Ultimate Strictly

ARGENTINE TANGO

History

The Argentine Tango has its roots in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 19th century, and was developed from a variety of dances with influences from Spain and Uruguay. Len Goodman tells us that the dance should remind us of the gauchos coming off the pampas meeting up with the ladies of the night. It should be powerful, expressive and passionate.

The dance

The hold in the Argentine Tango differs from the Tango ballroom hold and is called the abrazo (or, in English, the embrace), and can be either open where the woman is held at arms length from the man, or closed where the upper bodies are in complete contact. The dance is led through the upper body while it is expressed through the intricate movements of the legs and feet.

The basic step, la caminata (the walk), is where the weight is gradually transferred over one leg leaving the other free for other movements and gestures, such as Sacadas (displacement), where one of the dancers feet or legs is displaced by their partner. Ochos (eights) are basic walks, either forward or backward, with a pivot in between the two steps so that the dancers make a figure of eight. The Ganchos (hooks), are where the couples legs are flicked up and hook together.

The judges in Strictly Come Dancing will be looking for fire and passion with the chemistry between the couple being essential, along with both tight hold, loose hold and fast pivots.

The best of Strictly

As at the end of 2007, there has been one performance that stands out head and shoulders above the rest - Mark Ramprakash & Karen Hardy in Series 4 semi-final gave an electrifying performance of the Argentine Tango, danced to bond theme 'Goldeneye' and receiving 39 points from the judges, with Len Goodman saying it was the first dance of the night to deserve a place in the final.

The worst of Strictly

Because the dance is performed very late in the series each year, the dancing is usually of a reasonable standard, and there hasn't really been any poor performance of the dance. The couple who've received the lowest score so far, are Matt Dawson & Lilia Kopylova in Series 4, who still managed a very respectable 30 points.

Scores for all Argentine Tango performances:

*Arlene Phillips judged series one to six, while Alesha Dixon judged series 7 onwards.