ABOUT TANGO

There are several different kinds of dances called “Tango”: among the well-known varieties there is Argentine Tango, International (or Ballroom) Tango, and Finnish Tango. The MIT Argentine Tango club is dedicated to promoting Argentine Tango both among MIT students, and in the Boston area.

Argentine Tango is a partnered dance: people usually danced in couples. Generally, one person in the couple leads (this person is called “the leader”), while the other one (the “follower”) follows. This traditional “division of labor” is how the Argentine Tango is generally taught and danced, but this should not be thought of as the follower just doing what the leader proposes: any good follower has his or her own voice to contribute to the dance. For some (generally advanced) dancers the line between the leader and the follower begins to blur, and who leads can switch in the middle of the dance.

Argentine Tango (unlike, say, Swing) is a progressive dance: the couples move around the floor, in a counterclockwise direction. This is called the the “Line of Dance” (even though it is more like a circle) and keeping with it is quite imporant: when couples do not stay in the line of dance they tend to cause traffic jams and collisions on the dance floor.

For some more basic information on Argentine Tango, we recommend the wikipedia entry on Argentine Tango. We also like Clay Nelson's piece on tango competitions.

Argentine Tango, as promoted by the MIT Argentine Tango club, is mainly a social dance, with emphasis on leading and following, improvization, and musicality. To us, a comfortable embrace and a nice feeling is more important than flashy steps (especially if they do not feel good!)