Tango

Music: Tango

Position: Couple

Formation: Couple

The Argentine tango was described in Victorian dance manuals as early as 1856 in the Fashionable Dancer’s Casket, by Charles Durang, which reads, “The Tango was originally a South American dance, composed in 2-4 time.” A choreographed tango “to be danced in couples” is described in the book and was “arranged for the ball-room by M. Markowski.” The text was repeated verbatim in 1862 in “The American Dancing Master” by Elias Howe.

The tango derived from the Cuban habanera of the early 19^th century, and traces its roots back to the French contradanse. The earliest known published habanera is La Pimienta, published anonymously in 1836. The famous habanera, La Paloma, by Sebastien Yradier, is often identified today as a tango.

Just as the waltz and other dance forms have evolved since Victorian times, so has the tango. The dance described in the manual of 1856 is barely recognizable to people familiar with modern Argentine and international ballroom tango. We do not attempt to teach the original Victorian steps, knowing full well the descriptions are subject to interpretation and likely to be somewhat different than what the writer intended.