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tango etiquette

Coming Soon!

We've had many recent requests for a summary of basic social dance etiquette.  While I've slipped in many etiquette concerns in the topics below, the soon-to-come link above will provide them all in a much less... verbose format.  



frequently asked questions (FAQ)

what is this tango you speak of!

There are so many wonderful elements to Argentine tango...  I have found that the learning process goes beyond the actual dance and weaves itself around multiple cultures, from the historical Argentine culture that gave birth and rise to tango, to today's modern Argentine culture that continues to influence the dance, and now to a World culture that has embraced tango and infused it with each of its region's uniquely individual flavors.

As a hobbyist, albeit an obsessive one, I am by no means an expert or even an amateur expert on tango, and I have no intention of masquerading as one.  I will leave the serious web searching up to you - there is a wealth of information available and if you're not up till 2 AM dancing, you may find yourself deep in reading instead.  Have at it!  Tell me about it the next time you see me.  :)

In the meantime, I've tried to address what I think are some of the more common questions and concerns below.  It's a rather wordy (and probably annoying) page, but it is here for when you have the time and energy to browse through it.  Plus there are pictures of my dog.  

 

i already know what tango is... right?

I've seen it on TV.  I've seen it on Scent of a Woman.  I like the hot little outfits on Dancing with the Stars.  Do I have to wear Spandex and little skirties to class?

Well okay, here's the thing.   I'm just going to give you a couple of you-tube links of some examples of Argentine tango that I think are cool and have a lot of the moves and techniques that we work on in classes.  I'll also give you an example of American tango (the one they do on the examples above that we don't do in Argentine tango class).

American Tango:

What we don't do

Argentine Tango:

Mariela

Homer & Christina

Julio & Corina

Julio & Corina (vals)

Julio & Corina (milonga)

 


shameless plug & where you can start as a beginner on monday nights

I'd be in serious trouble if I didn't take this opportunity to point out that Harts has ongoing beginner workshops at the Plainville Celebrations Dance Hall.  Beginner (i.e., "n00b") classes will be on first and third Mondays of each month from 6 to 7 PM.  You are under no pressure to go to every class or to feel like you can't just drop in on any scheduled evening to work on the move-of-the-night.  You'll love our beginner teacher, Judy Phelps, an awesomely fun lady with many, many, many years of experience teaching, with an admitted preference for teaching beginners.  After class you definitely should hang out a little and practice and chat and eat the free munchies.

 

what is a practica?

Well, "practica" sounds like "practice" which is what it is.  What we like to do is to schedule regular time when we can take all the new stuff we've learned in classes and, well, practice it.  It's also an excuse to spend extra time hanging out and dancing with each other socially.
 

shameless plug #2 and where you can start as a beginner on saturday afternoons

Often we have two sets of classes going on at the same time, usually because we have the opportunity to bring in freelance teachers that we love for a month or two.   In November we will have beginner classes at 11 AM.  After class you are welcomed (and encouraged) to stay for the practica from 1:30 to 2:30.  We usually have a good selection of potluck munchies out too.  Plus, you'll get to know more of the local dance community while hanging out.  And absolutely do ask anybody sitting or standing around to dance during this time!  We will tell you that we like to dance with beginners, but you never believe us...  Like the Monday classes, you don't have to attend all the Saturday classes in the series, but of course, the more you go to, the faster you'll start adding up those cool points...

 

vals? milonga? and why did you list those same you-tube people three times?

Okay, this one can seem complicated, so I'll give you my own special dumbed-down version (which actually saves me again from looking up something better)...  You can forget most of it without any fear.  Argentine tango has what I would call three basic variations that fit the three main tempos of tango music.  You'll start by learning the one done to a moderate tempo.  (Listen again to the examples above).  In fact, that's all you'll have to worry about for some time.  Once you've got that under your belt, you'll learn a slightly faster, more up-beat variation, and that's what's called a milonga.  You do a lot of the same moves, so it's not as alien as it first seems.  Next you'll learn the vals (waltz), which again has many of the same moves, but now fits into waltz time (counted in groups of three, rather than four or two).  

Does your head hurt yet?  Don't worry, just remember that there are three variations of tango, and nod your head like you're smart when you hear people talking about them.  Tango: normal.  Milonga: fast.  Vals: in three.

 

do i have to dedicate my life and first born child to learn this dance?

Oh goodness no.  See, when you go to classes it's inevitable that you're going to run into some of the hard-core tango-junkies who will be talking about taking that three day intensive workshop with so-and-so, and dancing till 4 AM the night before, and taking three nights of classes a week, and so on.  Please... just ignore us!  Really.  There are just as many people who want to learn tango on a more Human level like you do.  Go to the number of classes you feel comfortable with, and by all means don't think you need to be a junkie in order to dance some tango and have a good time.  A lot of our local ballroom DJ's add some Argentine tango to their mix (especially if you ask them), so you can dance a little tango there instead of taking that week-long-sleep-on-someone's-floor-and-eat-leftover-party-cheese workshop.  I'm also told that our local West coast swing crowd is incorporating some Argentine moves into their repertoire, creating..." wango."  

So really, just say no when we try to drag you into the back room where we tattoo you into the cult and steal your chihuahua.  Take your once-a-week class, eat the free Tostitos and dip and call it a hobby.  :)

 

about that spandex...?

Oh... just wear jeans to class!  Or whatever you are comfortable in.  For milongas (now see below!) we like to dress up some, but again, that's just what you feel comfortable with.  If you *want* the excuse to wear fishnet stockings, well, you'll have it, but if you refuse to do anything not in your jeans, then just wear your jeans.  And a shirt.  And shoes.  What kind of shoes?  For class just something with some support and that doesn't stick to the floor like rubbery sneaker bottoms.  If you have some old ballroom shoes, jazz or swing shoes, those work fine.  Wait a bit on the heels until you get a chance to ask around and find out which ones are good for tango.  (And where you can get them cheap).  Jackie Wong has some good shoe and clothes links on her tango pulse web page.  Remember too that we have great air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter, so you won't have to worry about that so much as you pick out your skirt.
Oh, please be warned that if you wear a shirt that feels exceptionally good, you may be getting some extra attention. We've recently noticed this.

 

milonga again??

Ohhh... this one gets a lot of people!  "Milonga" has two meanings:  One is the fast style of tango dance that we discussed earlier.  The other is the actual event that people attend to dance for a few hours.  These milongas (dances) are usually at night, there's usually awesome DJ'd music, sometimes live music, often great food and occasionally good wine, like at a Harts milonga... (OH!  That was another shameless plug!)  

Do they just dance tango at a milonga?  Yes, for the most part.  Eventually you might find that the variety of styles of tango and tango partners will be more than enough to fill a whole evening (or weekend...), but if you don't get that, then feel free to take long grazing breaks at the food table, or chat with people hanging out around the dance floor.  (Ask about shoes!)  Above all, tango is a social activity.  (Who knew!)

 

do i have to bring a partner for classes or dances?

No no no... If you've got one, great, bring 'em along!  But if not, have no fear - everybody dances with everybody, both in classes and milongas.  It's social - we like everybody.  Wear deodorant.  :)

 

now that i've seen the links on what this dance looks like (please stop calling me a noob!), do i really have to dance that close with people i don't know (or like)?

Naaah...  in fact, when you start classes, you'll dance for a long time in what we call "open embrace" which looks a lot like the ballroom dance embrace.  It's very beautiful.  Eventually you might want to work on (or will be asked to work on in intermediate class) what's called "close embrace," but socially the choice is yours and whatever you are comfortable with.

 

i like to cook... can i bring food to harts events?

HELL yes!  
(If I don't announce it, would you recognize that as another shameless plug??).  Anyway, we love to eat and we're afraid of wearing out Sue, our resident wife & amazing cook.  We're also happy to accept wine at milongas to add to Angelo's awesome selections.

 

what is UP with all this walking!

I learned how to walk when I was two! They taught me to walk at my first class.  Don't they know how to teach anything else?  I want to do that thing I saw with the girl's legs wrapped around the guy's head!

I know, I know...  They told me how important walking was a thousand times and I didn't believe them.  So now I'm simply going to become one of "them" and tell you that walking is indeed the best part of the entire dance...  I still enjoy working on it.  I know, the aliens have swooped down and brainwashed me into their cult (but were unsuccessful in stealing my chihuahua!).  All I can say is that some of the best dances I've had have been with people (including beginners) who weren't afraid to slow down and listen to and enjoy the song and the moment while doing little more than walking.  Still don't believe me, right?  That's okay.  The good news is that you can start going to milongas and dancing socially after just a few classes, and your partners will think you are simply "caught up in the moment" of the dance.  :)

 

is there an age, height, or weight limit to dance tango?

Hahahahahahahahaha!
No.

 

who asks who to dance, and how long do we dance with each other?

During class, we'll rotate partners fairly regularly, so you get a chance to dance with (and meet) everyone.  At a milonga, anyone can ask anyone to dance.  There's this whole "eye contact" thing they'll eventually explain, but you know what?  Don't worry about that yet.  Though I suppose if you see someone looking unnaturally intent on the vegetable platter, you might want to leave them alone together for a while.  

When you do ask someone to dance, or they ask you, we usually like to stay with a partner for at least three songs.  The DJ tends to keep track of this for us by playing some weird little non-tango song after every three or four tangos.  During the weird song, if you'd like to hit the veggies and dip yourself, you can politely thank your partner for the dances and move on.  Now the fun part is that if you both want to dance for more than those three songs, you can.  Just hang out on the dance floor and chat during the short little weird song, and then you can dance the next set, and so on.  Pretty cool, actually.


i know my steps, but my partner doesn't know theirs...

Even though your partner might not understand your spectacular lead, or you know how your leader is *supposed* to execute a move... you may want to resist the temptation to teach them how it should be done.  We all come from different levels and instruction styles, and it is best to just dance as best you can with your partner of the moment.  If you try your move a couple of times and they still don't get it... move on to something else (like walking!)  If your helpful partner *really* wants to show you the steps you don't know... just be polite and know that it's only a three minute commitment.  ;)  (For the exceptionally persistant (annoying) ones, you can politely thank them and tell them that you will bring it up with your teacher at your next lesson).

Sometimes you may want your partner to help you out, in which case you can ask, but some of us (cough-me-cough) are crappy teachers and may decline in your own best interest.  :)

 

how are harts decisions made?

We started with a small committee of fellow dancers (who you know and (maybe) love) to get Harts up and running, but all we really do now is drink a lot of Angelo's wine... So these days Sue and Angelo do most of the work while the rest of us occasionally bring a bottle of wine to a milonga or move a table or steal something Sue cooked as we're running out the door...  So if there's anything you'd like to see added to Harts, please whine to Sue or Angelo, or email them on the contact page, or post  something on the message boards. They're pretty good listeners.  :)

 

why does the message board thing and calendar ask me to register?

Well... it just does.  Actually, it's a standard message board feature designed so that if you're an internet trouble-maker, which we get SO many of in tango, as the boards administrator I have the ability to hit the "delete member" button, and then you have to make up a new name to come back and harass us more.  It slows you down.  Btw, you don't really have to give your full name, address, shoe size and soc. number, but we *would* love to know your first name and your birthday so we can sing badly to you at the nearest event.  We dance good, we don't sing good.
The message board, by the way, was added to give YOU a place to express yourself.  We do use it for schedule announcements, but its true purpose is to give the community, both Harts and our friends, a voice.  You can post requests, topics that interest you, questions and concerns.  You can advertise shoes, arrange carpools and just shoot the breeze.  I personally keep trying to get Sue to post more recipes, but she's tired of me asking.  As of this week, what I really want is Jane's artichoke dip recipe.  (And yes, I stole the leftovers and ran out the door.  Mmm... )

 

what is teri's shoe size?

Teri's tango shoe size is 37.  She prefers 8.5 cm heels and her favorite colors are wine-red, bright Caribbean blue, black and chartreuse.  You will probably be in more website pictures if you wear these colors.  If you are going to Buenos Aires any time soon, please talk to Teri since she's carrying a list around in her purse of shoes that were out of stock last time she was there. Teri's birthday is January 24th, and she was born in a year of the Dragon.  Sue made her an awesome strawberry birthday cake. Teri doesn't mind dancing with Greg anymore now that they've learned that "butt-kicking" move. Yelena still dances better though. Oh... Teri's chihuahua is named Candy and likes hand-knitted sweaters.  She is nine pounds.

 

i just spent ten minutes reading this junk and you still didn't answer my question!  i don't care about your dog's sweater size!

Guess what!  If there's anything I missed above, go ahead and post your question on our message boards and I'll ignore it for a while, and then eventually make up an answer during my next caffeine hallucination.  I promise!  :)

~t.  


(until angelo sends me an even *worse* picture of greg!)


candy



i read everything, i looked at the pictures (even the fish... is it dead?), i still don't want to go back to work... got more?

1. I want YOUR job!
2. Sure... as long as they keep growing coffee, I can type.  Read on!
3. It's alive.  It just *likes* to float upside down.  I'm not kidding.

internet shoe tips

You can find good shoes on the internet, but they're usually over-priced. I try to find the seller's store on ebay where prices are often twenty-five percent less. Sometimes the seller uses a different name, sometimes they have the same name, but many of them are there. Look for the "buy it now" option rather than auction, since auctions usually go higher than the shoes are worth and it wastes your time. Make sure you check shipping fees and transaction fees.  (For example, Xoom charges ten bucks for a transaction and is not covered under ebay's protection policy.  DHL shipping can include a customs fee.)  Also be careful with sizing charts - Go for foot measurements rather than American size equivalents.  Some private sellers don't understand that the numbers stamped on the shoes are for European sizes, not American (duh).  Check how they measure heel heights too.   
 

what happens when you don't pay a nerd to run your website?
You get crap like this.  Nothing is free.  I can put up all the pictures of my dog I want, I can advertise my birthday in twirling, flaming letters, I can put stupid captions and titles on what should be classy events, and best of all I can put exceedingly ugly pictures of you all over the internet unless you talk nice to me and bring me wine.

What was that?  You think my dog is cute?  You love my shoes?  Oh, how nice of you to bring a Malbec to the Milonga!
::closes picture files::

;)

got more pictures?

You can see Victor's shaved armpits here.


sucky sucky