The Best Way to Warm Up This Winter
                                Start a Tango Fire!
By Emily Semmelman

   There is nothing like a “Tango Fire” to light up these cold, dark Wisconsin nights. Guess what: we're in luck.
One of the world's leading tango bands, Tango Fire, will perform in the Wisconsin Union Theater, www.
uniontheater. wisc.edu, on Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 8 p.m. As if that wasn't enough, you can also learn this
passionate and beautiful dance on Thursday, Jan. 24, when the theater and Madison Tango Society offer
free classes and a dance at the Memorial Union.
   Although the exact origins of tango remain a mystery, it is certain that the dance is rooted in the underbelly
of Argentinean culture. Hardly gentleman, gauchos with chaps hardened from the foam and sweat of horses,
walked with flexed knees and asked women to be their dance partners in crowded night clubs. Legend has it
that the original tango positions were created due to the ulterior motives of these unlucky women. So as not to
smell the gauchos' unwashed bodies, they held their heads back as they danced. The ladies kept their right
hands low on the gaucho's left hip, close to his pocket, expecting payment for dancing with him.
   It is also known that poor Blacks in Buenos Aires' slums danced a more spirited version of what later
became the tango. High-class White youth would sneak into these clubs, learn the dance, and bring it back to
their refined and rigid dance halls.
   There are several different styles of the dance today, including Argentinean, Uruguayan, and Ballroom.
Tango has become stylized throughout the beginning of the 20th century, and matured into a passionate and
elegant dance for all classes.
   In Argentinean-style tango, the body's center moves first and the feet follow. The dance allows for
variations to occur almost constantly. The steps are characteristically fluid, and they fluctuate extensively in
timing, pace, and personality. The Argentinean Tango's frame, called an abrazo or "embrace,"  adjusts to
different steps and can vary throughout the dance. The variations often follow the mood of the music.
Tango dance has grown into a contemporary phenomenon. It has been featured in many popular movies,
including “Shall We Dance” (2004), starring Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon, and “Happy
Together”(1997), directed by Wong Kar-wai. It is ideal for movies because its sensual and passionate style is
exciting to watch.
   Tango Fire features 10 superb dancers, all of them regular performers in Buenos Aires' best tango houses.
They are accompanied by an equally accomplished live band and singer. Touring world-wide, this
performance will include dazzling renditions of traditional Argentinean tango as well as modern tango.
Tango is exciting to watch — and enjoyable to dance. Free and open to the public, the Wisconsin Union
Theater and Madison Tango Society will offer an evening of tango on Jan. 24. Instructors will teach a
beginners class at 6 p.m. and an advanced beginners class at 7 p.m.; dancing will start at 8 p.m. Everyone is
encouraged to attend!
   To buy tickets for Tango Fire: www.uniontheater.wisc.edu, (608) 262-2201, or at the box office, 800
Langdon St., Madison 53706.