Ultimate Strictly

TANGO

History

When the Argentine Tango was brought to the European ballroom in the early 20th century, it wasn't long before the English dancers started to introduce their own steps and style into the dance forming what became the Ballroom Tango. Elements of the Argentine style remain, with the flexed knees (from where the gauchos would have stiff legs from wearing their leather chaps) and the womans posture with the head held back away from the man (said to be because the gauchos would be smelly from working on the pampas all day).

The costumes are usually more casual for the men, with a short suit jacket instead of tails, and for the woman, the dress will still be a full length gown, but expect to see strong or passionate colours - dramatic black, fiery red, electric blue or purple.

The dance

The Tango is the sexy, passionate dance of the ballroom discipline. No rise and fall in this dance, it should be flat across the floor, with slow, stalking promenades alternating with sharp turns, swivels and head movements. The hold is different for the Tango, in that it is closer and more compact, with the woman dancing in the crook of the mans right arm.

'Staccato' is often used to describe the Tango, by which the judges mean the sharp, clipped movements, not just with the feet, but with head movements, lines and posture.

The best of Strictly

The benchmark for the Tango was set by Zoe & Ian in Series 3, with a spine-tingling routine, which scored two 10's from Arlene and Bruno, and a total of 38 points. Everything about the dance was right, from the costumes (Zoe in a stunning black beaded gown), to the music (traditional and passionate), to the choreography (intense and mesmerising story telling), making it an absolute joy to watch.

By far the best of the male celebrity Tango routine came from Austin & Erin in week 9 of the sixth series, with a passionate, sharp and dramatic routine danced to "Libertango" which prompted two 10s from the judges and another total of 38 points.

However, the judges felt that Rachel & Vincent surpassed this in Series 6, when their Tango danced to "Here Comes The Rain Again" received a massive 39 points.

Also in Series 3, after a very nervous start to the competition, Patsy & Anton surprised everyone with a tantalizing Tango, again using traditional music with a strong story telling element throughout the dance, they achieved their top score of the competition with 34 points.

Claire & John in Series 1 took their inspiration from the film "Moulin Rouge!" using a latin style arrangement of 'Roxanne' by The Police for their routine, producing their best dance of the series and receiving 34 points from the judges.

The worst of Strictly

By week 3 of Series 2, we already knew Diarmuid Gavin wasn't going to be a great dancer, and as hard as Nicole tried, their performance still has the lowest score for the Tango in all of Strictly, with only 14 points. In the same week, Esther & Anton didn't fare much better with only 16 points.

Karen's dress was the start of the downfall of her Tango with Bill Turnbull, as the flamenco styling of the skirt was so long and flouncy, it hid not only her feet, but that of her partner - a cunning plan some thought - but the judges spotted it, and what with the tacky engagement ring prop at the end of the routine, it warranted a score of only 20 points.

Scores for all Tango performances:

*Arlene Phillips judged series one to six, while Alesha Dixon judged series 7 onwards.
**Len Goodman did not judge Series 9 Week 6 and actress Jennifer Grey took his place.