Tango codes

Those two words have generated heated discussion. There was a time when we were told that "tango has no rules." Eventually we learned that it has rules. Many refuse to respect them. They are no more
than guidelines that have been in place for all social dancing for decades. Code is another word for rule. Games have rules, and so does ballroom dancing. Tango is a ballroom dance. Then tango has
rules like other social dances. Like any sport, they establish rules of behavior so everyone can enjoy participating. • Dress appropriately.
• Remember personal hygiene.
• The man invites the woman.
• The man leads, remains in control, and protects his partner.
• Respect the line of dance.
• Be aware of others around you.
• Do not teach on the floor.
• Apologize to your partner if you step on her foot, and to other
dancers if you interrupt their dancing.
• Escort your partner off the floor.
• The floor is for dancing, not for conversation.
These rules are part of all ballroom dance instruction. It's impossible to learn to dance without learning these rules. And yet, one organizer in Buenos Aires has found it necessary to announce the line-of-dance rule at his milonga and to enforce it to keep disaster from occurring.
What sets tango apart from other dances are the unwritten codes of personal behavior that are respected by milongueros. I found an interesting list of codes on the internet. I don't agree with the complete list, but it covers many of the codes observed by milongueros. These codes are disappearing from use because the
milongueros are disappearing from the milongas.
By jantango
http://jantango.wordpress.com/2009/03/31/tango-codes/

Tango Codes

Real Tango is traditional, respectful and conservative. To enjoy it to
the maximum you need to understand the codes that have existed over
many years. Respect and enjoy them because they will help you enjoy
Tango.
One of the most remarkable characteristics are the codes that dancers
follow and fully respect.

Men & Women – are not seated together unless they are a couple, if
dancers see you in the table with someone (opposite sex) they will
assume he/she is your partner and will not ask you to dance.
Sharing tables - you are assigned a table and nobody can sit at your
table unless you invite them; this means that dancing with someone
does not imply having to stay all night with this person, unless you
want to.
Never sit in someone else's table, especially if it is the opposite sex.
You can be very polite and say hello to people, even kiss them but
never ask someone to ask you to dance. Maybe the dancer is a gentleman
and will do as he is asked, but he will never ask you to dance again.
Have patience and wait, maybe he will ask you to dance.
Asking for a dance – the reason for men and women being seated
separately is due to the particular way of asking for a dance men ask
women to dance with a look – a certain glance, movement of the head
toward the dance floor.
When you are invited to dance, wait till your dancer is in front of
your table, never get up and go to him, because he could have invited
someone sitting beside you, or behind you and could ask you to sit
down.
Be careful who you share your desire to dance with someone, because
you never know who you are talking to. Also when you are dancing, it
is better to close your eyes, not only you can concentrate and feel
the music better, but you avoid feeling distracted by the look of
another one sitting at a table who afterwards might not ask you to
dance because he/she may think that you could do the same to him/her.
Be careful with the length of your steppes, it depends on how many
people are on the dancing floor. The more people, the shorter the
steppes. It is different when people are performing on their own; they
have the dancing floor for themselves
Try not to walk around the dancing floor when people are dancing, wait
for the Cortina, when everybody sits down.
Try not to say hello to someone sitting down when you are dancing,
your partner can get annoyed or jealous
If you came to the Milonga on your own, try and leave on your own.
Especially if you pretend to go on dancing in that milonga.
If you came to the Milonga with someone and you sit at the same table,
it will take some time for the others to realise if you only want to
dance with your partner or you are available to dance. That does not
mean that you will be asked to dance by the same dancer that where
inviting you before. Remember tango is always about seducing.
Never show too much interest in dancing with one special dancer,
because you can hurt others feelings, and maybe next time in the
Milonga your special dancers are not there and you have no one to
dance with, as the one you rejected last time might not ask you to
dance.
Even though you die to dance all night with the same dancer, remember
everybody is watching.
Do not show too much passion for someone when dancing, do not get to
close. Of course you can show passion while dance, your face can show
how much you are really enjoying, but never get to intimate with the
dancer if you are not interested in a relationship.
Don't get offended if one of your tango dancers one night does not ask
you to dance, there will be other nights.
Depends how you respect these codes is what others will feel towards
you, and how you will be considered and respected in the Milonga.
http://therealtango.com.ar/public_html/eng/english_codigos_del_tango.htm
"Saber Milonguear" Part 1: the obvious codes of the milonga
By Jean-Michel Ledeur
Last Saturday, Cachirulo milonga has been "hijacked" by a wild bunch
of terrible dancers. Or, should I say, by people who do not know how
to navigate on the dance floor and do not care. As Isaac quoted in a
recent post, Cacho Dante, a well known milonguero and great Tango
teacher said: "Bailar bien no es igual que saber milonguear" (To dance
well isn't the same as knowing how to dance social).
But What Does "Milonguear" Mean?
Isaac talked about navigating well & caring for others on the floor,
preserving the social dancing experience. Royce in her previous post
talked about dancing small. I agree with both of them but milonguear
is much more than good navigation, caring & dancing small.
Let me tell you about Cachirulo first!
Cachirulo is the milonga I'm enjoying most in Buenos Aires. It takes
place at Plaza Bohemia, calle Maipu 444, every Saturday from 6PM to
2AM. Hector & Norma, the organizers, pay a lot of attention to details
in order to offer the best dancing experience to all.
Norma welcomes you and Hector sits you (more or less according to your
dancing level or popularity). Two sides of the room are entirely
dedicated to ladies and less than 2 sides to men. The seating is
organized by Hector to allow for easy "mirada" and "cabeceo". The
floor is rather small about 72 m² (12 m x 6 m). But the place can
accommodate around 160 people. Needless to say that between 9 PM & 1
AM, the floor is usually extremely crowded.
The most famous milongueros of Buenos Aires go there on Saturday
because the level of social dancing and the navigation are among the
best in town nowadays. Nino Bien, Salon Canning end even Club
Sunderland have become "circus" over the past few years, making it
unpleasant to dance.
I said Cachirulo had been "hijacked" by terrible dancers. What do I
mean ? And who were the "hijackers"?
"Hijacked" means that for 3 hours, the floor turned into a "battle
field" where it was simply impossible to dance a tanda without any
bump. And I used "hijacked" because most of the milongueros who were
there stopped dancing (and so did I) for few hours and we watched
helplessly with anger and frustration the chaos of the dance floor.
The "hijackers" were of 2 kinds: few local dancers unfamiliar with the
place (it was Easter weekend…) but, mainly, foreign dancers (maybe
part of the CITA crowd). In both case they shared a singular ignorance
of the codes of the milonga (los codigos de la milonga) and a total
absence of consideration and care for others.
The floor was such a mess that Hector had to ask Carlos Rey, the DJ,
to remind people about the "codigos of the milonga", twice that
evening.
For those unfamiliar with the "codigos" they are:
Do not step backward
Keep your line of dance
Keep your feet on the floor at any time
These are what I would call the "obvious" codes of the milonga.
Obvious for some of us but ignored by more and more dancers. I will
refresh your memories on these codes first, then in part 2, I will add
others which I drew from my own dancing experience, careful
observations of the dance floor and discussions with Cacho Dante and
some dancing friends. Those codes, I will call the "hidden codes" of
the milonga. Respecting both the obvious and hidden codes will help
you, I hope, to "milonguear" better.
Los Obvios Codigos De La Milonga (the obvious codes of the milonga)
1) Do not step backward
For the comprehension, I would add "against the line of dance". We
will see in part 2 how you can step backward in a crowded milonga.
This is the most important rule and yet many dancers can't help but
taking regularly a back step against the line of dance. Back stepping
against the line of dance will inevitably have 3 negative effects:
It will cause some bumpings
It will disturb the navigation of the following couple because the
dance of the front couple becomes unpredictable and cut into their
available dancing space
The turbulence created to the following couple will propagate to at
least 1 or 2 other couples further back as their dancing becomes
unpredictable too.
There is a simple way to avoid stepping back against the line of dance
and I will discuss it in part 2 "the hidden codes".
2) Keep your line of dance
Keeping your line of dance means "do not cross over to another line of
dance": to the inside line when you dance outside or to the outside
line when you dance inside. Keep your dancing inside the line you
chose and dance small. A simple image will help you picture the mess a
change of lane can create: imagine yourself on the highway with a car
in front of you permanently changing lanes or permanently overlapping
on 2 lanes. How would it affect your own driving? In the same way, a
dancer not keeping his line of dance is a social dancing nuisance.
3) Keep your feet on the floor
This rule applies to both men and women but has a special importance
for ladies. Do not take your feet off the floor or fly your legs in
order to avoid hurting people around you. High heels can cut and
pierce easily into the foot of another dancer. Milongueras with
experience know how to keep their embellishment low and compact when
the floor is crowded. Also the leader should be careful not leading a
boleo to the lady that could make her kick a table or harm someone.
These 3 codes are the guarantee of an enjoyable social dancing
experience. However, if the codes tell you WHAT to do or what not to
do, they don't really tell you HOW you can dance in a small space and
enjoy, with your partner and the other couples, the music and the
dance. For the Hows see part 2 "the hidden codes".
http://www.loksze.com/thoughts/2008/03/26/saber-milonguear-part-1-obvious-rules-of-the-milonga-by-jean-michel-ledeur/
"Saber Milonguear" Part 2: the hidden codes of the milonga
By Jean-Michel Ledeur
Los Codigos Esconditos De La Milonga (the hidden codes of the milonga)
14 advices to dance socially in crowded milongas.
1. Do not dance when the floor gets messy.
A lot of milongueros have nothing to prove on the dance floor. They
know how to dance small and how to milonguear. But like old sailors,
when they feel the storm coming, they keep their ships in the harbor.
We had a good example last Saturday at Cachirulo where during the
worst hours of the night most milongueros remained seated.
2. Dance with a partner who can milonguear.
Last Saturday, Cacho pointed out to me an Asian girl and told me that
he would never invite her on such a crowded floor. The reason was that
she can't help kicking her feet high any time she is doing a boleo or
an embellishment. I have been always cautious myself and I usually
don't invite a woman to dance if I'm not confident I can navigate the
floor safely with her.
3. Leader, face the outside wall.
This rule comes from my own dancing experience and a careful
observation of the milongueros. If you pay attention, you'll notice
that they dance, most of the time, facing the outside wall, slightly
angled to their left side. From this position and they initiate most
of their moves. As illustrated on the drawing below, in a milonga
where the rules are respected, a safe, if limited, zone gets created
that I call the "free zone" (in yellow). From the "free zone", the
leader can initiate most of his rotation and them come back to it. It
is exceptional to see a milonguero dancing facing forward in the
direction of the line of dance.
4. Use the "free zone" and the width of the line of dance.
Initiate ocho cortado, right hand turns or left hand turns from the
"free zone". Use the width of the line of dance to complete your
rotation . Then come back to your initial position after an even
number of half rotation. Also, note that you can take a back step when
you face the outside wall, it will make you travel further inside the
floor and not against the line of dance. As long as you can keep your
back step inside the width of the line of dance you should be safe
from bumping into someone.
5. Lead the follower to step into you and walk into her to exchange space.
Considering the couple as one entity, it is important to know how to
dance just exchanging space between partners. Make the follower dance
into your space and dance into her space. You will save space and be
able to dance in a reduced space.
6. Make your turns on the spot.
If you can visit Buenos Aires, admire how milongueros (I think in
particular of one milonguero called Abel) can make a full right turn
inside the width of their shoulders in a smooth, musical and clean
manner. A tip to make it smaller, initiate the turns with upward
energy more then circular energy and step outside of your partner foot
and not inside.
7. "Rotacion y despues traslacion" (Turn then move)
Cacho summed up the basic of the art of milonguear: you turn and
rotate to wait for the couple in front to move. Once they cleared some
space in front of you, you move to take that space. And you do it all
over again. Easy!
8. Check the floor around you while you turn.
I feel sorry, if it is obvious to you but I still see so many leaders
dancing without checking what's going on around them. Japanese men
seems prone to that kind of behavior. And I know what I'm talking
about, I've been dancing in Tokyo 2 years… Some leaders even dance
ignoring totally the crowd around them and are offended when they
bumped into someone!
9. Take the space in front of you and don't slow the traffic down.
We all know how it feels to dance behind a couple who doesn't move:
dancing becomes more difficult and we get impatient. So don't do to
other what you don't want them to do to you. Don't be the one slowing
down the traffic. Take the space opened in front of you! That space is
yours because the leader in front of you won't step back!
10. Use floor corners, entrance or holes in the traffic to dance bigger.
It allows you and your partner to relax and give you an opportunity to
do that move you love so much.
11. Don't fight for limited space.
Do not push, hit or bump into other couples even when there is no
space! The floor isn't expandable.
12. Be patient and wait for the flow to move.
Unless the couple in front doesn't respect rule 9)… In which case you
need to find a way to make him understand that he can move on.
13. Limit your choreography to safe moves.
Too many dancers, on top of not caring for others around them, feel
over-confident about their tango. When the floor is packed, some moves
can't be done in a safe way any more, strike them through from your
list and play safe until the space clears.
14. Express the music with your chest…like a milonguero.
Many dancers (especially nuevo or salon dancers) complain that they
can't express the music anymore once the space is limited. This is
because their tango is focused on expressing music through steps
and/or the variety of steps. Milonguero style is all about dancing and
expressing the music through your chest more than through the steps.
The musical nuances that can be expressed are endless even with a
limited number of steps.
As a conclusion, I invite you to read Cacho's articles: "The tango and
trapeze acts" and "Brief definition of a milonguero". Because social
tango dancing isn't a fight for space and attention, but rather a
musical hug you share with your partner and a good time you spend
beside friends on the dance floor.
Most of the tips in this post apply primarily to leaders. It is fair
since leaders are in charge of navigation & choreography. But it is
equally important for women to know how to "milonguear bien". And it's
a true pleasure to dance with a careful milonguera. Here in Buenos
Aires, I enjoy dancing every week with Betty, a local milonguera. Her
sens of "milonguear" is amazing. She can dance on crowded floors with
musicality and dynamic without ever bumping into anyone. How to
"milonguear bien" for women is definitely worth another post.

http://www.loksze.com/thoughts/2008/03/27/saber-milonguear-part-2-the-hidden-codes-of-the-milonga-by-jean-michel-ledeur/