ABSTRACT
This chapter is allotted to the history of tango before 2000s and Turkey’s historical affiliation with it to contextualize the contemporary tango. The first part of the chapter presents the origins of tango; the historical characters of Argentina, that form the basis of the contemporary leader and follower dance roles as well as the spread of tango in Europe, which changed tango’s socio-economic class character. The second part of the chapter focuses on Turkey’s historical affiliation with tango dancing and what it culturally symbolized, then. The third part contextualizes Argentine tango in neoliberal times, particularly focusing on how neoliberalism nurtured its resurgence in its contemporary version in Turkey under the leadership of Istanbul especially at a time when the neo-conservative Justice and Development Party started to assume power. The chapter ends with the description of the socio-cultural and political context of Turkey, the global and local social actors (dancers) of tango, ending with an introduction to the setting of the tango dance that connects the book to the next chapter.
