What does ‘tango’ mean?

Tango is an eternal battlefield between men and women. It defines the act of love, which is expressed in dance forms and styles. Tango's usual performance rules and forms are limited, but imagination and passion are unlimited. Tango dance originated from Tangono, a folk dance in central and western Africa. In the 19th century, a large number of European and African immigrants poured into Argentina. Many people were temporarily stranded in Buenos Aires because they had nowhere to go. Therefore, the brothels and bars near the pier became a place for them to indulge in sex and drink to drown their sorrows. Main place. At this time, the song and dance forms brought by Spanish and other European countries and African immigrants were combined with the local indigenous culture to form tango, which was originally known as "Baile Con Corte" (a dance with a pause). Later, people who liked Buenos Aires changed this dance in two ways. First, they changed the so-called "polka rhythm" into "habanera rhythm." The original habanera rhythm did not have those vigorous and neat movements. It is said that an Argentinian knight named Arnold made a new beautiful girlfriend. They met to dance tango together. There were many people dancing tango at that time. Just when the dance was about to end, the knight was stabbed by his love rival. From then on , few people dance tango anymore. After Arnold was stabbed, he spent three years combining Argentine folk dance moves with his own experiences, retaining some of the key moves of previous tangos, and completely changed tango. .At the same time, the "banera rhythm" was renamed tango. The most notable feature of the new tango is the "crab walk and cat walk". When the dance step needs to move forward, the dancer moves sideways; when the dance step needs to move backward, the dancer moves sideways and diagonally forward. At the same time, the dance steps of tango dancers often move faster and slower according to the changes in the music beat, so tango is also called "a dance that pauses momentarily." In this way, tango dance steps have the characteristics of advancing and retreating, staggered speed and slowness, and consistent movement and stillness. In addition, tango dancers pay attention to the verticality of the upper body, lifting the heels of both feet, and slightly bending the knees. All movements have the feeling of downward extension of power, and the dance posture is very calm and powerful. When excellent tango dancers dance, we can hardly see the movements. We only see the position at the end of the movement. We only see the lines, speed and constantly changing center of gravity, giving people a decisive and sharp-edged feeling. Argentine tango is mainly based on lower leg movements. Male and female dancers perform a series of dazzling dance steps with skillful coordination. The intertwined limbs fully demonstrate the beauty of the human body. Generally, men who dance tango wear daggers at their waists to protect themselves from love rivals. Assassination, the dancers have serious facial expressions and stare at each other lovingly, but from time to time they quickly turn their heads and look left and right. However, in addition to the unique and graceful body shape of the dancers, the biggest difference between Argentine tango and tango in ballroom dance is that Argentine tango is dominated by emotions. In the eyes of Argentinians, tango is like a war or fight in which men and women voluntarily engage. The strong eye contact and physical contact between male and female partners is the soul of tango. Since then, tango has been well-known to the public, but its dynamic and quiet dance steps, eyes looking left and right, and distant and unfamiliar music have given tango a mysterious and weird coat. Tango's tango music is a mixture of dance elements from Africa, India, Spain, Latin and other places, and like dance, it is full of deep emotions. The most typical band form of tango music is that the piano and bass play the rhythm, and the concertina and violin play the melody. Among them, the concertina, which originated from Germany, is the most distinctive tango instrument. From the melody of the concertina, we can hear the strong nostalgia of the Argentinians. In people's current impression, tango dance seems to be a noble and elegant dance culture that belongs to evening wear. In fact, it originated from the poor people of the lower class. However, there have been many opinions about its origin. There are three most controversial theories. : One is that it originated from Spain, and was spread to Argentina with the Spanish colonists, and the word tango is taken from the Spanish ancient Latin; another is that it originated from Africa and was brought to Argentina by black immigrants. The word is taken from tango, a folk dance in central and western Africa, but Argentines have always insisted that tango dance is derived from their own local culture and art.

The birthplace of tango is in the southern suburbs of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. A small town called BOCA, which means the mouth of the river, is a dock. It was here that Spanish sailors landed on the South American continent. . Around the middle of the 19th century, black people from Africa, immigrants from Genoa, Italy, Gauchos from the Pampas, and Mulatto people from the Caribbean gathered here. Most of them were laborers working on the docks. Or a sailor on a ship. Around 1880, as hotels, bars, cafes, dance halls and red light districts emerged in Boca Town, tango dance was born in these lower-class slums. To this day, in Caminito Street in Boca Town, there are still colorful iron houses built by sailors and poor people, painted with bright colors. In its initial stage, tango dance was a vulgar dance, full of flirting and excitement, popular in red light districts and lower-class bars, and became a lower-class gay culture, full of ennui, lust, decadence and desolation. From the tango dance music style, we can see the extensive cultural blend of Argentina, which combines the beautiful and lyrical serenades of the Genoa people, the folk dance music of the Gaucho people, and the bright tune "Habane" brought by the sailors from Cuba. pull". With the passage of time and the continuous penetration of immigrant culture, these dances gradually merged together to form a unique tango dance, which is affectionate, beautiful, rough, sad, and full of rich flavor of civilian life. Europeans at that time were full of contempt for tango dance. However, through continuous transformation and sublimation by artists, tango dance gradually evolved from a vulgar dance into an elegant performing art. Around the 1920s, a man named Carlos Cadel and his band and dance team brought tango dance to Paris, conquering the soul capital of Europe overnight. In a few years, tango dance swept across Europe and the United States like a storm, and quickly integrated into the upper class society, becoming the artistic wealth of people all over the world today. In this process, we see the awakening of decadence and the tolerant charm of art. If you come to Argentina and want to watch a small-scale tango dance performance, it is as easy as going to a restaurant to eat, because many old or high-end restaurants will arrange a free tango show at a certain time in the evening. Tango dance performances; almost all high-end hotels also have tango dance performances every day, and most of them do not need to buy tickets, because these fees are usually included in the accommodation fee; there are also some tourist areas in the capital, such as Florida Walk, etc., every day There are also many street performers performing impromptu performances there on weekends, and the quality is definitely not low. After the song is over, you can feel free to put some change in their hat. Even if there is no change to give, they will thank you for your patience.