Paul,
Let’s start with a few questions:
Why are you interested in learning to dance tango?
Do you listen to tango music when you are in Buenos Aires?
Do you have friends who dance tango?
Have you ever been to a tango show or a milonga?
Have you learned any other social dances?
Before you learn to dance, you need to know the music.
Janis
Hi Janis – Thanks for your reply to my note. Those are all good questions. I’m interested in learning simply because it’s a lovely part of life here, and it would be fun to be able to go to milongas and to participate in a relaxed way from time to time. Yes, I have a few friends here who dance tango, but not many because I don’t know many people here. I’ve been to a few tango shows, and a friend who is a keener took my daughter and I to a milonga at Bar Los Laurels in Barracas last May. I enjoyed that. I have listened to quite a bit of tango music but not in any systematic way. I know that there are lots of schools and that I can easily take lessons. I’m a little leery of the tango tourism scene, however, because it seems a bit impersonal and possibly a bit soulless. People working within mass tourism can become jaded. So I wonder if there’s another way for me to step into it? Paul
Paul,
Would you be willing to commit to going to a milonga (that I will recommend) once a week for three hours just to observe? That would be a good start before you take your first step on the dance floor.
Where do you live? Can you converse in Spanish?
Janis
Hi Janis – Thanks for an intriguing suggestion. I’d happily go to a Milonga if you have one to suggest. I’m not sure I would stay for 3 hours if I’m alone and not dancing, though. But if it’s lively and interesting, I likely would. My apartment is on the edge of San Telmo in Baracas, but I bike around and take the metro and buses and taxis all over the city so would happily check out a milonga anywhere. I can get by in very basic Spanish in part because I speak French. I have a fairly busy work schedule and will be fitting Spanish lessons into it in the new year, while also becoming a tango star. Let me know what you suggest. Thanks again, Paul
Paul,
You’ve given me a good idea of your schedule. It sounds like you should postpone the tango dancing on top of a work schedule and Spanish lessons. That’s my suggestion. Learning all the orchestras and listening to recordings for hours each day is a commitment that I demand as a tango teacher. I give free private classes to tourists who have some experience and want to improve for the milongas here.
I suggested visiting a milonga to see what you’re getting into. If you are really serious about dancing, then you have to commit to listening, watching, reading, and learning.
Here are some options for starting your research.
My blog Tango Chamuyo and my YouTube channel Jantango.
This investigation will help you decide if you are ready for a commitment to tango, because that is what it requires. I know. I left Chicago to live in Buenos Aires in 1999.
Janis
Hi Janis – Happy new year! Thanks a lot for your thoughtful and very informative note. I appreciate your rigour and seriousness. I’ve been talking with a few people about how to approach it, and I think I may have found someone to teach me who takes a less intensive approach. She is an tango experienced but non-professional dancer who teaches art in an elementary school and says she will give me lessons. My aim is just to be able to go to a milonga from time to time and participate casually in a relaxed, admittedly amateurish, way rather like a lot of local guys here seem to do. Once again thanks for all your kind and thoughtful insights. Paul
His observations are not unusual for someone who has never danced tango. He assumes he can just show up and dance, without first “paying his dues.” He will learn step patterns from the art teacher. That’s fine. He will have an awakening when he visits a milonga. If you don’t practice tennis along with the rules of the game, you won’t find anyone who will want meet you on the court. It’s the same with tango.