Tango is an immensely personal experience, and I am fascinated by the journeys of others. You will hear interviews with tango novices and veterans alike, discussing their recent discoveries from local milongas, international festivals, to new tango communities.

Tango terminology:

If you're not a tango dancer, you will hear some unfamiliar terminology in the podcast:

A practica is a tango practice session, typically held by a tango school. It's less formal than a milonga, and you can still socialise and dance with different people.

A milonga is a tango social (as well as a type of dance), where people chat, listen to tango music, eat, drink, and dance. Three types of songs are played at a milonga: tango, vals and milonga, by a tango DJ or a live band/orchestra.

A tanda is a set of 3 or 4 songs of the same type, and a pair of dancers tend to stay together for an entire tanda. A cortina is a short break between tandas, where non-tango music is played for 30-60 seconds, during which dancers vacate the floor and wait for the next tanda.

Some tango etiquette may be observed at a milonga, including:

• mirada (the look), to gaze at a potential dance partner to establish eye-contact at the start of a tanda;
• cabeceo (the nod), the formal way of inviting someone to dance, where a proposer nods towards another dancer after eye-contact had been established through mirada. If the invite is accepted, the receiver nods back, and the dancers move to the floor;
• traditionally, followers (typically women) would use the mirada to signal their interest in dancing with a leader, and leaders (typically men) would use the cabeceo to initiate an invite. If accepted, the leader would then move towards the follower and enter the dance floor together;
• The ronda is the line of dance in tango, where all dancers move in the anti-clockwise direction, in concentric lanes (much like cars at a round-about). Dancers are expected to stay in their lane, give sufficient space to the couples in front and behind, and keep the ronda moving.

Notes:

Cover art by Victoria Iungerich

Comments & suggestions? Write to me at thistangovoice@gmail.com