Rather than being hard and fast definitions, these explanations reflect my own understanding of some of tango’s characteristic features.
Adornos See decorations.
¿Bailás? While, at many milongas and prácticas, invitations to dance are offered, rejected and declined through eye contact and subtle gestures (see cabeceo), verbal invitations are possible in some situations, too. In Buenos Aires, most people ask using the one single word ¿Bailás? (lit. Dance?)
Barrida A movement in which one dancer uses their free foot to sweep the other dancer’s free foot along the floor. Can be performed in a straight line, or as part of a giro.
Boleo A movement in which the leader changes direction to create a momentum which causes the follower’s free leg to swing out along the floor (a low boleo) or, with higher energy, into the air (a high boleo). The change of direction can be performed during a straight step (resulting in a lineal boleo) or during a turning step (resulting in a circular boleo).
Cabeceo At more traditional milongas, men invite women to dance by catching their eyes and signalling to them from their seats with a nod of the head or other subtle gesture. If the woman nods her acceptance, she then remains seated while he crosses the room and comes to stand in front of her chair. See also The Cabeceo.
Caminata A figure based on walking, usually with a series of small, quick steps. If fast, this is sometimes called a corrida.
Caricia A leg caricia (lit. caress) is a decoration which involves one of the dancers running their free foot lightly up the outside edge of their partner’s leg, usually during a parada. It can be danced by either leader or follower, but is more popular with followers.
Cena show An evening tango stage show, at which guests are usually served supper. The style of dance is usually tango escenario. Shows are often expensive and vary wildly in quality. To see tango as it is more commonly danced, I would recommend instead spending an evening watching the dancing at a milonga such as Sunderland. See The World’s Favourite Milonga.
Chamuyo The spiel men often use when chatting up a woman or trying to pick her up.
Close embrace A way of dancing in which the dancers’ torsos remain in close physical contact throughout. Almost all dancers walk and perform simple moves in close embrace. Depending on their chosen style of dancing, they may then open the embrace to enable them to dance specific moves which require a slightly greater distance between the couple. As dancing in close embrace is such a beautiful feeling, usually, the embrace will be opened only as much as is necessary for the chosen move and closed again afterwards. See also embrace.
Colgada See tango nuevo.
Comme Il Faut As well as being the name of a tango, this is an expensive, iconic and undoubtedly sexy brand of women’s tango heels. (Shoe preferences are highly individual — I, personally, prefer to wear Alanis or Greta Flora shoes). Known for their vertiginous heel heights (10cm for the highest shoes), which have since been adopted by most other brands.
Competitions Unlike ballroom dancing, tango is not generally danced competitively and there are no widely-recognised tango qualifications, either for performing or teaching. The one really important international tango competition is the Mundial de Tango. Held once a year, during the month of August, in Buenos Aires, it is open to anyone who wishes to compete. The initial rounds are held at milongas. Couples compete in two strictly-defined categories: tango escenario and tango salón. The kudos obtained by winning the Mundial can result in a very lucrative performing and teaching career for the successful couple. The other important tango competitions are the Metropolitano, which, controversially, restricts participation to Argentines, and its equivalent competition for foreigners, the Milongueros del Mundo.
Corrida See caminata.
Cortina See tanda.
Decorations Movements, usually small and subtle movements of the feet, which are not led and followed. Followers usually decorate more than leaders. Decorations are often seen as a chance for the individual dancer to express subtleties in the music which are too fast or delicate to easily lead steps to. See also this entry.
Dissociation This is when dancers move one body part independently of another or, most commonly in tango, initiate a movement in one part of the body, so that movement in another part of the body is delayed. In tango, it most frequently refers to the way in which dancers turn. While ballet dancers often turn the entire body as a unit — lifting up onto their toes and forming one tight, twirling column — tango dancers almost never turn en bloc. Instead, the dancer will initiate the turning movement from the torso, first twisting the torso towards their right, for example, and then allowing the lower body to follow, turning the hips and letting the feet pivot on the floor. This produces a corkscrewing action which is highly characteristic of tango movement. Movements begin in the upper body because that is where the dancers have connection, through the embrace, and where the lead is given and received, even when the dancers’ chests are not actually touching. For the follower, the feeling is one of always seeking to reestablish that connection, to encircle the leader with her torso. I rather romantically view it as the physical expression of a longing to return to the shelter of the embrace.
Embrace The follower holds the leader’s left hand with her right and places her left arm around his back, over his shoulder, holds either shoulder blade or (usually in an open embrace) takes hold of his upper right arm. Her left hand can be anywhere from his neck to his lower back. The leader encircles the follower with his right hand somewhere on the expanse of her back. Chests can be touching or not. Most dancers walk and perform simple moves in a close embrace, with chest contact, but they may open up the embrace to dance giros and other similar moves. In milonguero style, both sides of the follower’s chest usually touch the leader’s (the so-called “two-tit embrace”). In other styles, usually only the left-hand side makes contact (the “one-tit embrace”). There are no set hand or arm positions: it’s a matter of personal preference and what feels comfortable for each couple. Ideally, the tango embrace should feel as warm, snugly and relaxed as a real-life embrace, while still permitting freedom of movement. See also Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you.
Enrosque A movement which results in the feet wrapping around each other. Usually performed as a decoration by the leader when in the centre of a giro.
Exhibición A performance given at a milonga. Couples usually dance two numbers, after which there is almost always at least one, and sometimes two, encore numbers. Performances can be choreographed or improvised or a mixture of both. The tango performed at milongas does not usually have much in common with the tango escenario performed at theatre shows.
Gancho A move in which one dancer’s leg hooks around the other’s. This usually happens only when one dancer steps deep into the other’s space. Some teachers believe the gancho does not need to be actively led, but should be performed whenever the relative positions of the legs comfortably allow it (which is surprisingly seldom). The move is not often seen in social tango salón and is illegal in the main salón competitions, but it is a frequent figure in tango escenario and in salón performances, too.
Giro A turn in which, most commonly, the follower walks around the leader, who forms the centre of the turn. However, the leader can also walk around the follower or they can both walk around a common centre.
Lápiz (plural lápices) A decoration in which the free foot describes a circle on the floor.
Lunfardo Buenos Aires slang, much of it drawn from Italian sources. The earlier tangos often have lyrics which are rich in colourful lunfardo. In 1943, the use of lunfardo was strongly discouraged in tango lyrics. Most tango lyrics from the 40s are written in standard Spanish.
Mate, also yerba mate, Ilex paraguariensis. A subtropical species of holly, drunk as a stimulant infusion at a temperature of around 80°C, which is very popular in Argentina and even more so in Uruguay. It is usually drunk from a gourd, using a metal straw (the bombilla). The mate gourd is passed from person to person, topped up from a thermos between drinkers by a cebador (person who serves mate). Everyone drinks from the same straw. See also A Trip to the Orient.
Milonga 1. A tango dance event. For a description of a traditional milonga, see Kiss & Tango or Old Wine in New Bottles. 2. A style of music, related to tango, but with a dotted underlying rhythm and usually (though not always) a faster tempo. Tango itself is thought to have developed from this earlier form. Almost everyone who dances tango also dances milonga, though usually with slightly different choices of steps.
Milonguero 1. A man who frequents the milongas, usually an older man who has been doing so for many years. 2. A style of dancing. See tango milonguero.
Ocho A dissociated turning step, performed by both leaders and followers, which is one of the most characteristic movements in tango. The name refers to the half figure eight pattern which the feet trace on the floor.
Orquesta Típica The traditional tango orchestra, consisting of four bandoneons, four violins, piano and double bass. Tango music is usually categorised not by composer but by orchestra. The different orchestras have distinctive interpretive styles. Each orchestra is named for its conductor who may also be a member of the orchestra. So tangos “by Biagi” are tangos played by Rodolfo Biagi’s orchestra. Biagi himself was their pianist. Many tangos are sung and it is customary to also identify the singer. Tanturi-Campos, for example, is Ricardo Tanturi’s orchestra accompanying the smooth tones of singer Enrique Campos, while Tanturi-Castillo features the rather nasal but strangely addictive voice of Alberto Castillo. My personal favourite combination is D’Agostino-Vargas. Since, at the milonga, it is not customary to announce which orchestra is playing, guessing the orchestra is a favourite geeky game and the skill is often used as a marker of status.
Parada In this movement, the follower is brought to a standstill, usually with at least one foot touching the leader’s extended free foot, often with both dancers bending their knees and dipping down. It is frequently led at the end of a giro. Usually, the woman determines when to resume movement and the parada is a traditional place for the woman to add adornos or decorations.
Piropo A compliment. Often given to women walking alone along the street. Many men also give their dance partners piropos in the brief moments of chat in between tangos. A man who is lavish with his compliments is a piropero.
Planeo A movement performed by the leader, or led for the follower, which uses momentum to cause the free foot to describe a wide arc on the floor while the dancer turns. The two legs resemble a pair of compasses drawing a circle, with the free foot the pencil part.
Porteño/a From the city of Buenos Aires (also called Capital Federal).
Práctica In theory, a more informal event than a milonga which provides a time and space for dancers to practise their steps, often under the watchful eye of a teacher. Actually, many so-called Buenos Aires prácticas, such as Práctica X and Práctica 10, are indistinguishable from informal milongas. For a description of a genuine práctica, see Young Conservatives.
Rulo A circular decoration executed by the leader or follower’s free foot. I am not entirely sure of the difference, if any, between a rulo and a lápiz and regard them as roughly synonymous terms.
Sacada A move in which one partner deliberately invades the other’s floor space, stepping close to or into the place their partner is currently occupying, thus displacing them. This often causes the partner’s free leg to describe an arc along the floor. There may or may not be physical contact between the legs of the two partners at the moment of displacement.
Salida A figure often danced as an opening to the dance, or to mark the beginning of a new phrase or section of the music. It characteristically begins with a side step, followed by some walking steps, and ends with the follower in what is called the cross, that is, with feet crossed left in front of right (with weight on the front foot). There are a number of different forms of salida. It is by no means compulsory to open the dance with a salida or, indeed, to dance one at any time, but some of the salidas are pleasing, well-designed and therefore popular figures. The salida de los 40 is a personal favourite variant.
Tanda At a milonga, the music is usually played in sets of three to five numbers, separated by a brief burst of non-tango music called the cortina, which is the tango equivalent of a palate cleanser at a wine tasting. The tracks in a tanda are almost always by the same orchestra, from the same period (if that orchestra spans various periods and styles) and, if they are sung tangos, with the same singer. Usually, dancers leave the floor during the cortina and often change partners at the start of the next tanda. At more traditional milongas, it is unusual to dance more than one consecutive tanda with the same person.
Tango Escenario, or stage tango As the name suggests, a type of tango designed for stage shows, characterised by large, flashy movements. Often includes more acrobatic movements, lifts and jumps and sometimes fuses tango with other genres such as classical ballet and contemporary dance. Some movements have to be adapted to the rectangular space of the stage, since social tango is danced while travelling anticlockwise around a dance floor. Can also include a degree of histrionics ranging from the subtle to the camp. A very different style from the tango danced at the milongas. Tango escenario is typically choreographed, while the tango danced socially is improvised.
Tango marathons These are weekend tango events, usually in Europe, the US or Canada, with milongas every night and frequently during the afternoons, too. To attend, dancers must book in advance for limited places and most marathon organizers ensure an equal number of leaders and followers. Many dancers are happy to travel to other cities in order to attend the local marathons, especially if there is a dearth of skilled dancers at their local milongas. The European marathons are said to have arisen in response to a felt need for more international dancing, a need which was not met by tango festivals, with their many workshops and classes and long evening performances. The first marathons took place at El Corte in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. This phenomenon is as yet unknown in Buenos Aires.
Tango Milonguero A dance style in which the partners remain in a close embrace throughout the dance. It is sometimes – by no means always – characterised by a tendency to step on every beat and a preference for punchier, more strongly rhythmical tango orchestras, such as that of Juan D’Arienzo. See also A Question of Style. Some European dancers prefer to describe this style of tango as close embrace tango or do not specifically differentiate it from other forms of tango salón.
Tango Nuevo A dance style popularised by dancers Gustavo Naveira and Chicho Frumboli. It is characterised, typically, by extensive use of an open embrace and often by more elastic movements and a heavy landing on the beat. Certain steps, while they are also danced in other styles, are especially popular among nuevo dancers: particularly movements in which the follower is out of axis, with the dancers leaning towards each other (a volcada) or away from each other (a colgada). Many nuevo dancers, despite what the name might suggest, prefer to dance to traditional tango music from the 1940s or earlier. At the time of writing (December 2011), tango nuevo is extremely unpopular and it is rare to see it danced here in Buenos Aires. Though I believe reports of its definitive death have been greatly exaggerated. See also A Question of Style.
Tango Salón A dance style in which the couple open and close the embrace fluidly in the course of the tango. One striking characteristic of salón is the preponderance of giros, turns in which the follower walks around the leader in an open embrace, while he turns on the spot, often embellishing his movement with decorations such as enrosques and planeos. Also often referred to as Villa Urquiza style. See also Young Conservatives.
Tangotonin The hormonal neurotransmitter which dancers secrete in large quantities when enjoying a particularly wonderful dance. While scientists have as yet failed to identify its chemical structure or locate its receptors in the brain, empirical evidence demonstrates that its effects are powerful, dangerous and habit-forming.
Tango vals Based on the Italian waltz, this is a style of tango music with a 3/4 beat (tango itself was traditionally written in 2/4 and is often called dos por cuatro for that reason). The dance itself is not significantly changed when dancing to this rhythm.
Taxi dancer A dancer, usually male, who is paid to dance with a specific woman or women at a milonga, often with a beginner who might otherwise find it difficult to get good dances and needs to acquire more confidence on the floor.
Technique practice Solo exercises designed to enable dancers to incorporate and refine tango-specific ways of moving. The tango equivalent of ballet dancers’ daily barre exercises. See Solo.
Traspié From a word that literally means “to stumble”, traspié describes a quick, short rock step in which, as soon as the dancer begins to change their weight onto the step, they push off from the receiving foot and return to their original position in a pattern of go–return–go. The result is a kind of physical stutter. Traspié is used extensively in dancing milonga and can also serve as a decoration.
Villa Crespo style My own subjective and utterly superfluous addition to the taxonomy of tango styles, which I use to characterise the high-energy tango salón currently (Dec 2011) popular among the younger Argentine dancers. See the entry Natural Selection.
Villa (pron. vee-sha) Urquiza style See tango salón.
Volcada See tango nuevo.
