10 Common Argentine Tango Myths, Busted
You’ve definitely seen the rose stereotype before…
When it comes to taking the Argentine Tango plunge, myths are your worst enemy.
Because they persuade you against showing up for your first class, and potentially changing your life for the better.
Read on for ten spicy and uncensored takes on common Argentine Tango myths, brought to you by a four-year tango veteran who has seen it all.
1. You Need a Dance Background
Don’t believe anyone who says you need a dance background for Argentine Tango!
While yoga and martial arts practitioners have a slight advantage in partner dancing, yours truly arrived to the tango scene with zero prior dance experience. The tango community itself is also home to legions of skilled dancers with the same story, and engineering, of all things, is the most common background.
2. You Need to Be a Musician
I also give major side-eye to gatekeepers who say you can’t become a good dancer without previous musical education.
Music, and the ability to move to it, is a primordial skill that lurks within everyone; all you need is the right teacher and motivation to coax it out.
3. You Must Habla Español
Being a Latin dance, Argentine Tango bursts at the seams with Spanish.
Teachers use Spanish language terms for tango figures, techniques, and social codes. Tango songs are sung in Spanish. And if you live in a large city, your tango community will likely have many native Spanish speakers as well.
Familiarity with Spanish, however, is not a prerequisite for Argentine Tango. With time and repeated exposure, you’ll naturally pick up on and acquire the language for yourself. And who knows, you might even become fluent!
Proficiency in Spanish is not required for Latin dances like Argentine Tango
4. It’s for Couples Only
When it comes to this myth, Tango’s reputation certainly precedes it. Intimacy and passion are better when shared with someone you love, after all.
The myth of coupledom, however, didn’t stop the legions of unattached women and men from flocking to tango, and it shouldn’t stop you either if you don’t have a partner.
In fact, many dance instructors advise against arriving to your first lesson with a partner. Similar to the other kind of tango, a degree of musical sluttiness will help you develop sensitivity, versatility, and empathy, necessary ingredients for becoming the kind of advanced dancer milongueros lust after.
5. You Need to be Skinny
This myth is complicated for me to discuss, as I possessed two different bodies during my tango days in the before times. The first was emaciated and sickly, and the second was chubby and healthy.
Both of these bodies received different results on the dancefloor; my skinny body unfortunately got more dances, however, many of those dances were with the kinds of people who are attracted to the vulnerabilities a sick body projects.
And while in theory, a fat body does not disqualify your dance aspirations (and I have tangoed with many different body types throughout the years), slender bodies tend to predominate tango’s reality, especially if your community is imbalanced in favor of men.
In light of this truth, perhaps skinniness isn’t the right tango myth to bust. Maybe one should examine fatphobia instead…
6. It’s Only for White Folks
Depending on where you live, Argentine Tango is very, very white. This is not, however, because tango is a white persons’ dance.
Tango’s racial diversity, or lack thereof, is driven by two factors: location (a milonga in Japan, for example, will have few Black people, because few Black people live in Japan) and selection bias.
Tango classes, clothing, and travel expenses for festivals ain’t cheap, and historically disenfranchised ethnic groups are statistically less likely to have the wealth and resources required to foot tango’s bills.
That being said, the tango landscape is slowly changing; BIPOC have become increasingly frequent sights, and not just as milongueros. They populate the ranks of DJs and instructors, and this landscape will certainly continue to diversify once the pandemic subsides.
7. Tango Dancers Sleep Together
My first brush with tango occurred via a conversation with a salsalero in 2014.
“Tango people definitely bang each other,” he said.
Douchey, I know.
Needless to say, I left my first tango lesson in 2017, partly dismayed and partly relieved that there was not nearly as much sex as the salsalero foretold.
Though Argentine Tango involves intimate contact and flirtatious footwork, know that partner dancing doesn’t entitle or obligate you to sex. Sure, sexy time absolutely does happen within partner dance communities, but the deed is not part and parcel with advancing as a tango dancer.
Don’t panic! Startup costs for beginner tango dancers are low.
8. You Need Fancy Clothes and Shoes
After tango’s theatrics, shoes and clothing are the next things beginner tangueros notice, as dancefloor fashions brim with colorful stilettos, backless dresses, and brightly patterned ruched skirts.
And while these fashions help you move with comfort and ease (and without fear of wardrobe malfunctions), they are not required, especially for beginner dancers. '
This is because tango’s accoutrements are pricey, and you definitely want to be a fully committed dancer before acquiring them. I, for example, danced for one year before obtaining my first tango shoes, and I recommend the same timeline for newbies as well.
9. It’s a Young Persons Game
This myth mirrors the body type debate; once again, young bodies (ages 20 – 40) tend to predominate tango, and once again, this unfortunate phenomenon gets magnified in communities with a surplus of single women.
Also like the skinny body myth, it’s deceptive to parrot “dance is for everyone” when reality says the contrary.
Also like the skinny body myth again, this reality is a sign that dance communities should examine and collectively work to dismantle the misogynistic undercurrents that drive fatphobia and ageism.
10. It’s Dramatic
Chances are you’ve encountered Argentine Tango before. And chances are it was the version popularized through movies, the one with roses between the teeth and weaponized leg raises.
Show tango undoubtedly captures your attention (and compels you to seek out the nearest dance studio), but the real deal is a lot less…well…showy. And while show tango makes occasional appearances in real life, such as at festivals and competitions, know that authentic Argentine Tango is all about connection, between yourself and your partner.
Which Argentine Tango myth surprised you the most?
