"The secret of tango is in this moment of improvisation that happens between step and step. It is to make the impossible thing possible: to dance silence. This is essential to learn in tango dance, the real dance, that of the silence, of following the melody." Carlos Gavito

One of the great things about Tango is that you don't have to move all the time. In Tango, it is perfectly fine to take a side step and pause... standing completely still for as long as you like. You can gently rock back and forth or rotate your body back and forth slightly... or just be completely still and quiet.

The quote is not just talking about this stillness.. but also about the connection with our dance partner. Our connection exists during the whole dance and goes far beyond the steps that we do.

At the end of a milonga, the women will not remember what steps you executed with them but rather how you connected with her, how your embrace felt and how you stepped rather than the pattern you stepped in.

Here are some great sites on the History of Tango:

A Brief Introduction to the History of  Tango Music

The History of Tango Dance

Argentine Tango: A Brief History

ToTango.net - A History of Argentine Tango

Todotango.com

Tango and Chaos in Buenos Aires

This Day in Tango History

Best Tango History Book:

There is No Truth to be found in Tango

The tango can be debated, and we have debates over it, but it still encloses, as does all that which is truthful, a secret. - Jorge Luis Borges

Tango did what it pleased with us and it led us and misled us and it ordered us and found us again - Jorge Luis Borges

With this section of the website, my goal is to help educate students and tango enthusiasts about the history of tango music and dance. One thing to keep in mind when reading these articles is that there is much disagreement even amongst famous tango historians. The periods of progression are very loosely defined and of course musicians of one style or period kept playing well into the next so the lines are always blurred. There are even discrepencies over who wrote which songs. People cannot even agree on the origins of the word, "tango." So, what follows is my best effort, at the moment to make sense of it all.

I have been studying Argentine Tango music and dance since 2003 and have amassed a substantial collection of over 6,000 Tango songs, 600+ Vals and 500+ Milongas including CDs, Vinyl LPs and 78s. This is still just a fraction of the Tango music that is out there. It is estimated that there are over 40,000 tango recordings.

This site will primarily focus on music for dancing from the early days of tango, through the Golden Age (1935 to 1955) and today's modern music. One thing to keep in mind is that the vast majority of tango music is not for dancing. In Buenos Aires, most everyone listens to tango but only a very small percentage of the population dances. 

If I had only three words to express my Philosophy of Argentine Tango they would be: Passion, Connection and Technique. Of these three, I can only teach connection and technique, while making every attempt to convey my passion for this dance and its music.

In Tango, we have three primary connections: Embrace, Musicality and Floorcraft. Our embrace is our connection with our partner. Musicality is our connection with the music. Floorcraft is our connection with the other dancers on the dance floor. 

In order to express our passion and to have wonderful connections, we must start with learning proper Tango technique. This is where my teaching philosophy differs from many. I believe that dancing with lots of passion, but little technique or connection is meaningless at best and torturous at worst.  The opposite is also true, dancing with only technique but no connection and no passion is also meaningless.

From technique we develop clarity. From clarity, we build strong connections. From strong connections, we can fully express our passion.

Social Form of Argentine Tango
While I do perform on a regular basis at different events, my primary passion is the social form of Argentine Tango. Argentine Tango is danced in most every major city in the world. My goal as a Tango teacher is for you to be able to visit any of these cities and to be able to go to a local Milonga (Tango dance party) and to be able to have wonderful dances.

Open Embrace versus Close Embrace versus Apilado versus Salon versus Blah
I dance and teach Argentine Tango. Open Embrace and Close Embrace are not styles of Tango, but embraces used in Tango. Salon, Milonguero and Nuevo are all styles or forms of Tango. My students are exposed to ALL styles and embraces and I leave it to them to choose which ones they employ in their dance. My primary goal as a Tango teacher is to give my students all the tools necessary to dance exceedingly well and to be able to be the most sought after dancers at the Milongas.

Experience
I have spent many years learning from the greatest tango teachers in the world and have travelled to Buenos Aires twice to work with master teachers. Some of the teachers who have had the largest influence on me are Sebastian Arce y Mariana Montes, Gustavo Naveira y Giselle Anne, Murat and Michelle Erdemesel, Homer and Cristina Ladas, Chicho Frumboli y Juana Sepulveda, El Pulpo, Osvaldo y Coca and Facundo y Kely Posadas.

I have also had the good fortune to have amazing dance partners, friends and students to work and learn with. In almost every class that I teach, someone asks a question which challenges me to think more deeply about a particular technique or concept. While I teach I am also learning and I hope that that will be the case forever. One of my favorite tango quotes is from an old Milonguero, who must have been in his 80's and had been dancing since he was a teenager, who was asked if there was anything that he was still working on and his response was a quick "Yes, I am still working on walking."

Un Abrazo,

Clint Rauscher