page_title: Argentine tango
section_title: Embrace
hierarchical_section_title: Argentine tango / Dance / Elements / Embrace
caption_attribution_description: English: Tango walk (parallel, normal). Homer and Cristina Ladas, Stanford, CA. Polski: Chodzenie. Normalny system (równoległy). Homer i Krystyna Ladas. Zdjęcia zrobione w Stanford, Kalifornia. Español: Caminada.
context_page_description: Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. It typically has a or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in patterns such as ABAB or ABCAC. Its lyrics are marked by nostalgia, sadness, and laments for lost love. The typical orchestra has several melodic instruments and is given a distinctive air by the small button accordion called the bandoneon. It has continued to grow in popularity and spread internationally, adding modern elements without replacing the older ones. Among its leading figures are the singer and songwriter Carlos Gardel and composers/performers Francisco Canaro, Juan D'Arienzo, Carlos Di Sarli, Osvaldo Pugliese, and Ástor Piazzolla.
context_section_description: A striking difference between Argentine tango and ballroom tango is in the shape and feel of the embrace. Ballroom technique dictates that partners arch their upper bodies away from each other, while maintaining contact at the hip, in an offset frame.
  In Argentine tango, it is nearly the opposite: the dancers' chests are closer to each other than are their hips, and often there is contact at about the level of the chest (the contact point differing, depending on the height of the leader and the closeness of the embrace). In close embrace, the leader and the follower's chests are in contact and they are dancing with their heads touching or very near each other. In open embrace, there can be as much space as desired between the partners, but there should always be complete contact along the embracing arms to give optimum communication. Since Argentine tango is almost entirely improvisational, there needs to be clear communication between partners. Even when dancing in a very open embrace, Argentine tango dancers do not hold their upper bodies arched away from each other; yet, each partner is not always over their own axis, there are even styles that demand a constant leaning against each other. Whether open or closed, a tango embrace is not rigid, but relaxed, like a hug.
caption: Parallel system walk.
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