Ballroom Tango vs Argentine Tango

A terrific tango stirs up excitement when performed with controlled passion and power. Argentine Tango and Ballroom Tango use very different techniques but both are romantic dances when danced socially.

One obvious difference is the hard, arrogant style of competitive ballroom tango. However, for social dancing, dancers do not need to copy the violent Tango head-flicks that have become the established style for competitive dancers. Ballroom Tango was developed from Argentine Tango and modified to conform to the conventions of ballroom dancing. However, it uses a very different technique compared to the other Smooth Dances.  Tango is danced flat and into the floor, while the other ballroom dances use body swing and smooth rise and fall. This makes Tango a lot easier to learn for beginners since all the power and staccato movement comes from the legs. What takes years to master, however, is the dancer’s ability to mix sharp, quick movements with slow movements needed to dance the very powerful yet calm, stalking style of Tango.

Argentine Tango, in contrast, the movement is smoother and much more sensual and dance to music that is full of romance and melancholy. This Tango is in many ways a very intimate dance where the two dancers play off each other to create the dance. This makes Argentine Tango more difficult for new dancers to learn since the basic dance figures are not symmetrical and there is no strict timing like in Ballroom Tango. Here the dancers dance to the feeling of the song, the space and feedback from their partners. What makes this dance great is that you are free to express yourself, like in a conversation, with your partner.