Tampa, FL 33617
International Tango
Tango is a dance that has influences from Spanish and African culture.
Dances from the candomble ceremonies of former slave peoples helped shape the
modern day Tango. The dance originated in lower-class districts of Buenos Aires.
The music derived from the fusion of various forms of music from Europe.
Initially it was just one of the many dances, but it soon became popular throughout
society, as theatres and street barrel organs spread it from the suburbs to the
working-class slums, which were packed with hundreds of thousands of European
immigrants, primarily Italians, Spanish and French.
In 1912 tango was introduced to British audiences, showcased in the successful
musical comedy The Sunshine Girl. Concurrently, the dance became popular
elsewhere in Europe, particularly in Paris. As the European dancers enjoyed
the music and passion of the dance, they began to inject their own culture,
style and technique into the dance. In an effort to teach a standardized
version of the tango, the English eventually codified their own version of
tango for instruction in dance schools and for performance in competitions in
1922. The resulting style was referred to as English style, but eventually took
on the name International style, as this became the competitive ballroom version
practiced around the world.
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