift in all styles of tango away from teaching what to dance toward teaching how to dance.

• 

  Linear boleo
• 

  Volcada lead in closed embrace

Though widely referred to as a tango style outside of Argentina, Tango Nuevo is not considered a style of dancing tango by the founders of the movement. It refers only to the method of analysis and teaching developed through the application of the principles of dance kinesiology to Argentine Tango. In 2009, Gustavo Naveira published an essay New Tango in which he states, "There is great confusion on the question of the way of dancing the tango: call it technique, form, or style. The term tango nuevo, is used to refer to a style of dancing, which is an error. In reality, tango nuevo is everything that has happened with the tango since the 1980s. It is not a question of a style... The words tango nuevo express what is happening with tango dancing in general; namely that it is evolving."^[18] Therefore, as the Gustavo Naveira and other founders of the Tango Nuevo movement have said, all styles of tango, which have now been influenced by the analysis of the dance, are all Tango Nuevo.
Despite the insistence by the founders of the Tango Nuevo movement that it is not a single style, it has become an accepted term by many that it is a separate and distinct style of tango. Practitioners of tango nuevo are Gustavo Naveira, Javier Antar, Norberto "El Pulpo" Esbrés, Fabián Salas, Sebastian Arce, Mariana Montes, Mariano 'Chicho' Frumboli, Lucía Mazer, Eugenia Parrilla. All of these dancers have highly individual styles that cannot be confused with each other, yet are all referred to by many as the tango nuevo style.

Tango traditional

A very pure and early form of tango, on base as walking rhythmically, not on the beat but with rhythm.

Tango con corte y quebrada

Tango which adds cortes and quebradas, cuts and breaks. The quebradas later on has been put in a more esthetic style (estilizar) and are today known as poses de tango, Tango Positions.

Tango de fantasía

This style mostly evolved over the 1940-1950 time span. The term Tango de Fantasía refers to music, dance, and dresses; it tries to codify a tango form different from the traditional one. Dancers added little sits and fast footwork – doing fantasies, as some people called it. The related men's suit with a white border is named traje de fantasía. In music, Osmar Héctor Maderna's^[19] was referred to as Tango de Fantasía due to his arrangements which included fancy solos. During the same time period, people used to refer to the non-traditional Argentinian folklore by a similar expression: Folklore de Projección.

Show tango

A tango show in Buenos Aires

Show tango, and Tango de Escenario (stage tango) is a more theatrical form of Argentine tango developed to suit the stage.
In theory, all styles can be performed on stage, but the movement has to take stage elements into accounts, such as diagonals, centres, fronts, placement of lights, etc. Often, show tango routines includes embellishments, acrobatics, and solo moves that would be impractical on a social dance floor. Stage tango can be partially improvised, but in order for the general choreography to fit the set stage, some parts need to be rehearsed as a set routine.
Stage Tango still has to be led like it is led in all other Tango styles; otherwise the couple is missing the main ingredient of the dance, namely, the typical intimate connection; this connection becomes visible only when the leader and follower enter their roles  – whether the show is choreographed or not.
Tango on stage should not be confused with Tango de Fantasia or tango acrobatico, which is a particular style of tango that is only suitable for stage dancing.^[20]

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