The History of Tango

If you love dancing and don’t know about tango, you are not a dancer at all. It’s also good to know a bit about the history of the tango, this mixture of sensuality and romance coupled with emotionally charged moves.

Tango type of dancing originated in the late nineteenth century in the city of Buenos Aires. There were many dances for couples at that time but tango brought changes in the way couples used to dance and these changes brought a fresh flavor to dancing.

This particular form of dance is only the third dance in the history of dancing where the man and woman dance facing each other with the man’s left hand holding the woman’s right hand while his right hand curves around her waist. This type of holding, which was before only used in Waltz and Polka, brought both sensuality and charm to dancing.

While there is no detailed history of how tango came about it is rumored that it originated in the brothels of Argentina. According to folklore, there used to be lines of people waiting for their turns at the brothels and to entertain them the madams of these brothels used to employ musicians who played tango music. However there are other theories which refute this story. According to one of them, the tango had its roots in the lower class localities of Argentina, but it was the wealthy people who discovered it while they were awaiting their turns at the brothels. As every one knows, both the poor and the rich rub shoulders in the brothels and it might be that the dance was picked up by the wealthier people over there and then passed around all over the world.

Whatever the dispute about the origin of the tango, there is irrefutable proof that this dance was held on stage in Paris as far back as 1909. In 1912 tango took Paris by storm and quickly became popular throughout the world. Today, it’s still one of the most popular dances.

There are various types of tango: Argentinean, Finnish, Chinese and American, just to name a few. The American style is also popular as ballroom dancing.