What is Argentine tango?
Authentic Argentine tango is a living dance, always progressing and developing. Within it there are many different styles. We dance and teach all of them. We hope that each of our students will find his or her own preferred way of dancing, and (ideally) ultimately develop the ability to dance in a range of styles.
It's not ballroom tango...
The first and most important distinction is between ballroom tango and Argentine tango. These are two totally different dances: they are based on different principles, use different embraces, steps and music, express different moods and establish different relationships between leader and follower.
For this reason, please be very cautious about learning ‘Argentine tango’ from ballroom dancing teachers (or indeed teachers of other dances). Argentine tango takes many years (some would say a lifetime!) of focused dedication to master, and those who teach a variety of other dances are very unlikely to master or convey the authentic spirit, technique, diversity and innovation of 21st-century Argentine tango.
Within 'proper' Argentine tango, there are several styles. They can be distinguished in part through the different embraces they use. Click through the menu items under 'About tango' for information about the main styles danced today.
Authentic Argentine tango is a living dance, always progressing and developing. Within it there are many different styles. We dance and teach all of them. We hope that each of our students will find his or her own preferred way of dancing, and (ideally) ultimately develop the ability to dance in a range of styles.
It's not ballroom tango...
The first and most important distinction is between ballroom tango and Argentine tango. These are two totally different dances: they are based on different principles, use different embraces, steps and music, express different moods and establish different relationships between leader and follower.
For this reason, please be very cautious about learning ‘Argentine tango’ from ballroom dancing teachers (or indeed teachers of other dances). Argentine tango takes many years (some would say a lifetime!) of focused dedication to master, and those who teach a variety of other dances are very unlikely to master or convey the authentic spirit, technique, diversity and innovation of 21st-century Argentine tango.
Within 'proper' Argentine tango, there are several styles. They can be distinguished in part through the different embraces they use. Click through the menu items under 'About tango' for information about the main styles danced today.
Page updated 7th December 2014