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Argentinian tango

The origins of the Argentinian tango are uncertain as is the exact date of its origins. Tango specialists do know the place where the tango found its origins which was in the harbours of Buenos Aires at the end of the 19th century. At that time, Buenos Aires was still developing into the cosmopolitan city it is today. The music of the tango is melancholy. Love, despair and loneliness are being expressed. The arrangements are capricious, one moment the music is melodious, the next moment it can be pungent, as if heaven and hell collide. The dance of the tango on the other hand is graceful and restrained. The tango is a dance of seduction in which elements of tenderness and defiance alternate.

Unlike the Argentinian tango, the European tango, both in dance and music, followed its own path. Under the influence of the church, the morality and the emotional confinement in Europe, the tango was stripped of its sensuality, warmth and playfulness. In fact, these days the Argentinian tango still is an improvised dance whereas the European tango has been fully institutionalised up and including even the number of bars. The principal element of improvisation in the Argentinian tango makes for a much more interesting relation between the dancers.

The Argentinian Tango Club has been organising dance courses from the early 80s. This makes the Argentinian Tango Club the first ever tango school in The Netherlands!