There is No Stopping in Tango!

I enjoy tango nuevo music, like Gotan Project, and I regret that when I spent time in Guatemala I didn’t dedicate any time to learning salsa.  Given those things, and the challenge of learning something new, I thought about studying tango while in Buenos Aires.  On the other hand, my knowledge of all things dance was zero.  I was a nerd in high school and college who spent minimal time on the dance floor and, generally, I do not consider myself a graceful person.  A chance conversation one day with my eating partner Tanguera about how much she loved studying tango at DNI Studios inspired me to give it a go.

The beginning was brutal.  In an attempt to practice my Spanish, I gave the ok for the instructors to give my entire first group class in Spanish vs. switching back and forth with English.  That was a mistake.  I was completely lost right from the start.  I had little idea as to what was being taught and even if it were in English I probably wouldn’t have understood the concepts.  I began to learn what was meant by having two left feet (Who knew that you are meant to continually shift your weight?).  After my second class I was drained.  Tanguera encouraged me to continue.  I did.

After a few weeks of taking the occasional group class I asked to incorporate some private lessons into my schedule.  That is when I met Pedro.  Pedro is one of the senior dancers at DNI.  He has the intense eyes that are commonly found amongst artists, almost as if there is a raging fire inside them and the pressure is only released through artistic expression.  Pedro let me know that he was now in charge of my training, “From now on you speak only to me about your schedule.”  

Private lessons can be hard.  You can’t blame your partner and there is nowhere to hide.  The instructors at DNI, and this may be true of all dancers, also seem to have an almost supernatural ability to read your body language.  They can see how I am standing or how I am moving and know almost exactly what is going on in my head.  During my first class with Pedro he tore me apart.  He let me know in detail everything I was doing wrong.  Well, not everything.  That would have taken all day.  But many things.  Pedro then decided to teach me a dance structure.

“Tell me something you like?”

“What?”

“Something you like.  What is the name of your favorite book or movie?”

“Um, The Hustler?”

“What?”

“The Hustler.  It is an old movie with Paul Newman.”

“Ok, The Hustler.  From now on when I say, ‘The Hustler,’ you do an outside forward step with your right and then side, back, back, side, forward, collect and continue.  Got it?”

“I don’t know…”

“The Hustler!”

This continued for the remainder of our hour.  Near the end of class I was nearly broken mentally.  Then Dana walked in.

Dana and her partner Pablo run DNI and are a well known couple in tango circles.  I had been fortunate enough to see them perform the night before at a milonga (a tango dance hall).  Both yoga and dance are taught at DNI and they are incorporated into a tango nuevo style which is revealed in the way Pablo and Dana dance.  I would describe Dana’s style of tango as graceful, yet unapologetically athletic.  It is not for those unwilling to put in the time.  Dana’s core is so strong and she is so flexible that she can contort her body and kick her legs at seemingly any angle and speed.  It is impressive to watch.

“Who is this?”

“This is Roberto.  He has been training with the chicos, Jonny and Johanna.”

“How long have you been dancing?”

“I’ve been taking the beginners class for about a month.”

“How wonderful.  Dance a tango with me.”

This was completely unexpected.  One of the things that you quickly learn in tango is that, like with many things, when you are a beginner more advanced people have no interest in you because it is almost painful for them.  Your balance and posture are usually a mess.  You lead poorly.  You don’t know any fun things to do and you can’t follow the music.  Other than that, it is a great time for them.  

I was probably trembling when I put my hands on Dana.  She is so light and responsive that I felt as if the tiniest of movements would lead her into an intricate set of responses.  I clumsily led her through a tango at which point she thanked me and told me how great I was doing.  It was a fib, but it was appreciated.  As good teachers typically understand, at DNI they know when to tear you down and when you need to be built back up.

Tango is an intense dance and, maybe for that reason, it seems to attract the heavily self critical.  You beat yourself up for not understanding some technique.  You often feel like you don’t know enough.  There is always something else to learn.  You practice hard and finally feel like you know something and then go to a milonga and realize you know almost nothing.  You sometimes forget that you are supposed to be having fun.  It can be devastating.

The flip side is the euphoria that comes when you have those “Eureka!” moments.  You are on top of the world.  To paraphrase Jonny, when you first start tango the emotional ups and downs come with extreme speed.  Jonny goes on to say the waves never goes away, they just become bigger and longer.  I'm not sure if that is good or bad.

I am told that there is a surprisingly large tango community in San Francisco.  Even so, there is a good chance that life will interfere and my time with it will come to an end in conjunction with my time in Buenos Aires.  Still, there is something emotionally powerful about tango that has burrowed its way into my head and which has instilled in me a desire to continue exploring its beauty.  Time will tell which way things go.




Pablo and Dana doing what they do.




Pedro and Julieta showing the people in San Telmo how it is done.  

Julieta is the source of some of my favorite quotes, including, "Your giro to the left is perfect.  If you don't like the person you are dancing with, do the giro to your right," and, "Roberto, what is with that posture?  If Dana sees you she will kill you.  Then she will kill me and I am too young to die."