What is Argentine Tango?
Tango is a dance that originated in the late 1800's
to early 1900's in and around Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay
area of South America and is also a type of music.
It is also a social dance and is not the same thing as Ballroom Tango. Argentine
tango does not relay on patterns or "levels" of dancing. There is no basic step
and the couple relies on partner connection and awareness of each other to
improvise and express the music.
Where do you teach classes?
We primarily teach classes in Austin and Georgetown, Texas but have taught in
Temple, TX as well as the Rio Grande Valley. The current venues that we
teach can be found on the
class locations page.
I've seen this on TV and the movies. Is this the type of dancing we will
learn?
A lot of what you see on TV and the movies is an adapted dramatization
that isn't really what is danced socially. We teach social style Argentine
tango. In most tango dance parties (called milongas) there isn't a lot of room
for most of the fancy movements you may have seen on TV but the basic ideas of
how to connect and move will prepare you if you want to eventually learn more
acrobatic steps.
I've taken "x amount" of tango before. Where should I start in
your classes?
Our recommendation is to make sure you are
familiar with what we cover in the Introductory courses for this style of tango.
You can have a look at the syllabus
page to see if everything looks familiar. If you can improvise with a partner
with concepts listed there, then it's ok to move on, otherwise please start at
the beginning or contact us. The
basic movements we teach are also used in the Intermediate classes and you need
to know them. Some of the concepts and movements may not have been taught in our
local area before and so you may not know them even if you have learned some
tango elsewhere. This is why we suggest the Intro classes as the place to start.
Do I need a partner for class?
Not at all! You can come on your own and make friends in class, or come with
friends and make more friends!
I came with a partner, will I need to rotate partners during classes?
Yes. Tango is a social dance and to make us better dancers, we change
partners in class.
I can't come every week. Do you have a drop in rate?
Although we think it is more beneficial to try to
be at all the classes, we do have a drop in rate. The drop in rate depend on the
length of the class set and amount of time we teach the day of class.
Please check the class schedule
for current information.
I need practice music. Where can I get some?
The website
Todo
Tango is a great resource for discovering Argentine tango artists.
We tend to use a lot of Canaro, Di Sarli and D'Arienzo in the Intro classes.
See our play list page for
direct links to recommended CDs that you can purchase from Amazon.
Try to stay away from Piazolla or Pugliese at the beginning. It's quite
complicated for dancing though pleasant to listen to.
How long does it take before I can go out and dance?
Everyone learns at their own pace and some people
are fine with jumping right in and going out to the milongas, while others
prefer to wait awhile to "get their feet wet". There's no rules about how and
when but we think the sooner you get out and start dancing somehow and
somewhere, the sooner the things you learn will get in to "muscle memory" and
make further learning easier. Attending practicas are also a good way to get in
some dance miles. The setting is more relaxed and informal than a milonga and
makes a good starting point for most people.
Where can I dance tango?
There are many opportunities for dancing tango. The great part is that
once you learn some basics, you can go to many places in the world to dance
tango with people. But in the local area, you might check the
local event calendar for weekly information for practice dances
(practicas) and milongas (social dances).
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