"The tango is a direct expression of something that poets have often tried to state in words: the belief that a fight may be a celebration. "

- Jorge Luis Borges

Tango clubs in London, Istanbul, Hong Kong and Canberra? Summer tango festivals attended by hundreds of thousands of people in Finland, Toronto and Berlin? A strong tango sub-culture in Japan and South Africa? People who think tango is synonymous with Argentina may be surprised by the strong international appeal of tango. But it's really not surprising considering tango's multicultural antecedents.

The word tango was actually first used in the Americas to denote a gathering of the black population for social purposes including dance. In a recent Washington Post article on the Afro-Argentine population of Argentina, Mirium Gomes, a professor at the University of Buenos Aires, said that the first paintings of people dancing the tango are of people of African descent. Tango evolved from its African roots through the incorporation of other dance forms such as the French contredanse, and the Cuban habenera.

By the late 18th century, a distinct dance had developed in Argentina, which incorporated the inventions of the Afro-Argentines: the corte and quebrada. The corte refers to a sudden stop in the general walk of the dance. During this stop the dancers would perform movements with their legs. The quebrada was an undulation of the hips, which gave the new dance its erotic character. A new dance, known as milonga, evolved based on the rhythmic patterns of the African candombe, the Cuban habanera, together with the European polka and the mazurka.

Before long, this new dance had been taken up by the new European immigrants, and the tango, as we now know it, was born.

In Washington, you can tango every night of the week at the dozens of tango venues in the city. Here are some of them.

A Taste of Buenos Aires

A guide to tango hot spots

Agua Ardiente Restaurante

1250 24th St. (between M and N), WDC.

Alliance Dance Institute

816 N. Saint Asaph St,

Alexandria, VA.

703.548.8440

American Dance Institute

1570 E. Jefferson St,

Rockville, MD.

www.BallroomDanceCompany.org

Ascot Restaurant

1708 L St NW, WDC, 202.296.7640.

Ample parking nearby; 1 block from Farragut North Metro. www.ascot-restaurant.com

Bally Total Fitness

2000 L Street NW,

Washington, DC 20036

202.399.2100

Bethesda Dance Studio

4900 Hampden Lane, Bethesda, MD. Park @ the mall

next to studio. No parking in front of studio, but free parking @ library on Arlington Rd. & on Elm St. No heels w/ metal/nails or brads.

http://bailatango.com/dc/directions.html

Casa Italiana Cultural Center

595 Third St., NW, WDC 20001. 202-638-1348

Chevy Chase Ballroom & DanceSport Center

5207 Wisconsin Ave.,

Chevy Chase, MD.

Isidoro & Viviana Levinson, 301.664.9690,

www.vivianatango.com

CocoCabana Grill

2031A University Blvd, Langley Park, MD, at Riggs Road &

University Blvd (MD 193).

Behind Checkers Rest.

301-431-1882,

www.cococabanagrill.com

Classes & MILONGA. Int. class 7:30pm & Beg. 8:30pm with Leon, Ali, Ruth. MILONGA 9pm-midnight, $10. DJ Mark Sakowski. Details: Leon Harris 202.638.3589.

Dance Studio Lioudmila

18 Roth Rd., Alexandria, VA;

703-751-8868,

www.dancelioudmila.com/images/calendar.htm,

dancestudiolioudmila@hotmail.com

“Dance With Me” Ballroom Dance Studio

251 Sunset Park Dr., Sunset

Business Park, Herndon/Reston, Virginia 20170;

tcarlo@dancewithme.net, 703.444.3061 www.dancewithme.net

DC Dance Collective

4908 Wisconsin Ave NW, WDC..

Viviana, 301.890.4869,

www.vivianatango.com

DC Jewish Community Center

1529 16th St NW, WDC 20036.

Josh Ford. 202.777.3249, josh@dcjcc.org

Divino Lounge

7345-B Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, MD. 240.497.0300.

Parking in municipal garage on Montgomery Ave

(free on Fri. and Sat. only). Carlos DiLaudo,

cdilaudo@hotmail.com or www.divinolounge.com

Du-Shor Dance Studio

7800 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda, MD. 301.656.7434.

www.dcdancenet.com/dushorstudio/index.html

Embassy of Argentina

1600 New Hampshire Ave NW, WDC. (New Hampshire

Ave. NW & 18th Street NW close to Dupont Circle).

Frascati Ristorante Italiano

4806 Rugby Lane Ave.,

Bethesda, MD.

301.652.1492

Gardel's Supper Club

29 South Front St., Baltimore, MD. 410.837.3737,

info@gardels.com

www.gardels.com

Glen Echo Park, Spanish Ballroom

7300 MacArthur Blvd.,

Glen Echo, MD.

20812 No a/c or heat.

GW's Lisner Auditorium

730 21st St. NW, WDC.

George Washington Univ.,

Dorothy Betts Marvin Center

800 21st St. NW, WDC.

Isidoro & Viviana Levinson Studio

7405 Arlington Rd., Bethesda, MD.

301.664.9690.

John F. Kennedy Center for the

Performing Arts

2700 F St NW, WDC.

202.467.4600.

Joy of Dance Studio

3253 Creek Wood Court, Falls Church, VA.

202.438.6933 www.joyofdancestudio.com

Joy of Motion Dance Center, Dupont Circle

1643 Connecticut Ave NW, WDC.

202.387.0911, www.joyofmotion.org/

Joy of Motion Dance Studio

7702 Woodmont Ave, Suite 202, Bethesda, MD.

301.986.0016. From Rt. 495: take Old Georgetown Rd exit to Bethesda. Left on Woodmont. 1/2 block to public parking on left. Thru double doors on top floor across from elevator.

K2 Dance Studio

Sunrise Plaza, 10800 E. Rhode Island Ave, Beltsville,

MD. www.k2swings.com or email: info@k2swings.com or phone 301.937.7076. From I495 take Route 1 north (exit 25) toward Laurel. At 6th^ light, turn Left onto R.I. Ave. About 1/4 mile on left across from Post Office

in Sunrise Plaza. OR from Balto., Take I95 south toward DC. Take Exit 29A for Beltsville. Make Right at 2nd light onto R.I. Ave. About ®ˆ mile on Right, across from Post Office.

Latin Dancer

1863 Griffith Rd., Falls Church VA. 703.734.0004.

Humberto/Suzana Lizarraga. Inside triangle formed by Leesburg Pike, Rt. 267 & I-495.

Leon Harris' Home (La Casa de Baile)

1250 New Jersey Ave NW, WDC.

202.638.3589, tangowdc@erols.com

Classes, Beg. 3-4:30pm; Int. 4:30-6pm; Adv.

6-7:30pm. $10/class. Practica follows.

Details: Leon Harris.

Lyon Village Community House

1920 N. Highland St.,

Arlington, VA.

Corner N. Highland & Lee Hwy. House with cupola, next to tennis courts. block east of Lee Hwy - Spout Run Pkwy intersection. Clarendon Metro. www.le-tango.com

Market 5 Gallery (North Hall of historic Eastern Market on Capitol Hill)

7th & N. Carolina Ave SE, WDC. Eastern Market Metro: Exit the Metro & cross Pennsylvania Avenue. Walk two blocks north on 7th St SE. Cross C St. & it is at end of long brick market on the left. Free parking outside the door.

Meze Restaurant & Lounge

2437 18th St.

(one block south of Columbia

Road), WDC 202.797.0017

Nevzer Stacey's Studio

3917 Ingomar St. NW, WDC. Directions:

www.BailaTango.com/dc/directions/html

NW Sport and Health Club

4001 Brandywine St. NW, WDC 20016

Potomac Swing Dance Club

146 Maple Avenue, Vienna, VA. 703-255-0800.

From Rte 66 take Nutley Rd exit NORTH to Vienna. At 4th light go RIGHT onto Maple Ave (Rte 123). At 3rd light, Potomac Swing Dance Club is in small strip mall on left. Entry on side of building. Craig Hutchinson,

703.698.9811.

Rumba Cafe

2443 18th St NW (near Columbia Road), WDC,

202.588.5501

Silver Spring Studio

1703 Highland Dr, Silver Spring, MD,

301.565.7888, tango@wbtango.com

Tutto Bene Restaurant

501 N. Randolph St, Arlington, VA. 703.522.1005.

2 blocks from I -66, at Randolph St. & Glebe Road,

corner of Ballston Mall. Reserved free parking rear of building.

Tyson's Corner Sport & Health Club

8209 Watson Street, McLean, VA.

703.288.1188. Beltway to VA Route 123 West to Vienna. Left at 2nd light onto International Drive. At 1st light, right onto Fletcher (changes to Watson).

Last building on left.

Vic Daumit Dance Studios

3333 Connecticut Ave NW, WDC. Corner of Macomb

& Connecticut, 2nd Floor (1 block from Cleveland Park Metro, across from Uptown Theater)

Virginia Ballroom DanceSport

8442 Lee Highway, Suite A, Fairfax, VA.

Main Office, 301.294.1797,

www.BallroomDanceCompany.org

World Bank

18th & Penn. Ave. NW, WDC.

Carlos Gutierrez,

202.360.8157, tangocarlos@yahoo.com

Compiled by Jean-Keith Fagon from

information distributed by The Capital Tangueros for the Greater Washington, DC area. For additional information on any of these events, contact the organizer of the event directly. To visit your group on the web, go to: groups.yahoo.com/group/Capital_Tangueros/.