Actually, it didn't.
In the earliest days of the dance, when the Cuban seamen who sailed the
commercial routes between the Caribbean and the Rio de la Plata brought
'tango' to the bars, brothels and barrios (districts) of Argentina's vibrant
capital Buenos Aires, it was danced alone, only by men, in a show of strength,
superiority and confidence. In 21st century Argentina the tango is
not only a passion, it is a way of life, a national identity which transcends
class and age - and a toutist attraction.
No more relegated
to the seedy suburbs, it as much a part of the cosmopolitan capital as
smart restaurants and Gucci shoes.
Over
the years tango, and its style has waxed and waned under successive governments,
almost as a barometer with which to measure the prosperity or austerity
of the economy; sometimes disappearing underground it's cadence rebellious,
despairing, disillusioned, other times enjoying an explosive renaissance,
the choreography passionate, ebullient, alive.
In the 1870s, when tango arrived
in Latin America, the men, and only the men, dance improvised steps that
told a story, often melancholic, other times confrontational, always dramatic,
drawing their movements and footwork from the kicks and flicks of the gauchos,
the Argentinian horsemen who roamed the vast pampas (grasslands) of the
interior. This created a form of dance called 'milonga', now considered
the earliest ancestor to the original tango.
Today 'milonga' is enjoying a revival
almost unsurpassed in its history. 'Milonga' is invariably danced
in big, smokey dance halls once again in the barrios where lovers of the
tango culture meet to eat, drink, learn and dance the tango. Saturday
night sees droves of teenagers arriving dressed in the ubiquitous jeans
and t-shirts; fathers arrive in crisp suits, mothers in skin tight, black
dresses and inordinately high-heeled shoes; grandmothers in skirts and
twin-sets. Tango transcends street fashion, class and age. Women dance
with women, men with men, children with adults.
They
dance till the early hours. Tango is actually a word of African origin,
meaning 'closed meeting place'; it was, if you like, a secret code word
that, at the end of the 18th century, the slaves used to refer to a place
where they would meet, usually in secret, to make music and dance. It has
also been said that the word 'tan-go' imitates the beat on percussion instruments
used to mark the timing of a dance called 'candombe'. This was a dance
of complicated and improvised choreography that had a strongly marked rhythm.
In the second half of the 19th century, the Argentinian government had
encouraged immigration from the European lands to help nurture its ailing
economy and as these Italians, Spanish, French and others flocked to Argentina,
they brought their own folk dances with them. These, diffused with the
'milonga' created tango as it is today.
When tango became a dance for
couples it was only danced in brothels; the women were generally prostitutes,
the men pimps, showcasing their girls to possible clients. The men who
frequented the seedier parts of the city competed for female attention
by showing off their moves. It was also a somewhat erotic form of dance,
requiring couples to dance in close embrace, with a concentration on moves
from the waist down, and thus was considered bad taste by the upper classes
of Argentinian society.
But
of course, to the youngsters of well-to-do families it was irresistible
because it was forbidden - even so it wasn't until the late 19th century
that they started going to the outlying suburbs of Buenos Aires, in defiance
of their parents, to indulge in tango and the nightlife that surrounded
it.
By the 1920s, young Argentinians
were pouring over to Europe to study, taking their tango with them. The
dance took Paris by storm. The uninhibited Parisiens adopted the dance
and transformed it into an overpowering craze; suddenly, everything was
tango. Tango parties were staged in grand hotels, couturiers designed figure
hugging dresses with deep splits up the sides to facilitate movement, orange-strong,
vibrant, passionate, became the tango colour.
There were many who criticized the
dance as being too wild and sensuous, but no one wanted to miss out on
the new fashion - soon Germany, Italy, England, had all joined the tango
frenzy.
On its trip to Europe though, the
essence of the dance had changed; the intimacy and sensuality of Argentinian
tango had become diluted with other folk dances and so a more choreographed
form, adopted by the ballroom dancing culture, emerged. When tango returned
to Argentina, its new legitimacy ensured that even the aristocratic classes
embraced it.
During the military junta years following
the death of Eva Peron, tango went into hibernation for nearly three decades
before emerging once again in the 1980s, since when tango has gained strength
not only as a formidable and classic dance form but also a way of life.
As tango progressed to the stage
as a form to be watched by audiences, the style perceptibly changed, with
highly trained professional dancers executing intricately choreographed
dances with athletic grace. This became known as 'tango for export'
because the older 'milongueros' know the original dance to be one of improvisation
- steps and turns being taken from endless permutations based on a basic
inventory of complicated moves.
The structure of tango has as much
to do with the music, which was also largely improvised and played originally
on a violin and a clarinet. Again, with the influence of European
immigrants the tango duet was replaced by a trio playing a flute, a violin
and a guitar and in the late 19th century, an instrument called a bandoneon
(an type of concertina) created by a German called Heinrich Band, altered
the dynamics of the trio which thenceforward was composed of the bandoneon,
the piano and a violin.
The bandoneon, synonymous now with
tango, and called 'the bellows' in tango slang is an extremely difficult
instrument to play because it is a double action insrument the sound of
which changes depending on whether the bandoneon is open or closed.
It produces the perfect sound to portray sadness, nostalgia and melancholy,
which are an integral part of tango music. Some have up to 200 tones
which are created in five lines of studs on the outside of the box, and
pressing them in various combinations can produce an almost infinite number
of sounds, all of which have to be memorized by the player. These
original instruments are no longer made and have become collector's items,
as well as part of tango culture. Bandoleon players are tango celebrities.
In Buenos Aires itself there are
hundreds of tango clubs, halls and shows. There are tango hotels,
holidays, bars and schools. At any hour of any day, a tango class
is in session - teaching beginners, refining the steps of those who know
how. Ten years ago the older 'milongueros' feared that the tango
would die with them, but they need not have worried. Such is the
devotion that tango inspires that it has been kept alive and kicking by
young dancers, borrowing from the old style 'milonga' as well as new jazz
dance choreograpahy. They perform not only in the salons and sometimes
on stage, but more often in the streets, shopping precincts and market
places of the city, attracting impromptu audiences and ensuring that tango
is a timeless fashion. Its endlessly rich and constantly changing
moves ensures that even the least accomplished couple can feel beautiful.
It does take two to tango.
Photographs:copyright Sebastian Rich
kindly supplied by Hungryeye Images. To see more of Sebastian's portfolio
click on www.hungryeyeimages.com
July
2006
