The Argentine Tango dance is a very popular, sensual, and dramatic social dance that originated in the lower class districts of Buenos Aires, Argentina in the latter half of the 19th century and moved to the rest of the world soon after. The Argentine Tango dance can be danced in a variety of dance holds from open, in which the leader and follower connect at arms length, to a very close dance hold in which the connection is chest-to-chest or anywhere in between. The "close embrace" dance hold is often associated with the more traditional styles of this Tango. You can see a demonstration of the Argentine Tango dance in the Argentine Tango video on this page.
Argentine Tango consists of patterns or sequences of steps, classic Argentine hooking and kicking steps called "ganchos" and "boleos", lifts, dips and many variations of foot and leg movements. Argentine Tango is danced at "Milongas" (Tango social dances) around the world. At the Tango social dances, there are three kinds of tango danced: Tango, Valtz and Milonga.
Tango is the most sensuous of the three and is danced to slow, sensual music which incorporates precise, intricate footwork. This style of Tango is an improvised dance combining various step patterns and sequences of steps that are determined and set up by the man. The lady is able to add interesting footwork embellishments throughout the dance. Valtz is a more flowing Tango style and travels around the dance floor similar to the Waltz. Milonga is danced in a very close dance hold to a faster tempo with stacccato foot changes and is danced using every beat of music. At Milongas (Tango social dances), each dance is played in a set of three or four dances and a couple typically dances the entire set together. Again, you can see a demonstration of the Argentine Tango dance in the Argentine Tango video on this page.