| Starting Tango | | | | devoted to tango. |
| The wonderful thing about tango is that it is a ready | | | | - Private lessons: only the minority of people do this |
| made hobby and social life all rolled into one, with | | | | (usually the 'hard core' tango addicts), as it is obviously |
| minimal expenses. Anyone who has been dancing for | | | | much more expensive than group lessons. However |
| a while will tell you that is a most wonderful past time. | | | | the upside is that your many (many) little dancing flaws, |
| | | | which are very difficult to correct on group lessons |
| Dancing Partners | | | | because it is not personal, can be easily fixed before |
| The most basic question beginners ask is of course | | | | they become entrenched. Furthermore with the right |
| whether they need a dancing partner, which can be a | | | | teacher you can progress much quicker. |
| most difficult if not impossible thing to get. the answer, | | | | - Practicas: a 'practica' is the name of a social tango |
| fortunately, is a definite no. In fact the vast majority of | | | | dance night which is specifically used for learning. |
| dancers, perhaps 80-90%, start tango, and come to | | | | There you dance with other people, but may ask |
| social tango dances (called 'milongas' - we will get into | | | | questions and try new things, which is generally |
| that a bit later) without partners. So feel completely | | | | strongly discouraged at formal tango dances. You can |
| comfortable on that area. | | | | find practicas in your local area via Google. |
| The Gear | | | | Dancing |
| The only gear that is needed - by both men and | | | | Formal tango dances are called 'milongas'. These are |
| women - is a good set of tango shoes, which are | | | | pretty much exactly what you would expect. The |
| different that normal shoes in various ways. To find | | | | ladies and gents dress up (ladies probably more so |
| out a store that sells these do a search for 'dance | | | | than the men) and go for a night of bliss. The way it |
| shoes name-of-your-local-area' in Google, and call | | | | works is that women sit around the room, and men |
| them first to ask if they have tango shoes. | | | | ask them to dance. Some interesting points: |
| When starting, men should actually use ballroom shoes | | | | - Dances are done in a 'tanda' which is a group of 3, 4 |
| rather than tango shoes, as they are lower and more | | | | or 5 dances, with a break between them (allowing the |
| comfortable. Women should use true tango shoes, but | | | | man and woman to gracefully complete dancing after |
| beginners should not have heels that are too high. | | | | a few songs) |
| These shoes can be expensive, so dance a few | | | | - Men lead and women follow (which you learn in |
| weeks with normal shoes to ensure you want to | | | | classes) |
| continue. | | | | - Dancing is done anti-clockwise around the room |
| Learning | | | | - Generally talking is not done during a dance (though |
| There are three ways to learn: | | | | of course tango dancing is an incredible social time, |
| - Group lessons: most beginners start in group lessons, | | | | where people meet others, and lots of interesting |
| and again the vast majority turn up without a partner. | | | | chats occur) |
| The cost will generally be about $15 for an hour of | | | | In Summary |
| learning, each week. This is an excellent way to start | | | | Tango is a wonderful, lovely, fun-filled hobby. At first it |
| tango in a very inexpensive and fun manner. To find | | | | is quite difficult, so do not be discouraged, as it takes a |
| out where classes are, do a search for 'tango classes | | | | few months (more so for a man) to get even to a |
| name-of-your-local-area' in Google. Note that it is | | | | level where you are not doing basic mistakes. Persist! |
| usually a good idea to learn at studios that are entirely | | | | Once you are dancing competently, it is wonderful! |
