Argentine Tango in Chicago

AMERICAN TANGO INSTITUTE

Milonga Etiquette

The milongas of Buenos Aires have developed strict codes of etiquette for dancers – only men ask for a dance, with eye contact and a nod of the head. We do not adhere to that in Chicago.
Good floor navigation is imperative. Always respect the line of dance, moving counter-clockwise around the dance floor.
When dance floor is crowded, you may need to limit your boleos, sacadas or other big movements, to avoid injury to yourself or others.
Do not cut across a crowded dance floor, walk around perimeter.
Do not stop and teach your partner a step in the middle of a song at a milonga. Save that for a practica or move to our practice section.
At our milongas, women can feel free to invite men to dance; we do not hold to the strict Buenos Aires code that only men can ask. We also have a couple of ladies’ choice tandas during milongas to make the asking easier.
It is customary to dance an entire tanda (3 songs) with one partner, then say thank you at the end of a tanda and change partners.
Thanking someone at the end of one dance is considered a sign of ending the dance. Ladies, if you enjoyed the dance, don’t thank your partner until the end of the tanda.