Tango for Milongueros

There are many ways to dance tango. It is a truism to say that everyone dances their own way. But that does not say a lot. More useful to say that of the different ways of dancing tango there are two basic social styles: close embrace where the dancers lean to some extent upon each other, chest to chest, and the embrace is sort of locked into place. There is the salon style where the frame is flexible and that the dancers proximity changes depending on a lot of factors. Close embrace style developed in the crowded milongas of the 1950s in Buenos Aires. It is intimate. It makes the dance most secure when there are other couples near by. It fits well with the more rhythmic and up-tempo music. The salon style has a much larger vocabulary of movement because the dancers are more free to move somewhat independently from each other. This style of dance fits better when the music is melodic and when there is more space on the dance floor.

I teach both styles of the social dance. The one overarching value that I hold regarding my teaching is that I want the exercises and material to further the richness, musicality, and sensitivity of a couples dance. I only want to improve the quality of the dance and dance environment in the Cincinnati Tango community.

Milonguero, a definition: A person who dances to Argentine tango in social settings. A person, man or woman, who loves dancing to traditional tango music. Milongueros go out often to dance. They socialize with other familiar dancers. They love to dance and happily dance on a crowded dance floor as long as the other dancers have good floor craft. They dance musically and in ways that fit the social dance environment.