FAQ
about Dancing Argentine Tango in Dallas, Texas
What Is Argentine Tango?
How Do I Get Started in Learning Argentine Tango?
How Do I Choose a Class or a Private Instructor?
How Long Will It Take to Learn Argentine Tango?
What About Workshops with Visiting Instructors?
Finding and Buying the Right Music
What Is a Milonga? What is a Practica?
How Is the Music Played at a Milonga?
What is the Basic Dance Floor Etiquette at a Milonga?
How Do I Ask for a Dance?
How Do I Say "No" to a Request to Dance?
What If Someone Just Won't Dance with Me?
What If I Don't Want to Dance in a Close Embrace?
How Do I End a Dance?
Courtesy at the Milonga
What about Safety?
What is Argentine Tango?
Argentine tango is a partnered social dance, in which the couple embraces
to dance. It is different from ballroom dancing (including ballroom
tango) in its posture, movement and intent. Unlike ballroom dances,
which tend to be more structured, social tango is improvised, with every
step being a spontaneous discovery in the moment, as the partners focus
on their connections to each other and to the music.
Although Argentine tango is generally confined to "regular" rhythms,
it has an infinite variety of step patterns. Nonetheless, what makes tango
isn't the steps but the manner in which the steps are danced. The
connection between partners is not so much a result of anything in the
dance as it is a requirement to dance successfully. In order to dance
with every step spontaneously improvised, both partners must be paying
full attention to each other.
How Do I Get Started in Learning Argentine Tango?
The way to get started in Argentine tango with the least committment is
to attend a milonga or a practica, but some these events may be intimidating
for those with little experience dancing Argentine tango. A better
way is to contact one of the many teachers offering private instruction
or classes in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. You can learn more about
the local instructors in the Directory
of Dallas Tango Instructors. You can learn more about regularly
scheduled classes by seeing the webpage for Argentine
Tango in Dallas and Fort Worth.
How Do I Choose a Class or a Private Instructor?
Attending a class is an opportunity to see whether an instructor's approach
is suitable for you.
Before taking a private lesson, it is advisable to talk to as many instructors
as possible. Ask them about their approach to teaching.
Ask them for references. Ask dancers whose dancing skills you admire
for their suggestions.
How Long Will It Take to Learn Argentine Tango?
The rate at which people learn Argentine tango varies greatly across individuals.
Achieving a basic competence in dancing tango can take anywhere from several
months to a year of weekly classes or private lessons. After most
people have achieved a basic competency, they find a continued opportunity
to refine and develop their dancing skills. Many people find that
Argentine Tango offers a lifetime of learning, even after formal instruction
has ended.
What About Workshops with Visiting Instructors?
Several local organizers bring in touring instructors for weekend workshops
to supplement the local instruction. Quite often these instructors
are Argentine and highly regarded for their dancing and teaching skills.
Most people find the additional insights offered by visiting instructors
to be valuable. You may want to consult your own instructor or others
in the Dallas tango community for recommendations about whether such instruction
would be valuable in your learning process. You can learn more about
upcoming workshops by seeing the webpage for Argentine
Tango in Dallas and Fort Worth.
Finding and Buying the Right Music
Before you head to the store to buy some tango music to practice, you may
want to consult your instructor or look through the Guides
to Tango Music for Social Dancing on this website. Much of what
is readily available in the stores isn't suitable for dancing Argentine
tango. Much of it is for listening, and some of it is for ballroom
tango.
In Dallas, you may be able to buy a few of the recommended CDs at Barnes
and Noble or Border's. Waterloo Records in Austin is a much better
bet. The best options are online, mail or telephone ordering through
TangoCD.com, Zival's
TangoStore or Juan
Fabbri's The Tango
Catalogue.
What Is a Milonga? What Is a Practica?
A milonga is an Argentine Tango social dance. People come as individuals
or with a partner. The dance music will consist of tango, vals and
milonga. Each is a different dance form within the family of Argentine
tango.
The music is typically played in tandas (sets) with three or four songs
per tanda. By custom, the music within a given tanda will be of the
same genre. Between tandas, there are short interludes of non-tango
music known as cortinas. The cortina is a customary time to change
partners.
A practica is an informal event where one can practice how to dance
at a milonga. The floorcraft and music protocols for practicas are
relaxed. Specifically, it is okay to impede the flow along the line
of dance within reason to work on a particular movement. It is also
okay to stop and discuss what is and isn't working—to the limits your partner
accepts. In addition, the music probably won't be played
in tandas with cortinas.
How Is the Music Played at a Milonga?
Tandas: At many milongas, the deejay plays music in sets (called
tandas) of 3 or 4 songs by the same orchestra from the same period.
Generally, the tandas are played in a repeating cycle of two tandas with
four tangos each, one tanda with three to four valses, two tandas with
four tangos each, and one tanda with three to four milongas. The
cycles may be shortened to or early in the evening by dropping one or two
tandas of tango. Alternative or neotango music may be substituted
for a tanda with the same rhythmic feel. Some deejays include non-tango
dance music, such as salsa or swing, in their rotation. You can turn
the predictability of the cycle to your advantage by planning ahead for
dance partners.
Cortinas: At many milongas, the deejay plays a cortina
between tandas. A cortina is a short piece (about 30 seconds) of
non-tango music that tells the dancers the tanda is over and a new tanda
is about to begin. The next tanda will be a different style of music
and is normally danced with a new partner. The beauty of cortinas
in Buenos Aires is that absolutely everybody thanks their partner and leaves
the dance floor. This means that you can now choose from among everybody
present in the room who you will dance with next, instead of limiting yourself
to whoever is sitting, or by trying to predict (while sitting or dancing)
when your favorite partner will become available for you.
If a crowd isn't familiar with cortinas, they may stand there on the
floor with their partner, looking doubtful about the danceability of what
the deejay just started playing. Worse, they may try to dance to
the cortina. In Buenos Aires, dancing to cortinas will brand you
as a barbarian. Around here, it's just and awkward moment.
What is the Basic Dance Floor Etiquette at a Milonga?
Tango, vals and milonga flow in a counter-clockwise direction around the
room. Dancers should move with the counter-clockwise direction, flow
and spacing of the line of dance. On a crowded floor, it is preferrable
not to pass other couples, not to take steps against the line of dance,
nor to allow a big gap to open up in front of you.
It is customary not to teach or practice on the dance floor during a
milonga (a dance party). Leave the dance floor and teach or practice
elsewhere. Of course, practicas are the ideal place to work on technique.
It is very inappropriate to start critiquing or correcting your dance partner's
technique at a milonga.
Moving onto the dance floor while a song is already underway is like
merging onto the freeway during rush hour; wait for an open space, rather
than forcing your way into the line of dancers.
How Do I Ask for a Dance?
In Argentina, there is a charming, face-saving convention to ask for a
dance (that is used in many other tango communities). The asker makes
eye contact with the person they wish to ask to dance, and raises the eyebrows,
nods a yes with slight downward head movement, and/or makes a subtle head
nod toward the dance floor. The responder answers "yes" by smiling
and nodding back, or "no" by refusing further eye contact. Attempting
to steal an eye contact is poor form.
In the Dallas/Fort Worth area, you also can ask the American way: "Would
you like to dance?"
It's okay for either gender to ask someone for a dance.
Always wait to ask until your potential partner has come off the dance
floor.
How Do I Say "No" to a Request to Dance?
If you refuse to make eye contact, the potential asker may realize that
you do not want to dance. Briefly making and breaking eye contact
also works.
If asked verbally, say "No, thank you," with or without a smile.
You may offer a courteous excuse to soften the refusal. For example:
"I am resting/would rather not dance to this music/want to finish this
conversation."
If you are hoping to dance with this partner some other time, be sure
to say so.
You have the right to refuse to dance, with anyone, at any time (even
if you are already dancing together).
What If Someone Just Won’t Dance with Me?
Certain people will never dance with certain people. Don’t take it
personally or get worked up over it. Nobody has an obligation to
dance with everybody. Dancing Argentine tango is very much a consensual
privilege and not a moral duty. To get more dances with more people,
try introducing yourself, being friendly, saying hello to everybody, and
working hard on your dance skills.
What If I Don't Want to Dance in a Close Embrace?
It is rude to apply physical or verbal pressure to make someone dance in
a close embrace.
Either partner may state a preference for an open or close embrace—either
verabally or by taking the embrace they prefer.
The wishes of the person who wants to use a more open embrace should
be respected.
To avoid potential conflict or embarrassment, a person who asks someone
to dance or accepts an invitation to dance should consider the embrace
and style of dance that their prospective partner is most likely to prefer.
How Do I End a Dance?
To say "thank you" in a polite, reserved manner to your dance partner is
an indirect way of saying, "I want to stop dancing." You may
want to use other phrases of gratitude if you want to keep dancing.
The cortina (the non-dance musical interlude between sets of 3 or 4
songs) is the customary opportunity to change partners in Argentina.
In some communities, dancers may break after only a few songs.
It is appropriate to leave the floor after one song, or even in the
middle of a song, if you are sufficiently uncomfortable with your partner's
dancing or other behavior.
Courtesy at the Milonga
Chatting: Some people like to concentrate on the dancing while
others chatter constantly. If you are one of the former, it’s perfectly
OK to say, "Sorry, I find it hard to talk and concentrate on dancing at
the same time." In general both conversation and dancing improve
when not done simultaneously. You may notice that some of the more
experienced dancers chat between songs and at the beginning of each song
without taking up an embrace. Once they start dancing, they stop
talking.
Interrupting other people while they are dancing: Very
simple. Don't—not even to say hello when you arrive or leave.
If you must acknowledge someone, a quick nod or wave is the maximum.
Imagine how you would feel if you are dancing with someone who is forced
to stop to converse with another.
Personal hygiene: Please use anti-perspirant. Wear
a clean shirt and bring a spare if you tend to get sweaty. If you
attend a class, a practica or a milonga after a long day at work, please
consider swinging by your house or the gym to take a shower and change
clothes. If you use some fragrance, please use it sparingly.
Some people have a problem getting up close and personal to heavy fragrance.
Breath mints or gum are a good thing to use. If you have a cold,
flu, or stomach bug, please stay home and get better before coming back
to dance! Tango is guaranteed to pass your bug to several other people.
Wash your hands or use Purell frequently.
What About Safety?
Everyone's safety is important to the tango community. Go to the
host, teacher, and/or DJ with any social, etiquette or safety concerns,
including sexually inappropriate behavior.
You can ask a friend or the host for an escort to your car.
Be aware of your possessions. Don't take your valuables to tango
events and leave them unattended.
These guidelines are offered with the hope of helping dancers enjoy
their Dallas tango experience. If you have further inquiries, feel
free to Email us.
Adapted by Stephen Brown from several other FAQs.
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