Page:The Modern Dances - How to Dance Them.djvu/61

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The Argentine Tango, a folk dance from the Argentine Republic, differs widely from the North American Tango, or One Step. It is a slow, stately dance, with lots of the Spanish snap and swing to it, and is becoming increasingly popular for ball-room performance. It is an exquisite dance, and very complicated to one unused to dancing. It has been said that it contains more than a hundred different figures, but there are scarcely more than half a dozen important ones which one need master. When you have learned these you should be able to dance the Tango with anyone you might happen to meet.

The music, like the dance, is very Spanish, differing completely from the rag time of the One Step. Probably one of the most popular Argentine pieces is "La Rumba" and I particularly recommend it for beginners.

Position, as shown in Illustration 1.

Four steps backward by the man and forward by the lady; one step to each count of the music. The man starts with the weight of his body on the ball of the right foot, the first step being taken with the left foot in this manner: Slightly