Gail Phillips
The Tango is a partner dance that originated in the 1890s along the Rio de la Plata which forms the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The many nationalities of immigrants arriving in Argentina blended their dance styles and music and their movements gradually evolved into the Tango. This was danced primarily in the sordid tenement areas of the Argentinean cities where street life was full of drama.
Moving on, the Tango took Paris by storm in 1912, probably arriving in France through the port of Marseilles where Argentinean sailors would show off their dancing skills. It was quickly adopted by the trendy French upper classes and Tango became a European dance craze.
The tango necessitated a big ladies’ fashion evolution. Gone were the constricting corsets and in came skirts with front slits, tango shoes and stockings and specially designed hats since hats were a fashion absolute of the era. The color associated with this dramatic dance was a vivid orange.
Tango mania swept the dance floors in the pre World War I era and, as it moved to North America, we saw the development of a more refined ballroom styled tango and the modern style being danced today. With the resurgence of interest in Ballroom Dance, influenced by such television shows as Dancing with the Stars, we have a grass roots interest in performing such dances ourselves.
Spring and fall The Quail Creek Ballroom Dance Club offers tango lessons along with other ballroom styled dances. The Fall Dance Class Schedule for 2013 includes: American Tango in four sessions on October 24, November 7, 14 and 21; Beginning Cha Cha in four sessions on October 24, November 7, 14 and 21; and East Coast Swing in four sessions on October 24, November 7, 14 and 21.
For details on classes email Steve and Patricia Otrosa at [email protected] and remember, the thing that matters most is not that you remember all the steps, or that you must be a really good dancer but that you and the person in your arms are having a good time!
Here’s to dance!