Miles Tangos – Tango Topics

A Common Colgada

Miles Tangos — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 15:24:38 +0000

What is a Colgada ? The word “Colgada” comes from the root Spanish word “Colgar” which translates to English as “Hang”. The word ‘Colgada’ is the past participle version of the verb which adds an ‘ed’ ending to the word. Which when translated to English is ‘Hanged’ or rightfully ‘Hung’. So a Colgada is where the Follower (specifically) is in a state where they’re going hang off their Lead, deliberately, or more specifically, they’re being placed in a position where they’re going to hang. And that’s where we talk about a shared axis, and more importantly balance, all of this fitting within the line and lane of dance.

What To Practice ?

Miles Tangos — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 11:46:23 +0000

Today when I’m working with a student, they honestly don’t want to do that kind of work. They just want the answers. “How do I …?” so I show them what to do, and then how to do it. But that starts with going right back to their foundation. If they’ve been dancing a while, they think or believe that they already know what they’re doing. And to a certain extent they do. But in reality, the fundamental elements have eluded them and they’ve ended up in a place of physical compromise for whatever reason.

The Structure of a Song (and a Tanda).

Miles Tangos — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 09:05:12 +0000

A song in Tango (the genre, not to be confused with the entire idea of tango music), consists of 5 to 6 musical paragraphs. Those musical paragraphs are generally 6 to 8 phrases in length. Each one of those phrases is punctuated by 6 to 8 musical pause types based on the 5 Musical Pause Types of Argentine Tango music (See article).

A Method for Tango Improvisation

Miles Tangos — Sat, 16 Aug 2025 16:41:38 +0000

The Tango Topics Method of Tango Improvisation uses extensions, dissociation/applied dissociation, and individual component movements, as well as Beat and the 5 Pause Types as the building blocks for generating a type of improvisation that can be combined with contemporary tango vocabulary to generate a dance that is easily accessible and very familiar with near-infinite possibilities!

The Five Pause Types Methodology & Primer

Miles Tangos — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 14:19:06 +0000

The 5 Pause types are in every piece of tango music you have ever heard from the golden age. They are best described as 'musical rests' or a simply a 'pause'. However unlike normal musical pauses, a Tango Pause is slight different and has very specific characteristics that makes them easily identifiable.

The Lead Step Over Back Sacada

Miles Tangos — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:01:54 +0000

In Tango, we have multiple types of Sacadas, from multiple types of positions, with varying levels of complexities. Typically, the most difficult Sacada to execute for BOTH roles is the Back Sacada. The reason for that is because the Back Sacada usually requires a level of disassociation and applied disassociation that is difficult to accomplish. […]

The Molinete Giro Structure

Miles Tangos — Tue, 13 May 2025 11:26:14 +0000

The turn itself is taught to every beginner dancer, and every dancer uses this very functional and foundational turn. As this is the case, the turn is so predominant that it is the default motion for every Follower/every Lead whether they realize it or not. The moment that a Lead starts to rotate their body, the Follower will default to the Follower's Molinete. It should be noted that the Follower's Molinete doesn't happen in a vacuum. It happens due to the other side of the equation: The Lead's Giro. The Lead's Giro and the Follower's Molinete co-combine to create the standard turn in Argentine Tango when we talk about turns. So without more yapping, let's dive into Today's Tango Topic: The Molinete Giro Structure.

Milonga Vocabulary – An Overview

Miles Tangos — Sun, 02 Mar 2025 11:54:26 +0000

When talking about Milonga, there are 2 things that have to be addressed at nearly the same time: 1.) The Musical Component. And 2.) The Vocabulary. This article addresses the Musical and then the Vocabulary. To be fair, you can do them in any order to suit a particular purpose. I have had successes with groups or individuals teaching either the Music first, and then the vocabulary, or the reverse.

The Lead’s Exercise

Miles Tangos — Sun, 19 Jan 2025 11:27:35 +0000

One Lead's Exercise to RULE THEM ALL! ;-) This is the proverbial game-changer of an exercise. It looks insanely simple, but that's about where things stop. This bugger will drive you nuts! Nuts in a good way. It will force clarity, perception, precision, control, containment...and a host of other things. Check it out.

The Follower’s Exercise

Miles Tangos — Sat, 18 Jan 2025 09:29:37 +0000

One Follower's Exercise to RULE THEM ALL! ;-) This is the proverbial game-changer of an exercise. It looks insanely simple, but that's about where things stop. This bugger will drive you nuts! Nuts in a good way. It will force clarity, perception, precision, control, containment...and a host of other things. Check it out.