tango

Dance for couples, the music for which was developed in Argentina during the early 20th century. The dance consists of two long steps followed by two short steps then one long step, using stylized body positions. The music is in moderately slow duple time (2/4) and employs syncopated rhythms. Similar to the habanera, from which it evolved, the tango consists of two balanced sections, the second usually in the dominant key or the relative minor of the first section. William Walton uses a tango in his suite Facade (1923).