Though Swarthmore students are notorious for their academic achievements and busy semesters, some still find time to dedicate themselves to extracurriculars. Elijah Santos ’26 is one of them, spending many evenings and weekends leading SwaTango, Swarthmore’s tango club. Before attending Swarthmore, he would not have considered himself a mover, let alone a tango dancer. At the beginning of his first semester, a friend encouraged him to join a club trip to Philadelphia — and that’s how he began his journey towards a love for Latin dance. Sitting down with him, I wanted to learn more about what makes SwaTango spin.
There are a few Latin dance clubs on campus, including SwaTango and Salsa con Sabor. Though both dance styles share a leader-follower style movement, the two are quite different. Salsa focuses on the speed at which you move, and tango on detailed stepwork. When mastered, they are enchanting to watch.
Santos also emphasized the value of the movement in practice, aside from the performance. “It’s all about spatial and body awareness. You learn where to put your weight as a leader, where you are putting the follower’s weight or moving with the leader. It’s about walking together.” Tango is a fascinating and rewarding dance because it builds from the simplicity of walking into elaborate partnerwork.
“More than anything, what I like most about Latin dance is the experimentation,” Santos said. “Even though you might learn it a [specific way], you can mix things up as you go.” In other words, it’s not just movement, it’s music, communication, and community. SwaTango often leaves campus to attend “milongas” in the Philadelphia area — a social dance that originated in Argentina. Santos noted that the attendance is mostly older people, which makes him concerned about younger generations letting the tradition fade away.
“I want it to be like how it was when I was a [first year],” Santos said. “People used to come every week, bringing their friends with them to lessons, making it feel like the students really owned the club.” The challenge in the foreseeable future is passing on the club’s leadership and bringing back high attendance to lessons and dances. “My hope for the future is that it will be lively again,” he continued. “People should not feel like they’re forced to go, but rather wanting to go because they’re passionate about it.”
Santos believes there are many reasons students may be hesitant to try tango. It requires a lot of effort, especially in comparison to more “intuitive” dances like salsa or bachata. While tango relies on complex footwork and intense partnership, salsa has more approachable steps meant for fun, social settings. For Santos, tango is all that and more.
“We want to show Swarthmore students what this dance is,” Santos said. “Tango is fun, tango is experimentation, tango is creativity, tango is even physics! Think about it — where are you putting your weight? How are you spinning your partner? How are you walking from one place to another? How are you calculating and counting each step?”
As a beginner-friendly group, with whatever prospective or skilled students approach dance, tango allows them the chance to discover their rhythm. Offered as a physical education credit alternative, SwaTango meets every Wednesday night from 7 to 8 p.m. “New content every single week which makes it fun because [lessons] get to build on each other,” Santos said. Although he says it will “be a bit of a challenge for newcomers,” especially if they join midway through the semester, he promises it will still be enjoyable. Additionally, SwaTango is hosting a Milonga on Dec. 11 from 8:30-11 p.m., so come learn a couple of steps and show off your moves!
