In 1914, Philadelphia dancing master Albert W. Newman created a set of five tango sequences which were published both in his own book, Dances of To-Day, and in both editions of F. Leslie Clendenen's compilation Dance Mad (St. Louis, 1914), for which Clendenen solicited contributions from other dance teachers.
Newman seems to have felt that the tango needed a little fixing up for American dancers:
This adaptation of the Tango is most practical for ballroom use, as it enables the dancers to move around the room in a progressive manner just as in the Waltz and Two-Step. It does not obstruct the way of the other dancers. After one has acquired the steps of the Minuet Tango it is very easy to avoid collisions.
Along with progressing politely around the room, unlike the randomly-wandering tangos of Argentina and Paris, the Minuet Tango has the gentleman start on his left foot, rather than on the right, as seems to have been more traditional for tango.
It has no connection either musically or choreographically to the minuet proper.
I suspect Newman was engaging in some optimistic self-promotion in claiming that his choreography was "approved and accepted by polite society throughout the world". I can't claim to have made an exhaustive survey, but I've never seen it anywhere except in the two American books mentioned above.
I wouldn't consider the Minuet Tango a good representation of sophisticated tango practices of the 1910s, and certainly not typical for either Argentina or Paris. But it is an interesting illustration of the American tendency to turn tango into a sort of slow one-step and makes an easy entry dance for tango beginners. Just keep in mind that although some of the individual steps are perfectly reasonable for a more authentic tango, as a sequence, its overall style is very, very American!
The Minuet Tango begins with partners in a normal ballroom position, turned outward slightly so that both face line of dance. The steps given below are for the gentleman; the lady generally dances opposite. But note that in the square segment, the lady mirrors the gentleman's feet -- both of them cross in front, not one in front/one in back!
Minuet Tango (16 measures/32 counts)
1 Step forward left
2 Step forward right
3 Point left forward (no weight), face partner, rise slightly onto right toe
4 Drop right heel and face forward again
5-8 Repeat all of the above,
9-16 Slow spin turn clockwise; partners face each other throughout
9 Step back left, making a quarter-turn clockwise (gentleman's back to center of room)
10 Rock forward onto right foot
11 Step back left, making a quarter-turn clockwise (gentleman's back to line of dance)
12 Rock forward onto right foot
13-16 Repeat to finish the complete turn; gentlemen ends facing line of dance
1-12 Square (eight-step, making 90-degree turns); partners face each other throughout
1 Step left sideways toward center of room
2 Cross right foot over left (lady also crosses in front, mirroring gentleman)
3 Step left sideways, turning one-quarter clockwise
4 Step right sideways (moving "over elbows" against line of dance)
5 Cross left over right
6 Step right sideways, turning one-quarter clockwise (gentleman's back to line of dance)
7-12 Repeat to finish the complete square; gentleman ends facing line of dance
13-16 Four walking steps along line of dance, partners facing, gentleman starting forward on his left and lady backward on her right
Style
Newman gives a pretty good description of walking tango-style:
The Tango Step often referred to in the dance is a long, gliding, stealthy, smooth, near-walking step, making one step to each beat of the measure...The ball of the foot must remain on the floor all the time, keeping the upper part of the body perfectly relaxed throughout the dance, so as to be able to adjust and balance the body prperly. Don't bounce, wriggle, or sway and do not shrug the shoulders; just glide along with a becoming buoyancy.
He also warns the dancers not to dance too close together or hold too tightly. A bit of distance is particularly helpful in the square, when the dancers are both crossing in front. The rocking turn can be done a bit more closely.
Variations
Newman mentions three places where the figures can be varied slightly:
1. The spin turn can be done in reverse; step forward left, then rock back onto the right foot, turning one quarter counter-clockwise. Repeat three more times for the complete turn. It can also be done half clockwise and half counter-clockwise; the gentleman can step forward left on the fifth step (count 13) to change the direction of the rotation:
13 Step forward onto left foot
14 Rock back onto right foot, making a quarter-turn counter-clockwise (gentleman's back to center of room)
15 Step forward onto left foot
16 Rock back onto right foot, making a quarter-turn counter-clockwise (gentleman facing line of dance)
2. In the square (eight-step), the gentleman can "change the design of the figure" -- meaning, make it more or less square -- by altering the amount of turn on every third step in order to avoid other couples. If necessary, if can even be done in a straight line (180-degree turns on every third step; 4-5-6 and 10-11-12 will travel "over elbows" along line of dance). If the dancers haven't gotten completely around because of necessary "design changes", the last four steps can be used to straighten them out to traveling along line of dance again.
3. The final four walking steps can be done backward by the gentleman (forward for the lady); aggressively clockwise on the last step of the square to leave the gentleman with his back to line of dance. Turn a quarter counter-clockwise to restart the sequence traveling along line of dance again.
Music
Although the Minuet Tango can be danced to any tango music, Newman actually included sheet music for it in Dances of To-Day. Follow these links for pages one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight.
More Newman Tango
Newman makes a token acknowledgement of the improvisational nature of tango, but his heart seems to be more in his figures as a fixed sequence:
Other Tango Steps may of course be added to this Tango, or its construction changed for convenience sake, but it is better to teach it in this regular form.
He did, however, choreograph four more short tango sequences which can be joined together to make a longer dance. I'll cover those in the next two posts in this series.
Comments