• Marchas (Marches) - Key Pattern 5 in Bronze Milonga.

• Marcadito (Marked) - A variation of Subibaja in Gold Milonga.

• Marcar (also Marca) - From Marque; to plot a course; guide: To lead. La marca is the lead. See Caminada, Caminar, Contra Body Movement, Contra Body Movement Position, Corridata, Cross System, Elevadas,Entregarme, Giro, Junta, Lento, Liso, Mira, Otra Vez, Parallel System, Paso, Pisar, Puente, Seguirv and Suave.

• Marinero/Barajada (Sailor/Shuffle) - A variation of Contrapunto in Gold Milonga. A quick paced shuffle that starts on the resolution step with a quick back right step and an amague left/right to a side step brush.

• Mariposa (Butterfly)

• Mass – Scientific Term Applied to Dance. One (of two) of the most fundamentals properties of our universe (energy is the other). Roughly, the mass of an object is a measure of the number of atoms in the object. These atoms, and hence mass, are affected by gravitational fields. For a dancer dancing on the surface of the earth, our earth’s gravity acts on our mass to create weight. For the common dancer, sometimes it’s best just to think of mass as weight unless you are dancing on the moon (where as 100 pound person would be just 16 pounds). See Axis, Centripetal Force, Centrifugal Force, Energy, Lead/Follow, Mass, Momentum (Angular) and Momentum (Linear).

• Media Luna (Half Moon) - A variation of Giro Básico in Bronze Tango. A sweeping circular motion of the leg similar to a ronde, but always danced in contact with the floor, never lofted. Usually danced by the woman and often led with a sacada to the woman’s leg. May be used to bring the woman to an inside gancho.

• Media Vuelta (Half Turn) - Key Pattern 6 in Bronze Pecho and a variation of Contra Giro Básico in Bronze Tango. Usually done when the man’s right foot and the woman’s left foot are free. The man steps forward outside right (3 of 8-count basic), leading the woman to step back left and collect, then side right across his center, and forward left around him as he shifts weight first to his center, then onto his right foot as he then pivots on both feet ½ turn with his partner, the woman pivoting on her left foot. Media Vuelta is used by itself to change direction or maneuver on the dance floor and as an entrance to many combinations.

• Medio Corte (Half Cut) - From of a Pause in Bronze Tango.

• Medio Corte Cruzado (Half Crosscut) - A variation of Rebotes in Gold Pecho.

• Medio Galope (Canter) - A variation of Vuelta Abierta in Silver Vals.

• Medio Giro Cruzado (Half Cross Rotation) - A variation of Media Vuelta in Gold Pecho.

• Milonga - May refer to 1.) the music, written in 2/4 time and generally above 100 beats per minute, 2.) to the dance which preceded the tango, 3.) to the dance Tango where people go to dance tango, or 4.) to a tango dance and party. See Confitería Bailable, Bailongo, Bailar, Ronda, Práctica, Orquesta, Piso, Pista, Bandoneón, Parejas, Abrazo, Pinta, Postura, Bien Parado, Códigos, Cortina, Bailamos, Tanda, and Cabeceó.

• Milonguero Dips - Another term for Ocho Cortado.

• Milonguero (feminine; Milonguera) - Refers to those frequenting the milongas from the early 1900s to the present who were or are tango fanatics. A person whose life revolves around dancing tango and the philosophy of tango. A title given by other tango dancers to a man (woman) who has mastered the tango dance and embodies the essence of tango. See Tanguero, Lunfardo, Milonguita, Bailarín, Aficionado, Compadre, Vareador, Compadrito, Grelas, Guapo, Portranca, Mina, Paicas, Pebeta, and Planchadoras.

• Milonguita - Questionably, an affectionate diminutive for the milonga. Milonguita is also a name used for the young girls brought from eastern Europe and France (Madame Yvonne) with the promise to marry a rich Argentinean, or the poor girls from the Conventillos, all of whom ended up as a hostess’ or prostitutes in the tango bars. See Tanguero, Lunfardo, Milonguera, Bailarín, Aficionado, Compadre, Vareador, Compadrito, Grelas, Guapo, Portranca, Mina, Paicas, Pebeta, and Planchadoras.

• Mina - A lunfardo word for woman. See Tanguero, Lunfardo, Milonguera, Milonguita, Bailarín, Aficionado, Compadre, Vareador, Compadrito, Grelas, Guapo, Portranca, Paicas, Pebeta, and Planchadoras.

• Mira - From mirar - to look; see; observe; take notice: Mira! Look at this. Observe. See Caminada, Caminar, Contra Body Movement, Contra Body Movement Position, Corridata, Cross System, Elevadas,Giro, Junta, Lento, Liso, Marcar, Otra Vez, Parallel System, Paso, Puente, Seguirv and Suave.

• Molinetes (Windmill, Wheel or Whirligigs) - Key Pattern 7 in Bronze Tango and Key Pattern 7 in Bronze Vals. A figure in which the woman dances a grapevine on a circumference around the man, stepping side-back-side-forward using forward and back ocho technique and footwork, as the man pivots at the center of the figure. This is a very common figure in tango which challenges both the man and the woman to maintain good posture, balance, and technique in order to perform it well. One of the central codes of tango. Many Variations: Right or Left Turning, Varied Length (2-9 steps), Mirrored, Linear (straight, not circuling), in and out of Parallel and Crossed System. See Giro Basico, Contra Giro Basico.

• Molinillo (Pinwheel) - Key Pattern 10 in Gold Vals.

• Momentum (Angular) – Scientific Term Applied to Dance. For the layman, angular momentum is the strength or force of a spinning body. Scientifically, angular momentum is defined as the product of the moment of inertia and the angular velocity of the spinning physical object, where moment of inertia is a quantity expressing a object's tendency to resist angular acceleration, and is the sum of the products of the mass of each particle in the object with the square of its distance from the axis of rotation. In dance, angular momentum is often applied to the man and woman’s spinning movements. As the man or woman dances, they rotate, and thus have angular momentum. If the woman is spinning, the man must communicate with her to either maintain, increase, or decrease the rotation (see Lead/Follow). Angular momentum is generated when the body spins around a single axis, generally the standing leg. A force is used to start and stop the spinning, either the other legs in contact with the ground or momentum carried from a previous move. Notice a dancing couple can have both Angular Momentum and Linear Momentum if the couple is both spinning and moving. See Axis, Centripetal Force, Centrifugal Force, Energy, Lead/Follow, Mass and Momentum (Linear).

• Momentum (Linear) – Scientific Term Applied to Dance. For the layman, momentum is the strength or force that a body has when it is moving in a linear (straight) fashion. Scientifically, momentum of a physical object is the product of its speed and mass. In dance, momentum is often applied to the woman’s movement. As the woman dances, she is moving in a certain direction and speed, and thus has linear momentum in a certain direction. The man must communicate with her to either maintain the direction and speed, or change to a new direction and a new speed. Notice a couple can have both Angular Momentum and Linear Momentum if the dancing couple is both spinning and moving. See Axis, Centripetal Force, Centrifugal Force, Energy, Lead/Follow, Mass and Momentum (Angular).

• Mordida (To Bite) and a Pause in Bronze Tango. One partner’s foot is sandwiched or trapped between the other partner’s feet. Sometimes called Sandwiche or Sanguchito.

• Mordida Alta (High Bite) - A variation of Mordida in which a dancer catches a partners knee between both of their own. Inside of a Tango Gold 3B, Contra Enradadas.

• Music - A thorough understanding of music is critical to a good dancer and musicality. A very good series to watch on music is Howard Goodall’s videos on “How Music Works” (http://www.infocobuild.com/books-and-films/art/how-music-works.html). He discusses melody, rhythm, harmony and bass in four videos of about three hours total. The rhythm video includes an intriguing discussion on syncopation.

• Musicality - Dance musicality is how dancers hear, interpret, and dance to music. Dance music can be thought of as comprising four elements: beat (compás), rhythm, melody, and lyrics. Lyrics are optional, although there are always feelings. The first step in developing our listening faculty is to learn to listen to these four elements. These form four listening skills, which for the dancer will map to four dancing skills —the skills of dancing to the beat, to the rhythm, to the melody, and to the lyrics. (From “Tango Sources: Musical Secrets”). Dancers can demonstrate dance musicality in several ways - which sounds they choose to dance to, how they highlight the sounds, how they emote the mood of the song, and how they improvisationally choreograph their figures. The dancer must understand the Beat Value, or Time Value, of each figure, so he can combine figures to fit in a phrase. Notice that at the end of each phrase, the song ends for that phrase, and all good dancers on the floor end their dancing for that phrase. See Beat, Compás, Improvisational, Lead, Legato, Musicality, Ostinato, Phrase, Ritmo, Rubato, Staccato and Syncopation. A very good discussion on argentine dance musicality is: http://www.todotango.com/english/history/chronicle/448/Listening-to-tango-dance-music-A-beginners-guide/

• Music - Argentine Tango - Argentine tango music is much more varied than ballroom tango music. A large amount of tango music has been composed by a variety of different orchestras over the last century. Not only is there a large volume of music, there is a breadth of stylistic differences between these orchestras as well, which makes it easier for Argentine tango dancers to spend the whole night dancing only Argentine tango. The four representative schools of the Argentine tango music are Di Sarli, d'Arienzo, Troilo and Pugliese, all four descendent from Italian immigrant families. It has a clear, repetitive pulse or beat, a strong tango-rhythm which is based on the 2x4, 2 strong beats on 4 (dos por cuatro). While Argentine tango dancing has historically been danced to tango music, in the '90s a younger generation of tango dancers began dancing tango steps to alternatives to tango music; music from other genres like, "world music", "electro-tango", "experimental rock", "trip hop", and "blues", to name a few. Tango nuevo dance is often associated with alternative music, but it can be danced to tango as well. Tango music and dance have become popular throughout the world and its lyrics are marked by nostalgia, sadness, and laments for lost love. Tango music is about 80-160 BPM, and Tango Nuveo is about 40-160 BPM. See “Tango Music” and “Argentine Tango” in Wikipedia.

• Music - Milonga - Milonga music has a rich history of development over the last 150 years, and continues to develop even today. Although both the milonga and the tango are in time of 2/4 or 4/4, the 8 musical notes of the milonga are often distributed in 3 + 3 + 2 whereas the tango has a more "square" rhythm. The lyrics of the milonga are often picaresque. The music and lyrics are happy. Milonga music is very fast: 120-240 BPM, and hence the milonga dance figures tend to be less complicated when compared to tango (such as an open woman’s cross, not closed). Refer to the Spanish Wikipedia under Milonga (Music), and also to http://www.todotango.com/english/history/chronicle/448/Listening-to-tango-dance-music-A-beginners-guide/.

• Music - Vals - Vals music has a rich history developing along side the traditional ballroom Waltz. Vals music is very fast and is a similar to a Viennese Waltz tempo,150-240 BPM, ¾ time and 16 bar phrases. But unlike the Vienenese Waltz where the dancer is stepping on each beat, Vals dancers generally only step on the first beat, sometimes the first/second or first third. The music is fluidity and joyful.
Refer to http://www.todotango.com/english/history/chronicle/268/The-vals-criollo/
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