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TANGO - Buenos Aires, Argentina
 

Buenos Aires is known internationally for being the city where tango music and dance was nurtured and where, nowadays, its is mainly confined to shows for tourists.
 

Tango Environment: The tango is said to have been born in Buenos Aires, on the shores of the Riachuelo; in brothels and in impoverished neighborhood squats of southern Buenos Aires. The social class in which it developed was a mixture of regional people and immigrants made up by sailors, craftsmen and working class people. They were mostly lonely men who had left their families at their natal countries and frequented clubs or dance ballrooms for fun.

Many tango lyrics are inspired in these groups of men who became the "guapos", "malevos" and "compadritos". Some meeting places of these characters were the Café Sabatino, the Almacén de la Milonga and the Viejo Bailetín del Palomar. This portion of society felt identified with the tango lyrics because they talked about the "hard or bad life".

 

The Dance: One of the characteristics that better define the Tango is its choreography. The dance is one of the most important expressions of the tango and the visual beauty illustrates the spirit of the music. A foot moves in every musical note, meaning that if a foot moves in one note, in the following note the other one should, too; similar to walking.

The famous "firulete" refers to the steps that dance-couple make as a skill display to seduce and beautify the dance, and it is the detail that transforms the tango into a showy spectacle. The tango has wide range of choreographic options, making it intriguing and of singular visual beauty. It is important to differentiate the choreographic dance from the improvised one. In the first one, the dancers skills offer a specific rehearsed show, while the improvised dance is unexpected and does not come out as a result of rehearsals but shows creativity and expertise.

The tango cannot be danced individually; the woman seduces and the man leads. He protects and supports her, while she elaborates and outlines the dance breaking balance and resting on his chest.

In the 1990's the tango music and dance had huge internationally success and many new artists surfaced in Buenos Aires, while the passion has grown without borders.

 

 

 


 


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