3788  A note on the history of close embrace

Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2005 08:16:17 -0600
From: Bruno Romero <romerob@TELUSPLANET.NET>
Subject: A note on the history of close embrace

My 2 cents on the close embrace:

The oldest close embrace dance I have read about is what historians such as
Gobello describe as tango orillero or compadrito. In the small porteņo
(criollo) theatre the tango orillero is described as spectacular or highly
visible dance where the man literally brings the woman to his hip and moves
along the compas of the music to perform turns and quebradas, and where the
woman rests her head on the man's chest. I guess that the turns described in
this style if done in close embrace require special technique of turning
without stepping outside the woman to avoid breaking the embrace. The tango
orillero described in the small porteņo theatre is used as a courtship dance
to impress the woman.

Regards,

Bruno