[Tango-L] Social Tango

[Sergio Vandekier]

Joe says: "I want to say "Stop talking about styles and just dance with me. I don't care what it's called, I'm going to find a way to dance with you, and it's going to be good if you don't poison it preconceived ideas."

I agree, it does not matter if you wish to use a name for the style you dance, because you are going to find a way to dance with that particular lady. This is fine
most people do not know what style they dance.

We all do the same,  except that most people tend to dance with partners of similar skill level.  So they stand or sit for a while to observe the dancers and then decide with whom they wish to dance.   The "way" you dance is determined by many factors.  You must adjust to the available space, (lots of lack of it), the music, fast music may require smaller steps and faster rhythm, an slower one will allow longer steps and a slower rhythm.  

Then the woman determines the closeness of the embrace, (very close, close with light, open), then the way everyone else is dancing in that particular club may have an influence as well;  as you start dancing you get the "feeling" of the lady so that you do not lead anything that she cannot follow and when there is some problem you immediately "compensate" so that the problem is not evident.   

It is possible that you lead an Ocho cortado and she does not follow because she is used to doing regular front ochos, no big deal: you continue dancing  without ochos cortados. Last year I went dancing to a place where nobody ever crossed, they danced stage style without using the cross at all. 

It is possible but unlikely that you ask somebody to dance without knowing how she dances and she does not know how to dance: you still can walk in a straight way, never crossing.

But it is possible that you like traditional tango and you go to a club where that style is preferred or perhaps to a place where millonguero or nuevo are danced.
There (as Carol says) people speak the same dialect and this could be a big advantage.

But if you do not know too much about styles, when somebody asks you "what style do you dance?" you answer "Salon" which means social , not stage.

Salon or social has several subgroups :  Milonguero is the most common in Buenos Aires, in some places they dance traditional tango, Canyengue or Nuevo.

Joe adds "It's the same with tango "styles". They have about as much validity as astrological types. Of course, if you convince people that they belong to a certain type they'll probably start fulfilling your expectations of them."


The most common reason for dancing a particular style is that, by chance, that was the style that was being taught at the place where someone happened to go.

One step earlier to that first visit to a tango instructor : the person saw somebody dancing tango, very frequently a tango on stage, in a movie, in the theater, in Television or some club. So he goes with the expectation of dancing stage tango .   A small fraction of them will  have the dedication of time and energy to learn.

At certain time and after being exposed to different types of tango you may have the chance to select the style you wish to dance.

Summary: You do not know what style you dance, no big deal you dance Joe's style.

Best regards, Sergio







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