Skip to main content

Villa Urquiza and other styles of Argentine Tango

From: Sergio Vandekier - on the Tango List at tango-l@mit.edu

How Villa Urquiza style (Traditional Tango) differentiates itself from the other styles: (in this video).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roNnIkrkfAY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXU9nojcFQo

Long Steps, Embrace in "V", use of a varying embrace (elastic embrace) close, with little light to open, profuse use of embellishments, elegant erect posture. Elegant formal dressing.

Tango walk with a narrow base, the feet brush heels as they pass each other, the foot lands either toe or heel first. Walking on a line with external rotation of the foot.

1 - Milonguero - Cacho Dante -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgWMs0rAcJk

Shorter steps, embrace more frontal (where the V is less evident), close embrace only, different degree of elegance, Tango walk with a wider base, the feet are right under the hips, the feet do not brush heels as they pass each other, the foot land flat on the sole, walking on two lines, no external rotation of the foot. Less use of embellishments.

2 - Milonguero - Susana Miller- Same as #1 except that here the embrace is more in V, and there is more play with the rhythm. Use of ocho cortado.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Any40gQTc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odl9DBOQsYQ&feature=related


3 - Nuevo Tango -

Fabian Salas - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6inw_V_a1W0&feature=related
Tendency to use non traditional tango music.

Very open embrace, colgadas, soltadas, volcadas, piernazos, changes of direction, changes in the embrace, profuse use of heel sacadas.

Mariano Chicho Frumboli

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-5Bxtck3Uw&feature=related

A very open embrace, profuse use of heel sacadas and changes of direction. Elegance is sacrificed in exchange for an element of "surprise".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lro4WfRpzM&feature=related

Tendency to use non traditional tango music (in this case Argentine folkloric music is used). Some piernazos, some volcada, a very open embrace, some soltadas.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tim Ferriss and the Myth of Tango Mastery

Dear tanguero, I feel I should explain my reaction to your comments about Tim Ferriss. It touched a nerve and I didn't really explain my apparent hostility. It was certainly not meant for you. Several people have brought Tim Ferriss to my attention over this past year. I can usually make it a month before his name pops up again. For readers who are unfamiliar with him, he's the author of "The 4 Hour Work Week". He set a Guinness record for the most consecutive tango turns and has competed with his partner, Alicia Monti, at the Tango World Championship . As a social dancer the idea of a tango competition seems absurd. I don't think I will ever understand how something like tango could be judged - or why anyone would want it to be. But I digress. I think the most crucial detail of Ferriss's history, as I relate it to tango, is his winning Wired magazine's "Greatest Self-Promoter of All Time" . If there is any concept more out of synch with social ...

"Proper" Tango Shoes

Periodically someone, usually a man, will be bring up the topic of "proper tango shoes." If he's referring to the problem (and dangers) of trying to dance in flip-flops, or mules, or platform shoes etc., those are definitely valid, and very helpful points to be made. The likelihood of damaging your feet is very high without the proper support of high quality shoes. My problem comes with the idea that the *only* proper tango shoes have 4" stiletto heels on them and fetish-worthy embellishments. (Okay, I'm pretty keen on the embellishments myself.) "goofy ballroomy shoes are a turnoff... get rid of them..." - Alex Tango Fuego (granted this is from 2007), http://alextangofuego.blogspot.com/2007/10/to-dance-or-not-to-dancebrutally.html And, in the comments on a blog post, Anonymous said... " This is a controversial one. If a follower isn't wearing tango shoes then it's usually a good sign she's not particularly good." From Ms. Hedgeh...

Tango solidarity when it counts . . .

Some fellow tanguera-bloggers and I have been having a wonderful online "conversation" via blogs, Twitter, Facebook and email - about the importance of sisterhood and solidarity. You can find Stephanie's post, here and her follow up here , and then Tangocorazon's here . I was so bouyed by the idea of women bonding, helping and supporting each other that I took some things for granted. I took for granted that it would always be easy, enlightened as I am /*cough*/ to be the sort of consistently nurturing and helpful tanguera that I am (in my head) . The truth? Where the rubber met the road (or rather when the discomfort hit the milonga), I wasn't. Here's a little background that gave me a better perspective on the events at the New Year's Eve milonga. These guidelines appear under the heading " Behavior at the Milonga " on Vancouver Island Tango: " . . . The smaller the tango population, the more 'effort' required from each one of th...