Argentine Tango and West Coast Swing – Opposite Similarities

Argentine Tango and West Coast Swing have, over the last couple of years become my two favorite dances. On the surface they appear very different.

The dance styles are very unique.  Tango has its origins in the brothels and bars of Argentina and is an intimate dance, sometimes slow and sultry, sometimes fast and dramatic.

WCS is a lively,fun, even sexy dance that can be danced to a number of different styles of music.

West Coast Swing

If you were to watch the two side by side, you might say they couldn’t be more different. The truth is, they have more in common with each other than they do with most ballroom, latin or swing dances.

I will explain with a few things they have in common

Connection

Yes, connection is a must in any partner dance but for these two it is much more than just frame, arms and shoulders.  They both require a connection to your partner and the lead and follow queues are subtle and not predefined by a specific pattern.

Connection to the music is just a critical.  Both styles are very interpretive and rely on the music to define the steps.

Interpretation & Musicality

Many may disagree, but for me a waltz is a waltz is a waltz. Don’t get me wrong, I love the waltz, it’s just a fact that it will be predominantly the same waltz to Journey’s Open Arms as it is to Foolish by Johnny Mathis.

Now, a good Argentine Tango can be a completely different dance depending on the dancer’s ability to interpret the music and make the dance fit the feeling of the song. Each step is determined by the leader’s, and to some degree, the follower’s interpretation of the music.

West Coast Swing is also about interpretation of the music.   Both leader and follower have many opportunities to embellish and emphasize aspects of the music.    This could be creating breaks and pauses in the dance during breaks in the music or possibly extending steps to coincide with the singer drawing out  a word.   Musicality is only limited by the imagination.

Improvisation and patterns

Most of the time, I won’t say all the time, other dances are simply a group of steps and patterns put together in a series for the dancer to implement on the dance floor.  Usually, the pattern is not a reflection of the music, but just a long amalgamation of steps.

Yes,  West Coast Swing and Argentine Tango are often taught as patterns or choreographed routine segments.  Go to any group class for either (or any dance style) and you will probably learn a group of three or four patterns during an hour class all put together nicely for you to use the next time you get on the dance floor.   There is absolutely nothing wrong with this.  It facilitates the class and it’s an easy way to learn to dance several new patterns.

The real magic in Argentine Tango and WCS happens when you get to the point where you forget the amalgamated patterns and begin dancing in smaller units of steps, interpreting the music and reacting organizationally to what you hear.

When you forget the patterns and break each step down into its smallest units, they can be recombined in new and exciting ways.

In Argentine Tango, you have elements, Ochos, Sacada, Giro, etc.  These small elements can be combined in many different ways so that each time you perform an ocho, and add a different element, it becomes something new and different.   Not a pattern, but simply a new combination of complimenting elements.

I like to break it down into 2 beat units for West Coast Swing   I won’t go into too much detail on this but will save it for a future article as it will be fairly extensive. I will give an example of a standard whip.   The whip can be broken down into three parts,  1-2, 3&4, 5&6.   If we apply a 2 beat unit to the basic whip,  we can replace 5&6 with and inside turn or an outside turn (5&6 changes to 5-6 and adding 7&8).   These whips are often taught as pattern but they are really nothing more than a combination of two elements (whip and inside turn for example).   Once you see how this works, you will begin to see how elements can be added or recombined to create something new and exciting.

Following

The next obvious question is this.  As a follower, how do I follow if I don’t know the pattern?

Following is an art form that does take time to learn.  It involves good connection and listening (with your body not your ears).

In Argentine Tango, from the beginning you are taught to embrace properly, listen, connect and follow.  Learn to hear the subtle queues from the leader indicating direction, posture and timing.  Do this without anticipating or moving without a lead.

In West Coast Swing, you could say pretty much the same thing.  WCS connection is critical to your ability to follow as the majority of the time, you only connected by one hand.   Paying special attention to the breaks and direction changes indicated by the leader is key to West Coast Swing.

Both require extra attention from the follower to understand the leader’s intentions without anticipating.   Of course all dances require following skills, but the free and unstructured nature of these two dances requires even more.

No Strict Time

Now I step onto shaky ground, but here goes.   You don’t have to step on every beat.   There, I said it.

Argentine Tango allows you dance your interpretation of the music so you can pause and skip one or several beats allowing your partner or yourself time for adornments or just for dramatic or subtle effect.    You may wish to slow down to every other beat for a segment or speed up and syncopate beats.    This is not waltz where timing is almost always the same.  Sorry, I seem to be picking on waltz in this article.  You have freedom to play with the timing as long as it fits the music.

West Coast Swing is very similar in that you can modify your timing, by skipping beats, syncopating steps or moving one syncopated step to a different timing (instead of 1 2 3&4 you might dance 1 2 &3 4).   Critical to these timing changes is being able to locate the 1 or down beat when resuming a more standard timing.

Unique and Similar

Even though both dances are very different in style, you just might agree with me that they are much more closely related than they appear to be.

What about you?  Do you see any other similarities between these two dance styles?  Maybe you disagree?  What do you think?