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About Tango

A Lexicon of common Tango Terms

by Allyson Manta

Abrazo: The Embrace 

                Close Embrace:  used in Milonguero style, and Salon style.         

        Close body contact. The women’s arm is around the shoulders of the man or behind the man’s back.

        In Salon Style the embrace can open slightly to accommodate more complex moves.  The weight is on the balls of the feet for both the man and the woman.

                Open embrace: used in Nuevo tango

        No body contact, very loose informal open  arms. The women’s left hand is holding the man’s arm at or above the elbow.

 Adornos: Embellishments        

        Movements from the man or the women that are unique to each dancer and come from the individual creativity that adorn or embellish the dance

Amague: The Fake

        A move that appears to move in one direction and then changes the direction at the last second.

Barrida: The Sweep

        The foot of either the man or the women is swept with a movement often very swiftly.

Barrio: Neighborhood, Quartier, Faubourg

Boleo: The Whip

        The women’s front or back ocho is swiftly whipped to change direction producing a whip action from the women’s leg  either low on the floor or high in the air.

Cadena: The Chain

        A  series of movements that produce a chain like effect. The women’s action is the same as the man’s but in canon.

Caminada: the walk

        Any series of steps that walk forward.

Cayengue:

        A rhythm that is of African origin and is thought to have influenced the Milonga . During the early 90’s it was also a reference to the teepee structure of the man and women in Milonguero style. There are many references to this word all with different origins and slang meanings.

 Candombe:

        A rhythm that is thought to have come before the Milonga and is related to the drums and of African origin. A dance that is being revived today but is still so old, no–one really knows how it was danced.

Colgadas:

        Turns, usually fast, which take the women off her axis or plays with her axis

Conventillo:

        Boarding houses in the suburbs of Buenos Aires in which the immigrant population was housed.  It consisted of many rooms around a central courtyard with a common cooking area. The space for Saturday night “jam sessions” and dances where the milonga and the tango were born. The cradle of Milonga!

 Compadrito:

        A term of tango mythology and lexicon . A man of questionable background and intent, who spends all his time in the tango bars or at the races. Well dressed and very aware of his looks and clothes. A fop, a dandy

Compadre:

Corrida: The Run

        An old term from the 30’s and 40’s seldom used today; a syncopated walk which will  look like a run

Corte: To Cut

        A cut in the smoothness of walking; a step back or side where the women leans into the man

Crossed System

        A modern reference (90’s onward) to the man’s feet being the same as the women’s.  Right foot to right foot, or left to left, no matter the direction. See also parallel system.

Cruzada: The Cross

        Usually refers to the women’s cross (left over right) but can be any cross by the the women or the man

Enrosque: Corkscrew

        The man’s turn with the feet crossed; the action which is initiated by turning the upper body and twisting down to the hips and feet, earn the name corkscrew.

Farolita: The Light; Farol; ita (endearment)

        The farol is a light specific to Buenos Aires which produces a  circular sphere of light. The term in tango refers to the man sweeping his foot to “draw” the sphere of light.

Gancho:  The Hook

        The  action of hooking or wrapping one leg around the other.

Gaucho: The Argentine Cowboy.

        The folklore of Argentina centers around this figure. Martin Fierro written by Jose Hernandez is the bible to read in order to understand this personnage from the history of Argentina and Tango

Giro: The Turn

        The turn in tango; the direction of the giro is in reference to the man’s direction eg. If the turn is to the man’s right then it is a right turn; if it is to the left, it is a left turn. The molinete is the women’s action which enables the giro for the man

Lapiz: The Pencil

        A more modern term for the same action as the farolita

Llevada: To Pick Up And Carry

        The action of picking up and carrying the foot similar to a barrida but in the case of a llevada the foot is picked up off the floor.

La Marca:

        A term used to refer to the lead

Media Luna: Half Moon, Croissant

        An old fashioned term for a half turn.The man creates  a back, side, forward of the molinete for the women which makes the shape of a half moon.

Milonga:

        The rhythmicl mother of the tango born in the conventillos of Buenos Aires.

        The meeting place to dance tango eg. “Let’s go the Milonga tonight.”

Milonguero or Milonguera:

        A person living the life of tango by hanging out, in and around the milonga’s.  A person whose life revolves around the milongas. La vida es una milonga ……

Milonguita:

        A young woman( eg. a Lolita) who spends all her time in the milonga and is the “darling” of the dance floor and the Milonga. A women can only be a Milonguita for a short period of time. 

Molinete:  Molino;Mill,  The Little Windmill

        The molinete describes the grapevine steps that the women takes around the man as he is performing any variation of giro

Mordida: Morder; To Bite “The Little Bite”

        The foot of one partner is sandwiched between the feet of the other (also called sandwich, therefore!)

Ocho: The Figure Eight

        The basic of the tango, the sensual and snakelike painting of the figure eight by the body and feet; can be performed forward and back

Ocho cortado: Cut Eight

        Performed when the action of the eight is cut abruptly

Parada: To Stop

        Any stopping action in any direction

Parallel system:

        A modern term (90’s onward) to describe the man’s foot being a mirror image of the women’s foot therefore right to left in any direction

Porteno, Portena:

        A person who is born inside the environs of what is Buenos Aires

Quebrada: To Break

        A very old term used to describe what could be a  corte–like movement today . This movement was considered coarse.

Resolution:

        Any way in which a variation or organization of figures is resolved or comes to a conclusion; usually at the end of a phrase of music

Sacada:

        A  displacement of the woman’s free leg. Can be provoked  at the ankle, at the calf or at the thigh; all of which will produce a different result

Salida: Exit  

        A term used to describe the way in which a couple would begin to dance; the exit onto the line of dance. Nearly everybody’s salida is different!

Tango:

        The origin and etymology of the word tango is debated and researched even to this day.  There are several possibilities and perhaps all of these are in fact true.  In some African cultures the word tango can be found ( Mali, Angola) to mean  reserved ground or closed place. There is is also the latin root “ tangere” which means to touch, used in Portuguese and then passed to the slaves which were then imported  to Argentina. The word Tango appears to be a child of mixed blood the same as the dance itself.   It is almost certainly is a slang  term or became one as it traveled across cultures.

Tango Nuevo:

        Tango Nuevo is a newer style of tango as the name implies;  which came about with the new wave of interest from the youth in Argentina around the mid 90’s in relation  to the young people in Europe and America who had become turned on to tango. The desire of Nuevo tango is to explore new movements and possibilities.  The fact that large dance floors in America and Europe allowed the dancers to move in larger ways enabled this style to develop. Argentina at his time also had rooms for tango that were barely filled except for a few diehards. (Not the case today).

Tango Salon:

        A style is used to describe a tango that began to be danced in the 40’s in Buenos Aires during the golden years of tango. It incorporates the rhythms of the milongueros and the more elaborate steps created  by the dancers as the music became more complex. with such orchestras as Troilo and Pugliese.

Tango Milonguero style:

        Tango Milonguero style is a misnomer and difficult to describe as many will tell you different interpretations. The milonguero style of the1930’s is not he same as that of the year 1980 or the year 2005. some characteristics  common  throughout the ages would be a very close embrace, a rhythmic approach to the music,  some turning( half turns or one complete turn  but not  extended( two or three)  turns with flashy steps.

******** most dancers today (with exceptions)  are a mix of all these styles. ********

Stage Tango:

        This term is self explanatory. This a a tango choreographed specifically for presentation on a stage. It will include big movements, such as high kicks, jumps, spins, drops ,all for the dramatic effect it will create on stage. This is not a social tango form and should not be taught unless the intent is to perform on a stage and should not be danced under any circumstances in a Milonga unless you and your partner are the only ones on the floor!

TangoVals:

        A rhythm of tango that combines the 1,2 of tango with the 1,2,3 of the country waltz.  Sparkling like a glass of champagne, the tangovals uses the structure of tango variations and adds the waltz rhythm to twirl and fly around the floor.

Volcados:

        Big sweeping steps by the man which take the women off her axis while she is collected

          Author’s note: this dictionary is not the final word on any of these terms and includes only some of  the terms that  are used in tango by tango dancers.  The mystery of tango is still very much a part of it’s beauty, therefore pinning down one certain interpretation on any aspect of it’s nature is a futile endeavor and would forever alter it’s elusive seductiveness. I encourage all that love tango to research and read as much as they can find on it in any and all languages that you can speak.

Sources:

Azzi, Maria Susana; Collier, Simon; Cooper, Artemis; Martin, Richard

! Tango! Thames and Hudson, 1997

Salas, Horacio  Le Tango( en francais) Babel, 1989

http://www.cyber-tango.com

http://www.bridgetothetango.com

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