[Tango-L] The spread of tango

[Alexis Cousein]

On 09/06/2011 10:22, johnofbristol at tiscali.co.uk wrote:
> Yes I see what you mean, but my understanding is that Ballroom and
> Argentine tango were the same thing a century ago, and have developed
> in different directions.

That's not how I see it at all. Argentine tango was a social
dance and  without an official syllabus, and even though
Ballroom tango was derived from it, it was nevertheless
changed dramatically from the start (amongst others, by
adopting a very different embrace and posture and by
largely abandoning the particular emphasis on playful
musicality and improvisation).

So I don't think it's fair to say that Ballroom and Argentine
tango were "the same thing". Perhaps that's how that was presented
to people in Europe who would have had no access to the original
Argentine tango as danced in Buenos Aires, but I doubt the
social dancers there would ever have agreed it was the same thing
(even though very early Argentine tango from the 1910 and early
1920s was probably closer to Ballroom tango --more common
use of promenades as a salida, ruedas, scissors-- than what later
became Golden era tango).