Tango - history of love for three minutes

TANGO
The History of Love...
for Three Minutes

By Lisa Cigel

Argentine tango is an art form that captures the magnificent traditions of Argentina, a country known for its vast beauty and culture, and quite notably for its extraordinary music and dance. Tango contains elements of passion and drama coupled with raw emotion and unique creativity. The spirit and beauty of this dance is a translation of life itself, thrilling both dancers and audiences for over 100 years. Tango is based on improvisational, social movement by sharing mutual respect for your partner and other dancers. It has been called "the history of love...for three minutes."

History

The exact origins of Argentinean tango are lost in myth, but by the mid-1800s, an intermixing of African, Spanish, Italian, British, Polish, and Russian cultures began to influence Argentina. This melting pot of cultures borrowed different dance and music elements from one another, all creating a fantastic hybrid called "tango." Marina Palmer, author of Kiss and Tango Looking for Love in Buenos Aires, says, "Argentina has always been a melting pot. And since the tango is the perfect embodiment of the Argentine spirit, you will find a blend of all these influences in both the music and in the dance by which the music is expressed." The worldwide spread of tango began in the early 1900s. This is when Argentine society families made their way to Paris and introduced tango into a culture eager for modernization and receptive to the risqué nature of the dance. By 1913, the tango had become an international phenomenon in Paris, London and New York. There were tango teas, tango train excursions and even tango colors, particularly orange. Argentine elite, who had shunned the dance, now accepted it with national pride. The dance appeared in movies and tango singers traveled the world. By the 1930s, the Golden Age of Argentina had begun. The country became one of the ten richest nations in the world. Music and poetry flourished, and the tango soon became an essential expression of Argentine culture.

Culture

Visit Argentina today and you'll hear and see everything tango permeating Buenos Aires. Walk down any street in the city and you can sample tango art and history. There is a 24-hour tango TV channel, tango dancers on the streets, two tango clubs per block, curios and postcards, and even an altar to Carlos Gardel, a prominent originator and singer of Argentine tango. As Palmer states, "Look closely at the tango and you will find the ingredients that have blended to form the delicious cocktail of Argentine culture."

Start by pouring in some "Criollo" or "authentic Argentine" for proper swagger, along with the pumped-up "machista" attitude the man adopts to dance with the woman. Then mix in the rhythm and sensuality of the African slaves, brought over to the continent by the early European settlers - and who have almost entirely disappeared, although they once populated the shores of the Rio de la Plata. Many people say that without the slaves, the tango would not have been called the "tango" since the word's origin is African. Now add the lyrical singing style that the Italians who flooded Buenos Aires at the turn of the century imported with them, and listen to the legendary voice of Carlos Gardel, aka "the thush," for an illustration. Next, add a splash of Germany with that country's contribution in the shape of the "bandoneon," the accordion-like instrument whose high-pitched lament is what gives the tango its soul. Finally, add a twist of Central Europe with its vivacious polkas, romantic waltzes, and violin strings. Shake and stir, et voila! One tango coming up.

Steps and Music

Argentine tango is improvisational and unpredictable, similar to a puzzle that gets put together differently each time. There are no real "steps" in Argentine tango, but a walk forward, back and sideways. The man leads with his mind and body, and the woman follows with hers. She has the choice of adding adornments and embellishments, but control and responsibility are directed toward the men. The couple dance together in a tight embrace, cheek-to-cheek, chest-to-chest, but their legs express different movements. The women learn not to avert their eyes from the direct gaze of a man while simultaneously following the four building blocks of walking, turning, stopping and embellishment.

As Palmer states, "When an Argentine talks about the tango, he calls it 'un sentimiento,' a feeling, which is different for every person, but besides individual responses to the music, there is a common, shared feeling of nostalgia and regret." Palmer observes that Argentina's mixed heritage defines the country's unique character, but it also explains why Argentines feel conflicted. "Argentina is a nation in exile," Palmer says, "and its inhabitants are involved in a constant identity crisis."

Statistically, there are more shrinks in Argentina per capita than anywhere in the world, including New York. Says Palmer, "That's because an Argentine is still not sure of what it means to be Argentine. It's only been 100 years or so since most Argentines settled here, which is not that long ago. And while the tango expresses this nostalgia for the homeland, it also offers the listener and dancer an antidote. The tango is cathartic in that it sublimates the very sadness it expresses thanks to the all-powerful embrace, which offers the dancer the comfort and the consolation of shared suffering." In Palmer's words, "The tango is the perfect embodiment of the circle of pain and redemption. That is what I call a happy ending!"

Even though tango dancers follow certain principles, they never quite know how someone will construct a dance, bringing out their own style and flourishes, which contribute significantly to the random outcome of the experience. The surprises possible within the dance are what make it so addictive to watch. On any given day or night in Buenos Aires you might see a man suddenly stand up and begin to sing loudly, proudly, and passionately. Heads nod with approval as bejeweled women join in. Others join in and brighten with the music and begin to clap along. There is a language associated with the dance. It is an expression of romance, emotion, love, heartbreak and passion. It's an intimate, silent conversation between the dancers. But the music tugs at our heartstrings. Tango singers convey the emotional content of the lyrics with their voices and the rest of the story weaves in with the dance itself.

The original style of tango is called the antique Argentine tango, which was influenced by tango habanera, which varies from the Argentine tango seen in Buenos Aires today. The milonga is the tango style danced and played by the people of Argentina, but the roots of tango began with tango Habanera, a mixture of Habanera style and tango andaluz or tango flamenco. The tango habanera has been associated with the first forms of Argentine tango. The famous flexing of the knees is associated with a dance called candombe, danced by Africans who lived in Buenos Aires. The male candombe dancers used their flexed knees to show their dance skills by using walking steps or "corridas" combined with turns. A character who lived in the very early 1900s, known as the "compadrito," created the rigid, traditional style of antique Argentine tango we see today.

There are three major forms of Argentine tango in Buenos Aires or Río de la Plata, and there are many variations as well. The tango milonguero evolved from the salon style to suit the crowded ballrooms of Buenos Aires. This is favored by the older generation. The most striking quality of milonguero style is the close embrace requirement of the dance. One advantage is that it can be danced on crowded floors and in small spaces. There is salón, or "tango de salon," a tango style typically danced with an upright body posture. The embrace can be close or open, but it is typically offset with each dancer's center slightly to the right of their partner's center. When salon-style is danced in a close embrace, common in Buenos Aires, the couple typically loosens their embrace slightly to accommodate the turns and to allow the woman to rotate more freely. Fantasía, danced in tango stage shows, is danced with an open embrace with exaggerated movements and additional elements borrowed from ballet.

Love

"The tango is all about longing. And by definition, you long for something you can't have. Or think you can't," says Palmer, observing that people often refer to the tango as "the vertical expression of horizontal desire." In this context, she says, "The tango can be seen as an incredibly sophisticated way of flirting - and anybody who has felt the heat of the close embrace knows what I'm talking about."

It's worth noting that in Argentina, it's considered rude for a man to approach a woman's table without permission, so a woman gives her silent consent with her eyes. Often this is all that passes between the couple before they meet on the dance floor, just a simple look that says, "Let's dance together."

At the beginning, the woman walks right into open arms. Then they hold each other wordlessly for a moment before they begin to dance. A tango teacher recently said, "The way a woman walks to me when I ask her to dance tells me if it will be a good tango or not. And when I first embrace her, I know all I need to know." It is easy to fall in love while dancing and sometimes a close embrace combined with strong, passionate moves can confuse anyone. However, the sensuous communication and intimacy of tango is traditionally over after exiting the dance floor. Today, dancers and singers perform in clubs, shows, and wherever tango fans congregate. It is commonplace to see dancing in the streets of Buenos Aires. Juan Bruno, a master teacher, describes the structure of tango as "the brain sending a message to your feet through your heart." Tango thrives on ambiguity, and that's what makes it so addictive. Desire is awakened but not quenched. This dance is about yearning with heart and soul at its core, and as everyone knows, "it certainly takes two to tango."