ARGENTINE TANGO FIGURES

Argentine Tango—4 beats/measure; 26 - 33 meas/min

Argentine Tango was the first tango style, and of course it developed in Argentina, during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. There was nothing proper or high-society about this rhythm. It was an earthy, emotional dance that has been associated with the gauchos (cowboys) of the pampas, African slaves who had been brought to the country, the bars and brothels of working-class neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, and even criminal sub-cultures of the city.

The tango traveled from Argentina to Paris, where it was considerably cleaned up and in the process converted from a Latin to a Smooth rhythm — International Tango. From Paris, the dance came to the United States, where some Latin features were reinstated, producing American Tango. Chris & Terri Cantrell have suggested that, "The American Tango is like the beginning of a love affair, when you are both very romantic and on your best behavior. The Argentine Tango is the next stage when you are in the heat of passion and all kinds of emotions consume you. The International Tango is like the end of the marriage, when you are staying together for the sake of the children."

But through all these developments the Argentine Tango remained, and it may be that it accomplishes what no other dance rhythm can do as well. More than any other style of dance, the Argentine Tango is an expression of the relationship between a man and a woman.. Brent & Judy Moore once quoted Argentine Tango choreographer, Juan Carlos Copes, who said,

The tango is a man and woman in search of each other. It is the search for an embrace, a way to be together, when the man feels that he is a male and the woman feels that she is a female, without machismo.

She likes to be led; he likes to lead. Disagreements may occur later or they may not. When that moment comes, it is important to have a positive and productive dialogue, fifty-fifty.

The music arouses and torments, the dance is the coupling of two people, defenseless against the world and powerless to change things. This is the best definition of the tango as a dance, I think.

This is a dance that expresses most of the emotions that might exist between a man and a woman: passion, excitement, love, romance, tenderness, sadness, anger . . . even silliness. Jack & Judy DeChenne have emphasized that Argentine Tango does not have to be somber.

The expressiveness of Argentine Tango comes out of its unique styling. More than in any other dance rhythm, there is variety in our positions. We use closed, banjo, sidecar, and semi-closed, but with variations that range from unusually tight to loose. This variability in position is necessary to execute comfortably the characteristic movements of Argentine Tango.

The steps are taken more on the ball of the foot with deliberate foot placement, soft knees, and little rise and fall. With each step you brush the knees and ankles together as they pass in a smooth, slinky, level glide. Ron & Mary Noble ask us to develop the feel of a "great jungle cat."

The progress of the dance is interrupted with a great many in-place interactions between the man and woman. These "conversations" involve body rotation, swiveling (ocho), catching partner's foot between yours (trap), foot flicking or pushing (leg sweep), leg hooks (ganchos), various leg crawls, rocking (gauchos), swiveling and flicking (boleos), body twists or shakes (zarandeos), and various cortes. Argentine Tango is so much in the feet and legs -- twinkles, locks, kicks, and flicks.

There are unusual head positions -- downward gazing, meaningful glances, looking away. You may look at your partner and smile -- you would never do such a thing in International Tango.

We may even go so far as to say that, while in most rhythms the emphasis is on correct execution of the figures, in the Argentine Tango we strive for emotional involvement, creativity, and improvisation.

FIGURE & COUNT	STEPS	In Freestyle, You Could Try This
Basic ss; ss; ss;	In closed position facing line of dance, point L to the side (woman point R), -, draw L to R, -; step side L, -, fwd R blending to banjo (woman back L), -; fwd L, -, close R to L in banjo, -; Notice that there are 4 weight changes in 12 beats of music.
American Basic ss; ss; ss;	In closed position facing line of dance, close L to R and flick the right leg back parallel to floor swiveling LF to semi-closed position facing center (woman close R to L flick left leg and swivel RF to semi), -, fwd R and swivel to closed line, -; side L, -, fwd R to banjo line and wall, -; fwd L, -, close R to L in banjo, -;
Backing Basic ss; ss; ss;	In close position facing line of dance, step back L (woman fwd R), -, back R, -; side L, -, fwd R to banjo line and wall, -; fwd L, -, close R to L in banjo, -;
Right Foot Basic ss; qqs;	In closed position, step back R (woman fwd L), -, side L turning LF to banjo, -; fwd R outside partner (woman bk L), fwd & sd L, close R to L (woman cross LIF of R), -;	In the Cunninghams' Tango D'Amor, part A begins with a right foot basic to closed position facing line and wall;; corte & recover; tango draw;
Left Foot Basic qqs; qqs;	In closed position, point L to the side and slightly fwd (woman point R), touch L to R with no weight, step side & fwd L to banjo, -; step fwd R, fwd L to closed position, close R with slight LF turn to banjo (woman XLIFR), -;	In the Moores' Fenestra, there is a turning tango draw to closed position facing center; left foot basic;; back to man's ganchos (sqqs) cross swivel to lady's ganchos (ssqqs) reverse cross swivel (s);;;; ocho & pickup; turning tango draw;
Tango Draw qqs;	In closed position facing line, step fwd L (woman back R), side R, draw L to R, -; Only two changes of weight. You can turn this figure up to 1/4 LF on the first step.	In the Moores' Tango Clarice, part A begins in closed position facing line and center with a right foot basic;; turning tango draw to banjo facing reverse and center; back twist vine 4; outside swivel pickup; turning tango draw to face wall;
Back Tango Draw qqs;	In closed position facing line, step back L (woman fwd R), side R, draw L to R, -; Only two changes of weight. You can turn this figure up to 1/4 LF on the first step.
Tango Close qqs;	In closed position, step forward L (woman bk R), side R, close L to R, -; You can turn this figure up to 1/4 LF on the first step.
Back Tango Close qqs;	In closed position facing line step back R (woman fwd L), side L, draw R to L and take weight, -; This time three changes of weight. You can turn this figure up to 1/4 LF on the first step.
Side Corte s	In closed position step side L (woman side R) and lower into the supporting knee, -,
Back Corte s	In closed position step back L (woman fwd R) lower into the supporting knee and turn upper body slightly LF, -,
Advanced Corte qqs;	In closed position, step back & side L lowering into the knee and turning a little LF (woman fwd R), draw R to L and turn to semi-closed position, step thru R to semi, -; Only two weight changes. This figure may turn up to 1/2 LF and it can end in closed position rather than semi.
Medio Corte qqs; sqq; ss;	In closed position, rock fwd L (woman bk R), recover R, rock back L lowering into knee, -; recover R, -, rock fwd L, recover R; back L lowering, -, recover R, -; This figure is done in place -- the trail foot stays on the same spot throughout. May turn 1/4 to 1/2 LF.
Argentine Walks ss; qqs; sqq;	In closed position facing line of dance step fwd L (woman back R), -, fwd R, -; fwd L, side & fwd R, fwd L, -; fwd R, -, fwd L, side & fwd R;
Gaucho qqqq;	Also called Rock Turn. In closed position, rock fwd L turning 1/8 LF (woman bk R), recover R turning, fwd L turning, back R turning; You may begin this in banjo and blend to closed on the first step, and you may end in banjo if so cued.
Progressive Tango Rocks ss; qqs; qqs;	In closed position step fwd L (woman bk R), -, fwd R, -; rock fwd L, recover R, fwd L, -; fwd R, recover L, fwd R, -;
Curving Progressive Tango Rocks ss; qqs; qqs;	Same as Progressive Tango Rocks above but turn 1/8 LF on each fwd step for a total turn of 3/4.	Dance curving progressive tango rocks;;; and a tango draw turning to complet a full turn;
Crisscross ss; qqs;	In closed position facing wall, step side L (woman side R) turning to semi-closed position, -, thru L turning 1/4 RF (woman 1/4 LF), -; step thru L toward reverse in reverse semi-closed and turn 1/8 LF back to closed position, side R, and draw L to R no weight ending in closed position wall, -;	In the Bonds' Spanish Shawl, part A begins with a criss cross;; whisk; pickup; two left turns to face line;; and tango draw;
Ocho ss; (qqqq;)	"Ocho" means "eight," and the lady traces a figure-8 on the floor with two fanning foot movements. Starting in banjo or closed position, the man swivels 1/8 RF on his right foot leading the lady to step forward R outside the man fanning the left leg CW and turning 1/2 RF to a loose semi-closed position. Then he swivels 1/8 LF and leads her to step fwd L fanning the right leg CCW and turning 1/2 LF to closed position. The man swivels slow, -, and slow, -; The woman does a step, fan, step, fan; Most of the time, the man leads an ocho without taking a step through rotation of the upper body, but he can strengthen the lead by taking a step and then rotating, much like an outside swivel..
3 Slow Ocho ss; ss; ss;	Ocho terminology is not well standardized. If you think of the meaning of the term -- "eight" -- then one ocho should consist of two fanning leg movements by the woman, but sometimes the cue "ocho" refers only to one "step, fan" action. Furthermore, a slow ocho can take a whole measure -- step on a slow count and fan over the next slow count. When the tempo is slow, the man has time to do some especially suggestive leg action. Start in closed position facint line and step back L (woman steps forward R outside partner and fans her left leg in a slow arc CW). The man has left his right leg extended down line, and while she is turning RF, he moves his R leg toward her until it touches her L leg as it comes around. He stops her fanning movement and forces her to step over that leg. As she does so, she can perform a little leg crawl or leg caress with the instep of her L foot. The man takes no more steps, but he leads her with upper body rotation to step fwd L. He will rotate 1/8 LF causing her to rotate LF and to fan her R leg CCW. Again, he moves his R leg toward her and blocks her motion. For the third ocho, she slowly steps over his leg and again fans her L leg CW.	In the Cunninghams' Tango D'Amor, part C begins with 3 stalking walks;;; thru to a basic ending checking; to 3 ochos ending in semi-closed position;;; thru face close & tap;
Back Ocho ss; (qqqq;)	The man steps fwd L and leads the woman to fan her R CW and step bk R, -, fwd R leading woman to fan her L CCW and step bk L
Ocho Para Atras qqqq; qqqq;	You can think of this figure as four cross swivels, from banjo to sidecar to banjo to sidecar to closed. Both perform these fanning movements. In banjo position, the man XLIBR, and fans his R CW turning 1/2 RF to sidecar position (woman steps fwd R and fans L CW turning 1/2), XRiBL, fan L CCW turning 1/2 LF to banjo (woman fwd L and fan R CCW); XLIBR, and fan R CW turning 1/2 RF to sidecar position (woman steps fwd R and fans L CW), XRIBL, fan L CCW turning 1/2 LF to closed position (woman fwd L and fan R CCW);
Gancho s	A gancho is a flick of the lower leg back and around the adjacent leg of the partner. Sometimes the cue represents the flick only, and sometimes it represents a step and a flick. In a hip-to-hip banjo postion, the man steps fwd R turning LF to give the woman access to the back of his R leg (she steps back L turning and flicks her R foot back and around his R, bending at the R knee) In this position, he could then step back L and she fwd R turning RF a little and he could flick his R back and around her L for a Double Gancho.	In the Goss' Jealousy Tango, there are slow ochos and a pickup;;;; open reverse turn; open finish with gancho; double gancho; outside swivel thru tap; Note that this sequence contains both uses of the term gancho. In the open finish with gancho, the gancho is only the flick. In the double ganchos, each is a step and flick.

"Tango is not in the feet. It is in the heart."

"Is one supposed to dance it standing up?"