[Tango-L] What Does It Take to Dance Tango?

[Caroline Polack]

Hi astrid.

"This is a typical problem of a female beginner of tango. But you will see
that once you have acquired not the steps, but rather the BODY of a tango
dancer...A woman takes it one step at a time, and
once you know how to do that, and have a man who leads clearly and properly,
the rest is easy.
But let me tell you, building up the muscles and tendons of a tango dancer
takes at least a year....That is why technique classes are so important for 
women. ..... In milonga, connection is everything."

Tell me about it! I'm taking an techniques class for women this September - 
I do need stronger muscles and a better sense of axis/balance. But I still 
think there are a few steps I need to pick up - I'm currently at 
Intermediate Level 1 so have a little ways to go yet in terms of tango 
steps.


 >
 > Sometimes people have fun doing more elaborate or complex sequences of
moves
 > and that's their business - if they are going to take it upon themselves
to
 > teach or learn it - why not?

Well, not everyone is a beginner.

Oh, I know but I wasn't talking about beginners. I was assuming the guy who 
brought this subject up was talking about how many steps does it take to 
tango - I'm not sure if he's refering to beginners only.

 >
 > Does one really have to have background in dance in order to be a good
tango
 > dancer? I don't know, I've seen many many good dancers at clubs and other
 > venues who had never taken a class in their life. So, either you've got 
an
 > innate sense for dance and musicality  or you don't despite if you had
 > training or not.

"Tango is not something you can learn from an "innate sense", and I very 
much
doubt that you found "many many good dancers who have never taken a class in
their life" on the tango floor. This is a myth"

I wasn't talking about tango dancers, I was refering to dancers in general 
which is why I mentioned clubs and other venues - but are you sure that one 
does not need an innate sense of dancing movement and musicality to dance 
well? I find there seems to be two classes of tango dancers, those who focus 
on the steps without regard to music and those who focus on dancing to the 
music and that the latter provides a better experience, at least for me 
anyways. Maybe the former hadn't had yet much experience. I don't know, I 
didn't ask them but I do think there's a distinct difference between those 
who dance because they're naturally good at it and those who seem to focus 
more on going from point a to point b without taking actual dancing into 
consideration.

 >
 > Personally, I am going to keep taking classes until I've learned all the
 > moves that leaders tend to do at Milongas.

Yes. And you should also learn the moves that women do at the milongas.
Women have their own moves, you know, and they are often quite different
from the men's, even though they are usually led. But leave the adornos til
the second year, they just get in the way otherwise.

Ok, I will try to take that advice - but it's hard to not want to learn it 
right away since at Milongas, leaders keep trying to get me to do them and 
it's embarrassing when I stand there clueless as to what it is exactly they 
are expecting me to do. For example, when they pivot me on the spot as an 
attempt to get me to kick up my left foot behind me then crossing the same 
left foot over my right knee down to my right foot as I go into a cross - 
know what I mean? That's the kind of leading I keep getting at Milongas and 
I feel like a clod for not doing them. If no one teaches me how and I take 
your advice to wait a year, then I'm doomed to another year of 
self-humiliation at Milongas.

Caroline

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