Tango Argentino

Tango, a dance known as passionate, sensual and very elegant, was all the rage in the 1930's in Buenos Aries and Paris. Tango is not only a dance but also an obsession. For the tanguero, it is as much as a part of life as eating and sleeping. Erotic and passionate, haunting and melancholic, it involves not only the body but also the soul. Yes, it is just feeling - but in one dance, you can express sad, happy, angry, relax, deep, shallow, cheerful, sorrow, painful, serious, intellectual or just playful feelings. Tango has captured the popular imagination for over one hundred years to become at the end of the twentieth century, no less than an international cult.

Birthplace

Both music and dance were born in the brothels of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina just before the beginning of the 1880s century. The word' Tango" refers to both a musical style and the dance performed to it. While in modern Argentina, tango is associated mostly with a style of music; the rest of the world sees tango as a dramatic, and sexy dance.

Where from?

Arguable! It is generally accepted that the tango was borrowed from many nations:

1. the relentless rhythms of the African slaves,
2. the candombe - beat on their drums (known as tan-go);
3. the popular music of the pampas known as the milonga; the combined Indian rhythms with the music of early Spanish colonists; and some influences of the Latin. Some say the word "tango" comes from the Latin word tangere (to touch).

Original Features

Ironically, it was the lonely immigrants and societal outcasts that sought to escape from their feelings, so they developed a music and dance that epitomized them. The wail of the tang speaks of more than just frustrated love but also of fatality of destinies, engulfed in pain and dance of sorrow. The dance was also developed as an "acting out" of the relationship between the prostitute and her pimp, or a man-to-man combat between challengers for the favors of a woman, that usually ended in the symbolic death of an opponent.

Tango in Paris

Shortly after the end of the First World War, the tango was transported to France, where Parisian high society embraced it. As the Parisians took to tango, they modified it into a more refined and sophisticated dance. Tango was reigning supreme in the cabarets and theaters, which was and still is frequented by the rich.

Song and Dance

In 1918, lyric writing for the tango became a trend - i.e. the famous singer Carls Gardel. In 1930, tango became a symbol of the Argentinean physical solidarity and part of their daily life. Soon, wealthy intellectuals began writing new lyrics and turned tango into a more romantic, nostalgic, less threatening air dance.

Today

The tango is enjoying a renaissance of popularity (Europe, US, Asia...). Keeping the fire of this daring art from burning brightly all around the world.

Hong Kong

A group of tango lovers have been keeping and promoting the art of Argentina Tango in Hong Kong since 1995. They have been taught by the international acclaimed masters in tango, Gladys Fernandez and Pablo Inza from Argentina, who have been coming to Hong Kong once a year to run workshops. The teachers emphasized on the technical aspects such as balance, posture, the rhythmic work and style in the Traditional Tango, Tango-vals and Milonga.  In June 2002, Gladys Fernandez has just returned to Hong Kong with a new partner, Ricardo Gallo, and restarted the passion for us once again. This time, the fire of passion has reached out on even more tango lovers.

In 2005, several local dancers set up shops and began teaching tango on a part time basis.  Their endeavours raised awareness and has since increased the size of the local tango community.

How do I start?

There is now an abundance of tango events in Hong Kong.  You may want to start by visiting the various practicas or milongas to see how the tango is danced and if you think that it is a dance for you, you can then enrol in classes offered by TangoTang or other local teachers.

Our Events Calendar gives a comprehensive view of tango events in Hong Kong, click on the links below for

• classes
• praticas
• milongas 

or you can visit our homepage for detail description of the events. 

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