Argentine tango history. In which country did tango dance originate: history of dance

How did Tango come about?

The history of the creation of Tango, where truth and beautiful fiction are closely intertwined, is so contradictory and vague that it is impossible to form a single idea about it.The first mention of Tango dates back to 1880. It is believed that it originated in the suburbs of the Argentine capital, presumably where the San Telmo district is now located.

IN last years The 19th century Europe was plagued by wars, famines and economic uncertainty. Doubtful prospects and little hope for a stable life forced people to leave Europe and go to South America in search of better life. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants settled in Argentina's new federal capital, the port of Buenos Aires. A huge number of different people social status from completely different cultures, with their own orders and customs, suddenly found themselves in one place. Most of them were young men who had left their homeland, their families and lovers. Moreover, the ratio of men and women among them, according to various sources, ranged from 30:1 to 50:1. Despite the fairly high standard of living in Argentina at that time, the life of immigrants was by no means sweet. They were forced to live in squalid houses on the outskirts of the city, earning their bread through hard work. Difficult living conditions also left their mark on the culture they created. Despair, disappointment, sadness, nostalgia, longing, hope and longing tore at my soul and heart.

The main places of recreation at that time were taverns and brothels on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Young men were frequent visitors to "akademiyas" (from "dance academy") and "pregundines" - poor cafes where waitresses could be hired to dance.

It is impossible to say with certainty from which dance Tango takes its roots. Various sources They list various Spanish, African, and Cuban dances as the ancestors of the dance... Not without the influence of the Negro candombe - after all, it is not for nothing that the word “tango” itself, according to many versions, comes from “tambo” - an African drum, to which rituals were performed dancing. From the habanera this dance took on the somnambulistic fusion of bodies, from the milonga - a whimsical interweaving of legs, from the fandango - dazzling dizziness, and, finally, from the candombe - a double stomp echoing the beats of the African drum.

In conditions of a severe shortage of women, it was important for men to become good dancers. A man who could dance Tango well acquired a "macho" image and had the opportunity to choose a woman. Residents of Orilla, the poor outskirts of Buenos Aires, learned Tango movements from a pimp. At first, men danced alone or with each other, thus killing time waiting for “their turn” in dating houses.

Later, women in taverns also became familiar with the Tango and began dancing it with clients, among whom townspeople began to appear more and more often, secretly sneaking into the coveted “orilla.”

At that time, Tango did not have strict rules; its rhythm and form were still very vague. The composition of the orchestra was also uncertain: in outlying cafes it most often consisted of a violin, flute and harp (which was later replaced by a guitar), sometimes the violin and flute were supplemented by a piano. As for the bandoneon type of accordion, named after the German Heinrich Band who invented it, this instrument, brought to Argentina by sailors, appears in tanga ensembles only at the beginning of the 20th century and immediately occupies a dominant position. The sound of this instrument is reminiscent of an organ. He added notes of drama to Tango music. Its cracked timbre perfectly conveys the essence of this dance. With his appearance, Tango became slower, new tones of intimacy appeared for him.

The Universal Suffrage Act of 1912 brought new freedom to the people and a driving force for Tango. From then on, not only the lower classes wanted to dance it. It became fashionable among high society to throw parties in honor of this dance, and tango salons were quickly founded in the upper-class areas of Buenos Aires. Word about him soon spread from South America to New York, London and Paris, where Tango tea parties became a craze.

The spread of Tango around the world brought certain changes to the nature of the dance. Tango made its first real leap in its development in the first years of the 20th century. It is associated with the first tours of tango orchestras and dancers to European countries and America.

The first Tango show in Europe took place in Paris, the trendsetter of world fashion, and soon after that in other European capitals. To say that the “early” Tango in Buenos Aires is an indecent dance is to say nothing. Very provocative, intimate, explicit, “physical”, he was a huge success in brothels and remained marginal, unacceptable to the upper strata of society. Once in Europe, Tango changed for the better. Now this is not a wild, animal passion, but a dance that is more restrained in appearance, but just as burning inside.

Not everyone liked this daring and sexy dance. In Paris, Cardinal Hamette declared: “Christians should not, in good conscience, take part in this.” The following year, Pope Benedict XV also expressed dissatisfaction: “It is outrageous that this obscene, pagan dance, which is the murder of family and social life, is already danced in the residence of the Pope.” But in 1914, a couple of Romanians, students of the Argentinean Casimir Ain, danced Tango in the Vatican, and the impressed Pope lifted his ban.

In 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm II banned his officers from dancing Tango in uniform, describing the dance as “lustful and offensive to public decency.” The Queen of England also stated that she refuses to dance this...

Russia also had its own Tango. It became very popular in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the twentieth century, although its performance was officially prohibited. Thus, in 1914, a decree of the Minister of Public Education appeared, prohibiting the very mention of “the dance called Tango, which has become widespread,” in Russian educational institutions.

However, nothing could stop the triumphant march of Tango. And in the early 20s it entered its golden era. In Buenos Aires, the popularity of Tango has reached unprecedented heights.

The years 1930-1950 became the "Golden Age" of Tango. This is a period of rapid development, the emergence of many new musical groups, which were the cradle of composers who later became classics of the style: Carlos Di Sarli, Astor Piazzolla, Osvaldo Pugliese, Carlos Gardel, etc. Their work still inspires millions of people around the world.

The next surge in the popularity of Tango occurred in the 80s, when a number of shows were launched in America that revolutionized this dance throughout the world. "Forever Tango" - one of the most famous shows - began in New York in 1983. In Argentina, revival programs are being launched at the government level, documents related to the history of Tango are being restored.

At the beginning of the 21st century, UNESCO included Argentine tango on the list of World Heritage Sites.

December 11 - the birthday of the Argentine singer and actor, "King of Tango" Carlos Gardel - is celebrated throughout the world as International Tango Day.

Tango is a direct expression of what poets try but cannot express in words: struggle can be pleasure and celebration.

Nowadays tango can be easily learned - in almost every city there are studios and schools that teach incendiary dance. Moreover, tango is considered a classical dance and is included in the program of many dance competitions. But this was not always the case.

Initially, tango was danced in bars, cafes, gambling houses and "quilombos" (places intended for prostitution). Later, so-called “dance houses” appeared, which provided girls for dancing and entertainment.

We need to remember that, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, everyday dances were performed in such a way that the partners stood opposite each other at a distance. These types of dances were usually designated by the word “contradanza” (Italian). At the same time, the dancers’ movements across the space of the site were, in some way, linear. The contacts of the partners with each other were reduced only to the contact of hands at certain moments of the dance. There were also “circle dances”, in which movement took place in a circle.

"Minue" (with emphasis on the last "e") was a very popular household dance during colonial times in Argentina. The habanera dance, one of the predecessors of the tango, was also of the contradanza type. The word "contradanza" itself could come from the English term "country dance" (country dance - lit., "country dance"), transformed into the French Contredance, and then into the Italian Contradanza. Mozart and Beethoven wrote “contredanze” (German). And already the Viennese waltz and quadrille replaced the contradancer from the ballrooms.

The Viennese Waltz was the first dance in the world to use true close-up positions, and the Polka was the second dance in Europe to use this controversial new technique.

Polka butterfly 19th century.

There was conflicting opinion in European society regarding this, considered immoral, way of dancing, and people carried this opinion with them when they emigrated to Argentina.

If I'm not mistaken, sometime around 1850, when the Paris Opera was going through difficult economic times, its director had the bold idea of including the Viennese Waltz in some productions as an experiment. The idea was a great success, and a curious audience again filled the theater. Paris, being the center of the arts and refined taste, gradually made this dance of "close embrace" acceptable to the rest of the world.
In the future, it is in this historical context that we need to consider the place of tango during its emergence, and in the subsequent period 1880-1910, as well as the question of why men were forced to dance with men.\

The Viennese Waltz was the first everyday dance to use the “close position.” This is the way we dance these days... and we think it is the most logical way to dance as a couple... however, back in the day... in the second half of the 19th century, such public closeness of bodies was considered scandalously obscene. It took society many years to gradually accept it as the norm.

Now, we come to the period when tango was born, in 1880, or shortly before that. The outskirts of Buenos Aires, bars, gambling establishments, brothels... single men spend their time socializing, drinking, gambling, looking for "romance" in the company of women of dubious reputation, trying out the moves of these new dances... milongas and tango. We can imagine that in such places and under such circumstances, any experimentation with dance movements was acceptable, regardless of good or bad taste, ambiguity or even outright obscenity. We must remember that in those days, even just dancing against each other, when the man’s right hand touches the partner’s back, was a little too much... and then a dance appeared in which there is a close embrace, cheek to cheek, chest to chest, legs penetrating between the partners’ legs , in a long conversation about love and passion, with grabs, flirting glances and strokes..., in a word, writing a prologue to the love story that will soon follow.

Initial themes often included hints of sex and obscenity. When tango became a social norm, the dance and its lyrics were purified or completely changed. Some elements of these themes are still present in the dance, although they have lost their original meaning. For example, the name of the most famous tango “El Choclo” (corn cob) had a phallic meaning
The author of the tango "EL CHOCLO" was Angel Villoldo.

A small digression.
Angel Villoldo, musician and poet, was born February 16, 1861 and died October 14, 1919. His full name- Angel Gregorio Villoldo Arroyo/Angel Gregorio Villoldo Arroyo. Nicknames: A. Gregorio, Fray Pimiento, Gregorio Gimenez, Angel Arroyo, Mario Reguero.

He is called the "Father of Tango".
This is somewhat of an exaggeration of the title, since there were many circumstances that gave rise to this music. But Villoldo's influence at the very beginning of tango and his participation in the development of tango rightfully gives him this well-deserved title.

Together with Alfredo Gobbi and his wife, the Chilean Flora Rodriguez, parents of the violinist Alfredo Gobbi, he travels to France to create a phonogram, being hired by "Gath & Chaves", one of the largest Argentine shops of that period.
This event gave a huge boost to Argentine music in Europe, and subsequently many of these recordings were also sold in Buenos Aires. But Villoldo also occupies an outstanding place as a composer. Examples of his works are the tango "El Portecito", "El esquinazo", "La budinera", "Soy tremendo", "Cantar eterno", later, in 1917, recorded by the duo "Gardel-Razzano".
Local orchestras treated all these compositions favorably and included them in their repertoire.

But undoubtedly the most important tango was “El choclo”. Important because of its melody and rhythm, which were in fact very indicative and characteristic, even before the existence of the tango “La cumparsita”.

How true this is is confirmed by the following story. During the First World War, Argentine journalist Tito Livio Foppa was on the German front. When at an official reception a musician played the “national anthem” on the piano in his honor, it turned out that he was actually playing the tango “El choclo,” which he mistook for Argentine patriotic music.

Another fundamental tango, "La morocha", has a simple
lyrics.

Villoldo created it in a hurry for the composer Enrique Saborido, who successfully performed this tango in 1906 on the Fragata Sarmiento, a cruise for army cadets. And this tango is considered the first tango to gain popularity in Europe.
Villoldo, a wonderful poet and musician, left a huge number of works, including such works as "El Torito", "Cuidado con los cincuenta", "Una fija", "Yunta brava", "El Cachorrito", "Pineral", " El Pimpollo", "Trigo limpio", "La bicicleta", etc.

These poor suburbs were called arrabals, and it was here that the fusion of several musical and dance forms took place. The bipartite Cuban habanera and its European variant, the Andalusian tango, introduced by Spanish dancers and not related to ordinary tango, collided with such creations of the rural Argentine hinterland as the payada (poetic improvisation, often performed to a simple guitar accompaniment) and the raunchy, syncopated milonga, which The songs quickly turned into a dance popular among the Arrabal population. Then the milonga intertwined with the Afro-Argentine candombe, a rhythmically complex, uninhibited dance that the compadritos adopted from the black residents of Buenos Aires. From this explosive mixture were born the music and dance now known as tango.

At first, tango did not go beyond the confines of brothels in Arrabal, so high society treated it with contempt. But thanks to organ grinders and immigrant musicians who began to include these new, exciting melodies in their repertoire, it gradually penetrated into numerous cafes and onto the streets of the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, inhabited by a more respectable public. Around the turn of the century, the bandoneon, invented by the Germans, began to supplant the guitar - in combination with strings, its voice gave tango a special sound, characteristic only of it. Like jazz, it was a fundamentally new music. And although it combined already known styles, it was more than the sum of its parts.

Respectable families and women of good reputation did not want to participate in this act in any way, and the women in the brothels had to pay for it... so if a man wanted to practice this new dance, he had only one option... another man.
Groups of men would come together to practice, improvise, and innovate, creating new movements and new steps in the process. This approach helped the rapid development of this dance.

Being a good dancer meant then (and even now) a reliable way to attract women's attention... men practiced in their environment so that they could then surprise and arouse the admiration of women and other men.
…Thus, men dancing with each other had nothing to do with homosexuality.

The next scenario on the agenda was “el patio de los conventillos” (communal dormitories). These "conventillos" provided shelter to thousands of poor immigrants who arrived from all over Europe (most of all from Italy and Spain), and partly from the Argentine "outback". These were extended open spaces, bounded on both sides by rooms and kitchens. As a rule, the bathrooms there were shared.
It took many years for tango to spread in these "communal apartments" because their residents were, for the most part, decent people who did not want their families to be exposed to this sinful music and dance. Saturday evenings and Sundays were devoted to celebrating weddings, births, baptisms, and other celebrations. It was on such occasions, little by little, that someone asked the musicians to play a tango, and then someone danced once such a dance, cleansed of sinful movements, for example, “Cortes and quebradas” - a simplified version, which was also at first tolerated with disgust , but later became very popular.

It took even longer for tango to reach the homes of middle and upper class families. Young men from such families made it a habit to visit the suburbs in search of excitement and adventure, returning home excited from their dissolute experiences. They began teaching this extraordinary new dance to their sisters, neighborhood girls, and other female members of their extended Argentine families, such as cousins and aunts. They were also taught a “purified version” of the dance.

If you think about the fact that Saborido sold about one hundred thousand copies of his tango “Yo soy la morocha” (I am that brunette) in the first few months of 1906, then you can determine that the tango was performed quite often, including respectable girls who placed the rhythms of this dance between the waltz “Blue Danube” and “Good Eliza”.

A little later, singer Flora Rodriguez recorded “La Trocha”. First on the cylinder, then on the disk, and also on rolls of perforated paper for the “pianola” (a piano that plays itself when two pedals are pressed). The theme of "La Folly" was innocent enough and therefore easily accepted. Thus, tango gradually moved from the margins to interior spaces Argentine home.

However, tango remained essentially a shameful, sinful element that was dealt with in secret. Politicians, both right and left, cursed him. For they did not want this new nation to be associated with such a “prostitute” dance. Then how did it happen that tango reached Europe? This is another story... Tango was born on the outskirts of the city, in bars, cafes, brothels; from here he moved inside the city, to the dance halls.

The next stage was the "patios" (courtyards) of the "conventillos" (communal apartments), and eventually the dance settled inside the homes of the middle and upper class of Argentina. Tango was still a pariah, the illegitimate son of pimps and disreputable women, dressed as a compadrito beggar.

The latent eroticism, coupled with the barely veiled sexual overtones of the choreography, was the undisputed dominant feature of early tango. The first poems to this music are replete with allusions to meetings in dating houses. Unfortunately, there are no recordings of early tangos from the 1880s and 1890s. Poems, including completely obscene ones, were often the fruit of improvisation. However, as it spread to immigrant areas, the dance began to take on new features. The melodies and verses interspersed with Italianized argot (lunfardo) sounded a sharp longing for the Old World, combined with the bitterness of disappointment and dashed love hopes that became the lot of those who moved to Latin America from overseas. However, in the first decade of the 20th century, when tango had already largely lost its provocatively sexual overtones, representatives of the wealthier circles of Argentine society still disliked this dance for its “low” origin.

Argentine poet Leopoldo Lugones denounced him as “a reptile crawling out of a mess.” The attitude towards tango changed dramatically for the better when it was heard and seen in Paris. European high society did not share Argentine prejudices, and by the beginning of the First World War, the passion for the new dance, like an outbreak of an epidemic, swept from Paris to Rome and from Madrid to London. After the Parisians acquitted tango, the Argentine elite repatriated it and made it their fetish.

In 1914, the Minister of Public Education L.A. Kasso sent out a formidable circular to the trustees of educational districts, prohibiting the very mention of tango in Russian educational institutions. He wrote: “In view of the clearly obscene nature of the new, widely popular dance called “tango” and the information subsequently received by the Ministry of Public Education about individual attempts to teach it to students, I humbly ask Your Excellency to take the strictest measures to ensure that the said dance is not taught in educational institutions of the educational district entrusted to you, and equally, that students of both male and female educational institutions do not attend dance classes in which the shamelessness of “tango” is taught...

Despite the Great Depression, the period 1930-1950 became the "golden age" of tango. Many ensembles were created, which included outstanding composers and tango performers who have become classics of the style today: Annibal Troyo, Osvaldo Pugliese, Astor Piazzola and many others.

The more tango was banned, the more popular it became. Twentieth-century music is full of many different variations of the tango, from the joyful to the melancholy. Tango is poetry filled with passion, joy, pain and longing. The main theme of tango is unhappy, sometimes tragic, but always passionate love and spiritual fragmentation.

The next stop on this pilgrimage will be Europe.

Argentina developed very quickly between 1880 and 1930. The entire city of Buenos Aires was completely rebuilt during this period. Old Colonial spanish city, with one-story buildings and narrow streets, was replaced by a metropolis with wide avenues, beautiful parks and buildings of French and Italian architecture.

The country became one of the ten richest nations in the world, a position it held until the early 1950s, when paralysis and economic decline began... a situation that was destined to last for the next 30 years (until 1985, when world authorities determined that the country is a “developing market economy country”).

During this period of rapid development, the richest were in the habit of traveling to Europe at least once a year. They had big houses in Paris or London. Their receptions were regularly attended by nobility, celebrities and the rich. The French coined the phrase "he's as rich as an Argentine" to refer to extremely wealthy people. The sons of these people remained in Europe to study. It was they who introduced the Parisian nobility to Argentine tango. Tango immediately became a universal hobby.

Everyone began to organize parties with the participation of orchestras from Argentina, tango lessons and milongas. Women's fashion had to change to accommodate tango movements. The very bulky dresses of that time were replaced by lighter and looser ones. One famous clothing designer had a significant amount of unclaimed orange material. He decided to call the color of this textile “Tango Orange”. The material was sold out immediately, and the couturier had to order a new batch. Tango became the dance of the day. From Paris, it instantly spread to other large capitals: London, Rome, Berlin, and finally to New York.

And then, Tango returned to Buenos Aires, but already dressed in a tuxedo, and was greeted there as his most beloved child. What a change!

The etymology of the word “tango” has not yet been fully clarified, but scientists agree that the dance itself and the accompanying music originated in Argentina at the end of the 19th century, when a stream of emigrants from Europe, including Italy, poured into the country. New arrivals naturally settled in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, congregating in the slums on the outskirts of these port cities. There they mixed with representatives of the Argentine "bottom", including famous compadritos - pimps and other petty criminals, heroes of local legends.

"Milonga", according to José Gobelo (founder of the Accademia del Lunfardo, considered an authority on the topic of tango), is a word from the African language Quimbunda, being plural form the words "mulonga". "Mulonga" means "word" in this language. Thus, "milonga" means "words." In 1872, when José Hernandez published his most famous book, Martin Fierro (which describes in verse the life of a gaucho, an Argentine cowboy), the term milonga had already taken on the meaning of a gathering where one could dance. A decade later, in 1883, Ventura Lynch wrote: “On the outskirts of the city, the milonga is so generally accepted that it is danced at all gatherings of people, it can be heard performed to the music of guitars, accordions, combs and paper, and street musicians play it with a flute orchestra, harps and violins. It is also danced in cheap casinos around the markets in 9/11 and Constitution Squares, during other dance events and funeral processions.”

Nowadays, milonga has several meanings: style of music, dance, public place, where you can dance, as well as its original meaning (many words, or a long story). For example, in the phrase “no me vengas ahora con esa milonga” (“don’t start all this chatter now”).

As for the term “tango”, there is no consensus on its origin. When we turn to the prehistory of tango, everything becomes covered in a thick fog.
The word “tango” appeared much earlier than the dance with that name. At first, the word appeared outside of Argentina, on one of the Canary Islands, and in other parts of America, with the meaning of “a gathering of blacks for dancing, for playing drums; also, the African name for this drum.” The Dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy of Letters, published in 1899, defines Tango as “The fun and dance of the Negroes or the lower classes in America,” and also gives a second meaning to the word: “Music for this dance.” Here we must remember that for the Spanish world, America is an entire continent, and not just the USA. In this case, the dictionary spoke about the Spanish part of America, excluding the USA and Canada.

This dictionary gives a dubious etymology for the Latin word "tangir" (to play instruments). In Latin, “ego tango” means “I play.” It was natural to try to find a Latin origin for the word, although this etymology clearly has no bearing on its Argentine meaning. The 1914 edition of the dictionary gives the etymology of "tangir" or "tangere" - "to play or touch". Later editions removed this etymological reference.
Music historian Carlos Vega explains that in Mexico, back in the 18th century, there was a dance called tango. This dance was performed alone or by partners separately, not as a couple. The archives of the Holy Inquisition in Mexico make reference to the "ancient tango" in 1803. To some Mexican song.

The Dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy of Letters, 1925 edition, defines tango in the same way as in previous editions, but without the Latin etymology, and adds: “A dance of high society, imported from America at the beginning of this century.” Once again, Tango has gone all the way from the "lower classes" to the "high society". The dictionary includes two more meanings: "music for this dance" and also "Honduran drum". It was only in the 1984 edition that the word tango was defined as an Argentine dance.

*The African origin of the word Tango appears to be accepted for the most part erudite researchers. Ricardo Rodriguez studied the languages of slaves transported to Argentina. These were tribes from the Congo, Gulf of Guinea and southern Sudan. Tango means “closed space”, “circle”, “a certain private space, the entrance to which must be asked.” Slave traders called the places where black slaves were kept, both in America and Africa, with the word Tango. Those places where slaves were sold also received this name. We could discuss this topic in more detail, but... I'm afraid to bore you.

In short, the most likely original meaning of the word "tango" is an enclosed space where blacks gather to dance, and later - this dance itself.

IN late XIX century in Buenos Aires, the history of dance was born that conquered the whole world. The port city became the point of origin of tango as a result of the large number of emigrants from other countries. During the Silver Rush, many adventurers flocked to the city in search of the precious metal. Not finding easy money near the La Plata River, the emigrants settled in the capital of Argentina for permanent residence. They were mainly engaged in port work during the day, and at night they had fun and entertainment in bars, gambling clubs and cafes. Dance came into use, becoming a universal “language” of communication between peoples different nationalities. This dance was the real Argentine tango.
Tango took second place after the Viennese waltz in the close position of partners relative to each other, given that in the 19th century it was considered extremely indecent to approach less than 30 centimeters to a partner.

It took time for tango to be perceived as an independent dance, and finally tango moved from bars and cafes to communal dormitories. Perhaps not so high, but the dance was cleansed of sinful movements that symbolized the vulgar background, and turned into a more artistic and passionate image.

Having become popular, the dance was also liked by people of high society, but a lot of time passed before this society fully embraced dance as an art. Young wealthy boys often had fun in the suburbs, where they picked up the tango style of movements. Impressions of the new dance soon captured the entire high society and the dance finally acquired an exceptional status.

Thanks to these people, the dance began to develop and the next stage in the popularity of tango begins.

The journey of Argentine tango to European countries.

The 19th century is a century of rapid development in Argentina. Rich local officials extend their power to distant territories and visit the countries of the Old World several times a year. Here they make new acquaintances to promote their fame and business, and the younger generation is often left in Europe to study. It is the youth who introduce the Old World to the new, hitherto unknown sparkling dance of tango. Despite the universal passion for tango, the dance was soon banned as a result religious views many rulers of that time.

Thus, Argentine tango had to leave Europe and return to its native land.

But it was not there! The heyday of the dance occurred in the 40s, again in Buenos Aires. Tango is given the status of national dance. The idol of most Argentines, Carlos Gardel, and his performance style also helped the dance reach the front pages. Records with soul-tearing romances won the hearts of tens of thousands of Argentineans, and the cheapness of records led to a powerful spread of music, and with it wonderful dance.

The time of tango orchestras is coming, tango is danced everywhere, even in cramped cafes and salons.

In 50, as a result of the change political regime Argentine dance is once again hiding underground. Soon they completely forget about tango, and young people listen to other music. The form of communication is changing and no one is interested in tango anymore.

The rebirth of tango and its resurrection.

In 1983, the militaristic regime fell, leading to freer communication and preferences.

For the first time, a performance called “Argentine Tango” was staged on stage, which served as an impetus for the revival of an almost forgotten dance craze. Of course, the difference between stage and ordinary tango is great. The movements have changed - previously they were simple, uncomplicated and confused, but now the dance has acquired a clear technique of movements, passionate swings and bends, and many elements have appeared that are unusual for the viewer. This caused an unprecedented stir!

Tango began to conquer everything more countries Europe, then America. Schools began to be formed that taught dance techniques, tango master classes were held, as well as concerts with the participation of famous maestros. Musician Astor Piazzollo created a completely new movement in music called tango nuevo. The rhythm of the singles was sharper, the music harder and bolder. Sensual motives resonated with emotional ones and caused trembling in most listeners. Then the so-called electronic tango appeared. Progress forced the music to change and the dance movements to be shaped according to the general mood.

Later in the 90s, the tango we know today appeared. Classic Argentine tango was formed based on the feelings and emotions of the younger generation of Argentina. Tango nuevo is characterized by plastic slow movements that at one moment turn into passionate jumps and bends.

When teaching those interested in our school, we pay special attention to the emotions and temperament of dance modern style tango. After all, initially tango is a dance-dialogue between two partners who penetrate each other, feel each other and together, in a passionate impulse, form the temperamental movements of tango. As time changes, the style of performing dance movements also changes. Currently the most progressive and popular destination Argentine tango is precisely tango nuevo.

The enchanting sounds of music, the beauty of movements and the dance that is born right on the floor - all this is Argentine tango. This dance was invented by emigrants at the end of the 19th century, who poured into Argentina in search of better life.

Argentine tango is a kind of symbiosis of various musical and dance cultures. Maybe that's why he is unique in his own way. And even though the first steps and sounds of tango sounded two centuries ago, this dance still fascinates the viewer today with its tender sensuality and fiery passion.

In Belarus, Argentine tango began to gain popularity about 10 years ago. And every year he gains more and more fans. On Sunday, and not only evenings, lovers of this dance gather for milongas (Argentine tango evenings). Here, to the sound of music, the dancers compose a new dance every time, because Argentine tango is an improvisation. It is on the spontaneity and immediacy of the movements and steps made by the dancers that this daring and gentle dance is based.

Vladimir Redko

If you can walk, you can dance tango. You choose the complexity of movements, tempo and character of the dance only yourself. Improvisation and spontaneity of steps are what “draw” the unique pattern of dance on the floor.

Sometimes you can hear that Argentine tango is called. Essentially it's the same thing. One of the main “attributes” of dance is communication and pleasure. By the way, during the evening dancing couples can exchange partners more than once. But more on that later…

Part one. History and path of Argentine tango

Argentine tango appeared almost two centuries ago. At that time, a large flow of emigrants poured into Argentina from the most different countries Europe. These were mostly men, almost always alone. They needed to rest, and often such a place was a brothel. Yes, to be honest, they needed the attention of women, often even those who sold their time and body.

One of the existing assumptions is that initially Argentine tango was purely male. With the help of dance, the stronger sex competed for the right to please a woman. By the way, if a representative of the fair half of humanity wanted to annoy the gentleman she liked, she could choose... a woman as her partner. In any case, Argentine tango is a couples dance. And the height of perfection is the dance of a man and a woman. Argentine tango became the universal language with which men and women of various nationalities and cultures communicated.

But let’s leave the versions of how tango was danced at the dawn of its creation and move on. Gradually the dance “reached” the communal dormitories where poor emigrants lived with their families. And tango changed again - it became more chaste.

Argentine tango is considered the second dance (the first was the Viennese waltz) in which partners stand close to each other .

The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century was a time when Argentina was actively establishing ties with Europe. Young people from wealthy families often stayed in Europe to study. It was they who introduced Paris to Argentine tango. So dance became a new hobby for the Parisian nobility. However, it was soon banned, mainly for religious reasons. But the 30-40s of the 20th century were a kind of era of dance revival. This time is called the “golden age of tango”.

In many ways, the Argentine singer and composer Carlos Gardel contributed to the flowering of the dance. His sentimental songs won the hearts of Argentines. People began to gather in small salons, where there was very little room for dancing. This is how the first dance evenings of Argentine tango (milonga) began to take place.

We will skip further twists and turns in the fate of the dance and move on. 1983 marked a new stage in its development. Tango schools began to open, the music became more diverse, significantly different from classical. In the 90s of the last century, stage and classical dance was replaced by the current Argentine tango.

Vladimir Redko

Head of the Argentine tango school at the “Dance Cafe” club

Argentine tango is always a dialogue between a woman and a man. The skill of the dancers determines how subtly they feel the dance and its movements. The partner leads, but the beauty and emotions of the dance depend on how his partner “hears”.

Part two. Argentine tango - our days

To “get sick” of this dance, you only need to see it once. And it's love at first sight. Today, Argentine tango is perhaps one of the most famous social dances. If you are already 18, you can dance it. The main thing is desire, a sense of rhythm and the ability to improvise. You can learn the basic steps of dance at a specialized school. There are only 5 of them in Minsk. After all, despite its versatility, it is still a dance with its own rules and technique.

Milongas are held on certain days of the week. They are organized either in Argentine tango schools or in cafes. The main condition is the presence of a dance floor. Everyone can watch the dancers, but not take part. A person must have a certain level of dance knowledge and skills. By the way, in good warm weather you can see Argentine tango dancers in open areas. In Minsk, this is Aleksandrovsky Square. The outdoor milonga season begins around the end of April and closes in mid-September.

Vladimir Redko

Head of the Argentine tango school at the “Dance Cafe” club

Argentine tango is based on a sequence of steps. They are not learned, but are born spontaneously. The main thing in the dance is the partner; it is he who “writes” an essay on the theme given by the music.

There is no need to purchase special shoes to practice Argentine tango. For men - regular flat shoes with a small heel, and for women comfortable shoes or sandals, preferably with a small heel, are suitable.

Today Argentine tango fans dance:

tango;
tango waltz;
milonga.

All dance variations differ in music and the nature of movements, the technique and principles are identical. For example, tango waltz is gentle and soft, while tango is more daring, milonga is mischievous and cheerful. There is no rigid rhythm in Argentine tango. The dancers themselves choose the tempo and character of the dance. By the way, at milongas there is always music for all variations of tango.

Milonga is both an evening of Argentine tango and the name of the dance.

You can learn to dance tango within one month, but some people take longer. It all depends on the individual abilities of the dancer and the skill of the coach. Basic course designed for 6 months.

Argentine tango is a special art form. On the one hand, tango belongs to the world of music, on the other hand, it is an integral part of the art of dance. The unity of these two elements provides endless possibilities for improvisation. And if, for example, you can only listen to Chopin’s waltzes, then you can not only listen to the music of Argentine tango, but also dance.

At the end of the 19th century, the Argentine port city of Buenos Aires became extremely popular among emigrants. People came here from different European countries in search of a better life. These people brought with them various musical instruments from their home countries: violins, guitars, flutes, and of course they carried the musical traditions of their countries.

And so, in Buenos Aires, as a mixture of different cultures and trends in music, a new dance is formed and developed - tango. In it, African rhythms of tangano, Argentine milonga, Havana habanera, Spanish flamenco, ritual dances of Indians, Polish mazurka, German waltz merged together in a dance of longing for an abandoned homeland, unhappy love, passion and loneliness.

Tango is a unique fusion of traditions, folklore, feelings and experiences of many peoples, which has a long history.

Where did tango come from? The most fantastic theories are built about the origin of dance, music and the word "tango", stretching all the way to the Land of the Rising Sun. Some believe that the word "tango" is based on the Latin verb "tangere" - to touch, others believe that it comes from the Spanish word "tambor" - drum. More likely is the theory published by Vincente Rossi in 1926 in the book “Cosas de negros” (The Affairs of the Blacks). Rossi was the first to point out that the word "tango" may come from one of the African dialects.

Milonga, the Creole predecessor of tango, is in itself a part cultural history. The black population of Brazil retained the original meaning of the word "milonga" - "words", "conversation", in Uruguay "milonga" meant "city singing", in Buenos Aires and its environs "milonga" in the 1870s meant "festival" or “dances”, as well as the place where they were held, and at the same time a “chaotic mixture”. This is the sense in which the word is used in Martin Fierro's epic. Soon this word began to be used to designate a special dance and song form, to which were added milonguera - a dancer in entertainment venues and milonguita - a woman working in a cabaret with a penchant for alcohol and drugs."

The rural milonga was very slow and served as musical accompaniment to the songs. The urban version was much faster, more mobile, and played and danced more rhythmically. Its family connection with the music of the Pampa folk singers is obvious. While tango is a more stylized urban music that left behind its folkloric heritage before the 1920s, milonga carries many features of Argentine folk music. Ventura R. Lynch in 1883 pointed out the similarities between miloga and gaucho songs. The singing of the gaucho is accompanied by the rhythms of the milonga, and its melodic structure in its simplicity approaches recitative. They danced to the milonga primarily in the suburbs at dance balls of the “compadrites”.

The emergence of tango can be more or less accurately traced from the moment when musicians playing for dancers recorded the music they performed. These were primarily pianists, playing in elegant salons where there was a piano. The pianists played here most of the time alone. They tended to have a musical background, unlike their anonymous suburban trio counterparts. They exchanged notes, created their own style and, most importantly, recorded their compositions.

Tango, or what was understood by it at that time, was played in a variety of places, on the streets, in the courtyards of working-class neighborhoods and in many establishments, from dance halls to brothels: “Romerias”, “Carpas”, “Bailongs”, “Tringhetas”, “academies”, etc. Jose Gobello quotes a description of a certain “academy” in 1910: “The academy was just a cafe where women were served and where a barrel organ played . There you could drink and dance between two glasses with the serving women."

At first, tango was fun, easy, and at times even vulgar. For a long time it remained the music and dance of the lower classes. The middle and upper classes did not recognize him.

In the 20s of the 20th century, an economic crisis began in Argentina. A huge number of people lost their jobs and the people of Buenos Aires, the porteños, became very sad people. It should be noted that at that time the majority of the population of Buenos Aires were men. They say that the young woman had the opportunity to choose her chosen one from 20 applicants! And so the men of Buenos Aires were very lonely. Tango became a dance for men, based on confrontation, a duel over a woman. Tango lyrics are also about a woman, sadness and longing for her. For a porteño man, there were only short moments of intimacy with a woman. This happened when he held her in his arms, dancing the tango. At these moments, the man was overcome by love, and this feeling reconciled him with life. Argentina developed very quickly between 1880 and 1930. The entire city of Buenos Aires was completely rebuilt during this period. The old colonial Spanish city, with one-story buildings and narrow streets, was replaced by a metropolis with wide avenues, beautiful parks and buildings of French and Italian architecture.

During that period of rapid development, the richest were in the habit of traveling to Europe. They had large houses in Paris or London. Their receptions were regularly attended by nobility, celebrities and the rich. The French coined the phrase "he's as rich as an Argentine" to refer to extremely wealthy people. The sons of these people remained in Europe to study. It was they who introduced the Parisian nobility to Argentine tango. Tango immediately became a universal hobby.

And then, Tango returned to Buenos Aires, but already dressed in a tuxedo, and was greeted there as his most beloved child. What a change!

A new word has emerged - tangomania, a fashion for tango dancing and everything connected with it: tango parties, tango drinks, cigarettes, tango-style clothes and shoes (a tuxedo for a man, a split skirt for a woman) and even tango salad. From Paris, tango spread throughout the world - to London, New York, Germany and Russia, although not unimpeded. Pope Pius X spoke out against the new dance, the Austrian emperor forbade soldiers to dance it in uniform, and the Queen of England declared that she refused to dance “it.” But in 1914, a couple of Romanians, students of the Argentine Casimir Ain, danced tango in the Vatican, and the Pope lifted his ban.

Russia also had its own tango. Tango became very popular in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the twentieth century, although its dancing was officially prohibited. In 1914, a decree of the Minister of Public Education appeared prohibiting the very mention of “the dance called tango, which has become widespread,” in Russian educational institutions. And if you remember, the fate of tango at one time was shared by the waltz, the mazurka, and the polka. And in the 20-30s in Soviet Russia it was also banned as a dance of “decadent” bourgeois culture. It was forbidden to prohibit, but tango became more and more loved. Played gramophone records with Rodriguez's "Cumparsita", "Champagne Splashes", and "Burnt by the Sun" were passed from hand to hand. There were sweet melodies of Oscar Strok, soulful tango performed by Vadim Kozin, Pyotr Leshchenko, Konstantin Sokolsky, Alexander Vertinsky... And then wartime tango and tango from Russian films. It was Russian tango.

More recently, tango was treated as a retro dance, a culture and style that has long since outlived its golden age. But today tango is returning to us again at the beginning of the new century in the original style as it was and is danced in Argentina. This is a new wave of tangomania. This is a new direction of neo-romanticism, when a man and a woman rediscover the charm and pleasure of dancing together. Argentine tango is danced all over the world.

Tango fascinates everyone who touches it.