(Continued) Tango Dictionary - letter L-M-N-O

L – tango, dictionary of terms

Lápiz pencil 

Same as Rulo 

Latigazo whipping 

The whipping action of the leg during a boleo.

Lento slow 

In tango, refers to a dance or music that has a slow beat.

Liso smooth 

1. A smooth dance.
2. Tango Liso was the early term for Tango de Salon.

Llevada carrying 

Executed when when the lead uses his thigh or foot to carry the follower's leg to the next step.

Lunfardo

Buenos Aires slang. Many of the words are now used for tango.

Lustrada polish 

An embellishment executed by the follower lifting her free leg and caressing the supporting leg of the lead - either in an upward action, downwards, or very commonly both. The inside or outside of any part of the lead's leg, including his foot, may be caressed.

M – tango, dictionary of terms

Marcar mark 

To lead.

Media Luna half moon 

A half turn - the man creates a back, side, and forward for the women which makes the shape of a half moon.

Media Vuelta half turn 

Same as media luna 

Milonga 

1. The meeting place to dance tango.
2. A fast paced form of the tango with 2/4 beat.

Milonguero 

1. A tango fanatic, a person whose life revolves around tango, a title given to someone who has mastered tango.
2. Another name for Apilado style of tango - see for Apilado

Milonguita

An affectionate name for a woman attending a milonga.

Mina bird 

An informal name in Lunfardo for a woman.

Molinete windmill 

The woman dances around the man side-back-side-forward using forward and backwards ochos.

Mordida bite 

Same as Sandwich 

N – tango, dictionary of terms

Neo-Tango

A new form of the genre, with evolved music, embraces and moves. It consists of Tango Fusion (collaboration between contemporary tango and other music such as electronica) and Alternative Tango (non-tango music danced to Argentine tango steps).

Nuevo new tango 

1. A style of music, invented by Astor Piazzolla around 1955, that combines the sound of traditional tango with jazz.
2. A term coined around the mid 1990s to describe a style of tango dancing infused with new combinations of steps, embraces, combinations, changes of directions, use of the loose embrace, and the exploration of the space between the legs and around the body of the partner.

O – tango, dictionary of terms

Ocho eight 

The basic turn in tango, executed by a turn that is first one way, then reversed, wherein the torso is disassociated from the top of the body. An ocho can be either forward (Ocho Defrente) or backward (Ocho Para Atrás).

Ocho Cortado cut eight 

Performed when the action of the turn is interrupted and reversed. Upon reversal, the leader displaces the follower's space and pivots the follower, who then executes a cruzada (cross). Note that despite the name of this step, generally it is not the ocho that is interrupted but other turns such as the milonete.

Orillero

1. The historical outskirts of Buones Aires.
2. A style of tango synonymous with Canyengue. See Canyengue on this page.

Orquesta orchestra 

In tango, this is the orchestra playing the music. In the Golden Age of tango, the band was often referred to as the

Orquesta Tipica.