The Dictionary of Tango
Neurology of Leading
This is a 5 part series on what happens to the lead’s mind as they begin the process of leading. It covers floorcraft, vocabulary, codigos, and a host of other topics. It’s a very important aspect that every Lead should listen to. Oh yeah, it’s a podcast! 🙂 Enjoy!
Collection
“Collection”, this is an odd word in the Tango world. It has come to mean that we, as dancers, want to bring our feet ‘together’ in some fashion. Some people refer to this idea or concept as “closing” your feet. Meaning to close the gap that naturally exists between them
Delicious Follower
The Delicious Follower is a type of Follower is light years beyond a Passive Follower, in the way that Tango Topics defines the role of the Passive Follower. And it’s also a monster step up from the Role of the Active Follower. There is no Force or Tension in this dancers embrace.
Symmetry
Symmetry is a Tango Topics definition, and musical construct that uses Alternation as a way to express our ideas in a structured and methodical manner. That structured manner shows the casual observer that we’re hearing the music and executing the structure of the music. In its simplest form Tango Symmetry uses ‘pairs’
Alternation
Alternation is a Tango Topics teaching, musical, and vocabulary construct. Meaning that we teach it to show how we can structure our dance musically while employing vocabulary to express our dance musically. Alternation, in its simplest form, is starts out with 1 idea, and then alternates to another idea and then
Baldosa Box
The Baldosa Box is a term that is used, usually, to describe a very specific pattern of steps that is used primarily to dancing Milonga, but can also be used in Tango and Vals as well. The term ‘Baldosa‘ comes from a very specific type of Ceramic Tile. The tile
Lunfardo
(via Wikipedia) Lunfardo (from the Italian lumbardo or inhabitant of Lombardy in the local dialect) is a dialect originated and developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the lower classes in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, the surrounding area Greater Buenos Aires,[1][2] and from there spread to other cities nearby, such as Rosario, places with similar socio-cultural situations. Originally, Lunfardo was
Castellano
Castellano. (Pron: Cas-tah-jzha-no. emphasis on the j sound, as in the word ‘edge‘) A pseudo dialect of Spanish, as in it’s not really a recognized dialect. Shhhhh don’t tell the argentines that, they get rather upset. Castellano should not be confused with Lunfardo nor Castillian Spanish. They’re not the same things. Castellano
Baldosa Box Variation
The Baldosa Box Variation is this: Lead Follow ❶ Back with the Right ① Forward with the Left ❷ Side with the Left ② Side with the Right ❸ Foward with the Right – stepping outside partner ③ Backward with the Left – crossing the meridian ❹ Forward with the Left
Zamba
Argentine Zamba is nothing like it’s Caribbean namesake that shares it’s name. This is an Argentine construct through and through. It’s a slower partner dance that is done to ‘flowy’ music, where the partnership is trying to entice the other. It’s a beautiful and sensual dance that doesn’t get enough
Chacarera
Argentine Chacarera is one of several folk dances that Tango is a part of. Sometimes you’ll see this at Milongas, especially in Buenos Aires (sometimes at Salon Canning and sometimes at Villa Malcolm and at La Viruta!), with a Chacarera ‘break’ for a tanda of songs in the style of
Modern Tango
Modern Tango is a construct that up until just a few decades ago didn’t exist. For instance one ‘recent’ construct is that the idea of dancing to tango music all night long is a fantasy made up by the tango enthusiast. That wasn’t always the case. It wasn’t until the