On a recent night, he and his wife welcomed old and new patrons effusively as he led women and men to sit on opposite sides of the dance floor. Mr. Pellozo scoffed at the suggestion that tango has perpetuated gender inequality and enabled abusive men.

“Women know how to earn respect,” he said. “The issue now is that women want to overtake men.”

Mr. Pellozo said that while he respected gay people, the notion that they can partake in tango was blasphemy.

“Being chest to chest is not the same as it is between a man and a woman,” he said.

Having been expelled from Mr. Pellozo’s milonga once for trying to dance with another woman, Ms. Furió is no fan. But she seems to be having the last laugh, drawing larger crowds at La Furiosa.

“We’ve perhaps broadened it into something that is fraternal and not necessarily sensual,” she said.

Still, watching her and her patrons dance under dim red lights while a live band played, it was easy to drift into something approaching a hypnotic state.