The Cabeceo

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Term

Cabeceo

Key facts

Cabeceo is a nonverbal invitation to dance that is accepted with a nod or rejected by looking away.†

In the videos

Moments and chapters of TangoTube's interviews and classes that name it, each opening at its time.

  • 20:41Sums up the codes of the milonga as a social matter, not a tango-specific one, contrasting it with today's ruder street manners; says he still prefers to cabeceo rather than approach a table directly, while accepting that times and social norms have changed.HORACIO GODOY "EL PEBETE"... Tengo una pregunta para vos (por Pepa Palazon) -Video 01/03
  • 36:31Learned the cabeceo after a woman flatly refused an in-person invitation to dance; says the refusal taught him that women 'educate' men in the milonga, and that a beginner who's told yes by everyone never improves.FABIAN PERALTA Tengo una pregunta para vos (por Pepa Palazón) with ENGLISH subtitles.
  • 38:01Negra Margarita and the cabeceoFABIAN PERALTA Tengo una pregunta para vos (por Pepa Palazón) with ENGLISH subtitles.
  • 28:32On returning to social dancing after his 30-year break, found the cabeceo had nearly disappeared and that leaders starting a step backward had become common; considers both changes mistakes."CARLOS PEREZ Y ROSA FORTE TENGO UNA PREGUNTA PARA USTEDES" por Pepa Palazon 1/3
  • 27:27Standing against the wall, and the cabeceo"CARLOS PEREZ Y ROSA FORTE TENGO UNA PREGUNTA PARA USTEDES" por Pepa Palazon 1/3
  • 23:20The old-time floor: benches, the wall and the cabeceo"OSVALDO Y COCA CARTERY... Tengo una pregunta para Ustedes" por Pepa Palazon 1/4
  • 15:11She argues that teachers who take tango abroad should teach milonga floor codes (circulation, cabeceo), not just steps and sequences; she describes an exercise from a class she gave in Fortaleza, Brazil, where she boxed in a group of 8-10 couples with chairs and made them dance while barely advancing, to force floor awareness."MILENA PLEBS... Tengo una pregunta para vos"" por Pepa Palazon 2/3
  • 3:14First danced at a club (heard as 'Villa Saore') at age 17, using a cabeceo on his sister-in-law after a friend suggested she come along so he'd have a partner.EDUARDO PAREJA "PAREJITA"... Tengo una pregunta para vos (por Pepa Palazón) Video 01/03
  • 1:06:20In defense of the cabeceo and the embraceペパ・パラソンの「あなたに質問があります」シリーズ!オラシオ・ペベテ・ゴドイ編Horacio Pebete Godoy(by Pepa Palazon)
  • 1:01:40How the milonga changed: dress code and cabeceoペパ・パラソンの「あなたに質問があります」シリーズ!オラシオ・ペベテ・ゴドイ編Horacio Pebete Godoy(by Pepa Palazon)
  • 1:06:20Extended defense of the cabeceo as a way of valuing the embrace and the womanペパ・パラソンの「あなたに質問があります」シリーズ!オラシオ・ペベテ・ゴドイ編Horacio Pebete Godoy(by Pepa Palazon)
  • 36:43Learned cabeceo by being publicly rejected: after several sets of trying to catch a woman's eye at Almagro, she told him outright she didn't want to dance with him; he calls this how he actually learned what a cabeceo was.Fabian Peralta "У меня к Вам вопрос" с русскими субтитрами от Pepa Palazon

Connected

From TangoTube's videos · our data

Dancers

  • Fabián Peralta
  • Clarisa Aragón
  • Horacio Pebete Godoy
  • Carlos Perez
  • Carlos Copello
  • Mariana Montes
  • Milena Plebs
  • Nito Garcia
  • Eduardo Pareja
  • Osvaldo Cartery
  • Rosa Forte
Data: recordings, facts and sources

Glossary meaning1

Glossary meaning Cabeceo is a nonverbal invitation to dance that is accepted with a nod or rejected by looking away.

Single source

Named for1

Named for The word cabeceo derives from Spanish cabeza, 'head', and refers to the nod.

Single source

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