Tango was first danced in Europe before the World War I, in 36 bars per minute tempo.
Tango
It originates from Buenos Aires (Argentina) where it was first danced in "Barria de Las Ranas", the ghetto of Buenos Aires.
It was then known under the name of "Baile con corte" (dance with a rest). The "dandies" of Buenos Aires changed the dance in two ways. First they changed the so-called "Polka rhythm" into the "Habanere rhythm" and secondly they called it Tango.
From 1900 onwards several amateurs tried to introduce the dance from Argentina into Paris, but without success it was so different from the other dances of the time it was considered somewhat obscene.
Being rather an egzotic dance, a sensuous creation of South nations, Tango initially did not become accepted by the European social establishment.
It was however still danced in the suburban areas and gaining more and more popularity.
Tango's breakthrough came on a dance competition on French Riviera. The dance was so well presented there by a group of its enthusiasts that it gained immediate recognition in Paris and then the rest of Europe.
It was modified to match with European tastes in dancing, and later became the first dance to be codified as a ballroom dance in the 1920s. Additional staccato movements were added in the 1950s to produce the Ballroom Tango as danced today.