Earticle

Argentine tango (tango) is used clinically for therapeutic purposes. Effective tango therapy analyses tango’s unique characteristics according to functional anatomical kinematics for standard tango movements. Many kinds of movement exist in tango, from simple to complicated figures. This article systematically dissects and reviews tango elements that consist of complicated tango figures. One can question the movements from the terms that are used to teach tango movements in the lesson. The article evaluates the therapeutic application of tango elements such as posture and stance, tango gait as a linear movement, holding and tension, ocho, and dissociation as a round movement. It concludes that tango therapy can be performed using tango according to functional anatomical descriptions.

Tango (Argentine tango) is applied clinically for therapeutic purposes. Not only does tango, as a kind of dance, involve complex whole body movements synchronized to music but tango movements seem to be complicated and have many unique postures. For the systemic application of tango therapy, the systemic analysis of tango movements and figures are absolutely necessary. For therapeutic purposes, tango therapy should be prescribed based on a common scientific description. To describe tango movements more scientifically and systemically, a uniform systematic standard terminology should be determined and defined. However, the determination and definition of the terminology for tango should be performed for the research of tango movements. In this article, the unique terminology of Argentine tango is listed and defined according to the original meaning in Spanish as the first step toward for the systemic standardization of tango

Argentine tango (tango) is used clinically for therapeutic purposes. However, tango can be applied just as a dance or as a kind of exercise. The analysis of the unique characteristics of tango stance and posture was analysed according to functional anatomy to obtain more effects by tango therapy. The study was conducted at Tango School (Tango Studio in Seoul, Korea), which is well equipped for tango lessons. Two tango masters and two tango experts (an expert in tango medicine and a medical doctor) participated in the precise analysis and description of tango posture and stance. General descriptions of tango posture were translated into a medical description. The results were obtained through the consensus of all participants. The upper body alignment for the tango posture and the standard methods of the tango stance were deduced. Thereafter, the tango posture was finally determined. In this article, an analysis of the unique characteristics of tango posture and stance is conducted, and the scientific rationale for why tango is beneficial for health even when only the tango posture and stance are used is suggested