Although it has come to epitomize the glamour and elegance of high society, with women in sleek glittering evening gowns and men in tux and tails, the tango originated in society's underbelly - the brothels of turn-of-the-century Argentina. Some say the word "tango" comes from the Latin word tangere (to touch.) The wail of tango music, it is said, speaks of more than frustrated love. It speaks of fatality, of destinies engulfed in pain. It is the dance of sorrow.

Originally, the tango dance developed as an "acting out" of the relationship between the prostitute and her pimp. In fact, the titles of the first tangos referred to characters in the world of prostitution. These tango songs and dances had no lyrics, were often highly improvised, and were generally regarded as obscene. Further, the early tangos not only represented a kind of sexual choreography, but often a duel, a man-to-man combat between challengers for the favors of a woman, that usually ended in the symbolic death of an opponent. Sexual and evil forces were equally celebrated in this ritual.

During the first two decades of the new century, the tango took Paris by storm. The blessings of the Parisians, in turn, made it a staple of Argentinean high society. Tango was reigning supreme in the cabarets and theaters frequented by the rich. In 1930, a sudden military coup in Argentina ended the citizens' right to vote, and thus largely silenced the voice of the people, the tango. Tango revived in the late 1930's when the Argentinean masses regained a good measure of their political freedom. They celebrated their social rise with the tango, which became a symbol of their physical solidarity and part of their daily life.

As the dance became absorbed into the larger society, the tango lost some of it abrasiveness. The structure of the dance, however, remained intact, and soon the tango developed into a worldwide phenomenon. Even the Americans were doing it, although some ladies were given to wearing "bumpers" to protect themselves from rubbing a bit too closely against their male partners.

When Juan Peron rose to power in 1946 the tango again reached the pinnacle of popularity in Argentina, as both he and his wife Evita embraced it wholeheartedly. Yet, with Evita's death in 1952, the tango again fell from the mainstream spotlight. Today the tango is enjoying a renaissance of popularity, keeping the fire of this daring art form burning brightly.

" The Tango is man and woman in search of each other. It is the search for an embrace, a way to be together, when the man feels that he is a male and the woman feels that she is a female, without machismo. She likes to be led; he likes to lead. Disagreements may occur later or they may not. When that moment comes, it is important to have a positive and productive dialogue, fifty-fifty. The music aroused and torments, the dance is the coupling of two people defenseless against the world and powerless to change things. This is the best definition of the Tango as a dance, ..." --
Juan Carlos Copes, Choreographer and Dancer