Portal a Tango in
Vancouver Latin American Film Festival
Portal a Tango & The Tryptich
at Latin Vox 2007
A Tango Proposal
The Tango Etiquette
Argentine tango general standards for milonga behaviour
The Tango Etiquette describes behavioral standards commonly observed in the culture of Argentine tango
milongas.
Some contents may be debatable. Some rules may be relaxed in some milongas and specific situations
(ie. among close friends, etc.) Nonetheless, it is important for milongueras and milongueros to be
aware of these standards. New tango dancers may not be aware of these rules. Therefore, experienced dancers
set a good example by being patient, polite, and sensitive with less experienced dancers. Always remember
that once you were a beginner as well.
Tangueras and tangueros are invited to provide feedback and suggest
ammendments at
info@portalatango.com.
1) The first dance and the last dance
Milongueras and milongueros will frequently see particular significance in their first and their
last dance of the milonga. They may seek to dance their first tanda with a familiar and smooth partner,
and thereby start off the evening on the right foot. As for the last dance, we find tradition among
porteños to dance the last
tanda with their significant other or a potential lover. One may chose to relax this rule especially
if in agreement with their significant other. For singles it's open game. Though if the partner is
known to have a significant other, it is courteous to ask whether they wish to dance with their
significant other.
2) The invitation to dance (see
Cabeceo in The Tango Dictionary).
The cabeceo makes the invitation to dance less stressful as it allows the invited person to decline
discretely.
Non-verbal cues are frequently used. So, as you are getting ready to ask someone to dance, try to catch
their eye, smile and nod. You might raise your eyebrows in an inquiring expression or directing a nod towards
the dance floor. Observe their body language. For instance, if you make eye-contact and the other person
quickly turns away, pretends not to see you, or busies themselves in some way, it means they do not want to
dance. On the other hand, if your potential partner returns your eye-contact with a smile and/or a nod, you
are encouraged to invite them verbally (ie. "would you like to dance?").
When inviting a person who is in the presence of their significant other, it is courteous to ask their
significant other for permission. Be friendly but not flirtatious and avoid dance moves that are sexually
suggestive. Avoid monopolizing anyone’s partner with multiple tandas (see
Tanda in The Tango Dictionary).
3) How to gracefully receive a rejection
When we invite someone and they give us a courteous "no" (ie. "not right now", "my feet need to rest", etc.), we do not sit
down beside them to wait until they are ready to dance. We let them be for a while. How long is "a while?"
Regardless of the form in which a "no" was formulated, it means no for at least 2 tandas. After 2-5
tandas you may consider inviting that person again. We may find that the person who rejected us earlier,
may track us down for a dance later.
4) How to politely give a rejection
In the great majority of cases, avoiding eye contact will prevent someone from inviting you. If that
person approaches regardsless, and invites you verbally it is fine to say "no".
When verbally rejecting someone's invite, although we might want to dance with them later, we can provide
an excuse such as "Sorry, but I need a break", or "I already promised this dance to someone", or "thanks but
I need to rest my feet". If our excuse involves resting, we should wait at least for the next song or
preferably for the next tanda before dancing with someone else. Always remember to be nice when rejecting
someone. Try not to hurt their feelings.
5) Tanda communication
It is customary to dance the entire tanda with the same partner unless there is a particular reason to stop
(ie. the man is rude or very disappointing as a dance partner, your ride is waiting, your feet are aching, etc.).
When two people are done dancing, one of the dancers will say gracias (thank you), the other person will respond
the same way, and they leave the floor. and leave. So, the phrase "thank you" actually means "I am done dancing
and ready to leave the dance floor". This is preferrably at the end of a tanda, unless they want to dance
another set. When two people are finished dancing, it is customary for the leader to escort the follower
off the floor.
6) Line of dance (see
Ronda in The Tango Dictionary)
Couples move counter-clockwise on the dance floor. This is the line of dance. Faster lanes are on the
outside of the dance floor, and slower lanes run closer to the center. Refrain from randomly intersecting
these lanes, especially on a crowded floor. The dance floor is reserved for couples who are currently dancing,
and all others should clear the floor.
7) Collisions
When collisions happen, everyone involved should be generous and courteous in acknowledging the collision. It
doesn't matter whose fault it is and we will not make a big deal of the collision.
To avoid collisions, both partners should help in maintaining awareness of others on the dance floor.
Keeping your eyes open (as opposed to "tango trance") certainly helps awareness. Try to avoid agressive
moves on a crowded floor (ie. high boleos, hard ganchos, big figures, etc.) Be ready to slow down or even
stop a step or figure as necessary. Leaders, be very cautious when you decide to step backwards (ie. look first).
Followers, let the leader know, verbally or non-verbally (ie. hand squeeze, holding closer, slowing down, etc.),
if there's an impending collision.
8) Feedback
While on the dance floor, please avoid providing chatting, feedback, corrections or pausing to show your
partner a new step. This may be perceived as inappropriate by your partner and/or others around you. Corrective
feedback is best kept for practicas
and classes. Otherwise, it is acceptable to provide discreet and sensitive feedback if it is asked for, or if
permission is obtained to "make an observation".
9) No cutting in
It's simple, we do not ask whether we can "cut in" between two dancers in the middle of a song or tanda.
Change of partners is done during cortinas (see
Cortina in The Tango Dictionary).
We don't interrupt dancers to say hello or goodbye either, though a non-intrusive nod and smile may be
acceptable.
10) Personal hygiene
Skill, talent, and courtesy aside, it will be hard to dance with a person more than once if they find you smelly.
Solutions are: 1. Clean clothing; 2. use deodorant, breathmints; 3. use a handkerchief to wipe your sweat, or take breaks as needed
to reduce your perspiration; 4. VERY IMPORTANT -- wash your hands after using the washroom. 5. Have consideration for others when
using fragrances. 6. Skip the milonga when you have a cold or flu.
Hopefully, we have all learned these things as kids. If we haven't, now is the time to acquire these habits.
11) Romance
The tango embrace is a privilege, not an opportunity. Unwanted romantic advances should cease, and can be
seen as very invasive if they happen during the tango embrace.
11) Respect
Many of the rules listed above will be intuitively observed if we are respectful. That is, respect
for your partner and other persons at the milonga, respect for the cultural heritage of tango, respect for
the music and band, respect for peoples dance styles and their skill levels.
“A good dancer is one who listens to the music… We dance the music not the steps.
Anyone who aspires to dance never thinks about what he is going to do. What he
cares about is that he follows the music. You see, we are painters. We paint the
music with our feet..” -- Carlos Gavito (1942-2005)
Live to dance -- dance to live -- Bobbi Lusic
Sources:
http://www.close-embrace.com/invitingetiquette.html
http://www.inscenes.com/etiquette.htm
http://www.tangochicago.com/pages_html/etiquitte1.htm
http://www.tangomuse.com/TangoManners.html
http://www.tangoconcepts.com/etiquette.html