How I started with Argentine Tango

Don't know these folks, but a hell of a pic!

For the last several months, I've been spending the majority of my time dancing Argentine Tango.  This was kind of unexpected, but has been an amazing experience.

When I started dancing, my motivations were Tango (American tango, that is - hey, "Scent of a Woman" was an amazing movie...), and Waltz (actually, Viennese waltz).  Tango seemed so passionate and dramatic and sexy, and Waltz so flowing and graceful.  Plus I'm a sucker for a waltz, musically.  Those of you who have danced a bit will realize that both of these these are difficult dances.  You don't generally even start learning Viennese waltz until your slow waltz is pretty decent, and Tango is called "The dancers' dance".  So my first problem is two difficult dances tied for "most favorite".

My next problem was that my second favorite dance was "everything".  Rumba is so intimate and sexy.  Swing is so much peppy fun.  Cha cha is a blast and there's so much great  cha cha  music.  Salsa is so spicy and sexy and social.  So I spent a lot of time jumping around, which is not the most efficient way for me to learn, personally....

The dance I learned quickest, and that seemed most natural to me was swing - starting at jitterbug, and then moving on to East Coast.  Now I know what you're thinking - what does this all have to do with Tango?  Well, as it turns out my introduction to Argentine tango wasn't through American tango as you'd expect, it was via East Coast Swing.  Strange but true.

After I'd been dancing about a year, I decided to do a showcase performance at my studio, mostly to overcome my shyness.  My East Coast Swing seemed like it was coming along pretty well and there was a song I liked that would work, so I asked a fellow student to prepare and perform with me.  We had about four months to get ready, and it turned out well, but the whole time we were working on the routine, my partner was going on and on about Tango.  Argentine Tango, which apparently was different than "Tango" I was learning.  My partner was a trouper and put in a lot of extra time and work, so I definitely owed her.

Once the performance was in the bag, I finally had no excuse to keep her focused on East Coast Swing, and it was finally time to see what this Argentine Tango thing was all about.  Man was I in for a shock.

First we went to a Milonga, which I still think of as the Spanish word for "sock hop", mostly because it amuses me.  But initially it was more confusing than amusing.  The prevalent style of Argentine Tango at this event involved dancing in a very close embrace.  I was way, way too shy for that.  Secondly, I could tell that the relationship between the beat and the steps was way, way looser in Argentine than in any other partner dance I'd seen.    I could see that the dancers' movement was informed by the music, but not in a "one, two, cha cha cha" sort of way.  Both of these were way outside my comfort zone.

Next we went to a class.  We had to go to a different, funky little studio because the one we were studying at was focused on mainstream ballroom and didn't do much Argentine Tango.  So we head over to the new studio and were watching the previous class that was just finishing up.  I was relieved to learn that I didn't HAVE to dance in close embrace, there's an open embrace alternative.

But when we started learning the basic figure "La Salida", it started with the leader's right foot - which is to say, the wrong foot from a ballroom perspective.  Every ballroom dance in the world starts with the leader's left foot, the ladies right ("Ladies are always right, Men are left.").  Worse, it didn't always start with that foot.  In fact, Argentine tango is so improvisational that every step is a whole new world, anything can happen at any time.  There are figures, both for the purpose of categorization and teaching, and just because certain sequences make beautiful dance phrases, but nothing is set in stone - you can improvise anything at any time.  Which means, if you're a leader, that you HAVE TO improvise things all the time.

Another consequence of the fact that Argentine tango is so improvisational and unpredictable, and can start on any foot at any time, is that the leader has to either know what foot the lady is on, or be able to lead her onto the other foot (often without taking a step), or both.  This really blew my mind,  I could barely ensure that I was on the right foot, now I'm supposed to keep track of what foot she's on?  Inconceivable! There was also a lot of attention paid to whether you collected your feet, or collected your feet and changed weight to the other foot.  No other dance does this as early and as much as Argentine Tango (well, the last step in the American tango's "Tango close" does it, because, of course, it was stolen from Argentine.  But other than that...)  There was also a lot of stepping outside partner, which I had basically never done in other dances at the time.  And, just in case there was a corner of my mind unblown, my partner helpfully added another detail as we were practicing:

Her:  "Actually, you're supposed to touch my foot with yours right there..."
Me:    "Wait, what???"
Her:   "Touch the side of my foot with the side of yours"
Me:     "Are you kidding?  I'm supposed to look down, find your foot and touch it with mine?  We'll run into the other dancers!"
Her:  "No, without looking down"
Me:   "Well, then you're going to lose some toes....."

So let's see what's on the scorecard so far:

1.  Likely to involve an intimidatingly close embrace
2.  Starts on the wrong foot.  Often.
3.  Doesn't ALWAYS start on the wrong foot.
4.  Closing feet often DOESN'T include changing weight
5.  I've got to lead a totally improvisational dance
6.  I have to step outside partner.  A lot.  But not always...
7.  I've got to know what foot she's on
8.  I've got to know where her feet are at all times because
9.  I have to be able to touch her foot with mine without looking.  And without maiming her

All this while leading, navigating the line of dance (which, fortunately, was the same direction I was used to), and avoiding other dancers doing unpredictable, improvisational things, sometimes on purpose.  And not falling over, getting my own frame, steps, spacing right, etc, etc.  The usual.

Another factor that I haven't mentioned yet is that it's quite common in Argentine tango to cross your ankles as a step - way more common than it is in other dances, and this may or may not involve a weight change (of course).  Fortunately for me, this is much more prevalent for the ladies than the men, especially at the introductory levels.  There are other difficulties that fall more heavily or uniquely on the women, like being prepared to FOLLOW a totally improvisational dance, but at the time I had my hands full dealing with my own problems.

There were more challenges to come, but at the time, the list above was plenty.

Initially I planned to go just a few times to humor my partner (she really had been a trouper) and then fade on back into my comfort zone, but it didn't work out that way.  The funky little studio offered a discount for pre-purchasing 10 classes so I did that.  By the time I'd done 10 classes, I was adapting to most of the challenges, and it was starting to be fun.  I was starting to correctly guess which foot she was on at least 50% of the time (Yes, it seems like you'd do that well by purely random chance, but believe me, it's easy to do much, much worse than random, particularly at the beginning).  I was starting to get the hang of controlling my weight changes, starting to learn the basic figures, and the infinite variations on them, and kind of enjoying the freedom and creativity involved in that level of improvisation.  And it didn't hurt that one of my favorite and deepest practice partners was simply obsessed with Argentine tango.  So I ended up going more than I thought I would.


So that's how I got started.  Soon I'll talk about why I kept going back, and what it taught me that I didn't know I needed, and how that helped me in all my other dancing.

Expert lesson - Tango and East Coast Swing

My studio had a travelling expert (Urs Geisenhainer from "Dancing with the Stars, 2009  as well as other credits) in town, and (along with an amazing demonstration tango he danced with the lady instructors), he held a workshop and private lessons; I participated in both.

The workshop focused on tango and was attended by students of all levels.  Herr Geisenhainer managed the challenge of teaching different levels of students well; He introduced new steps, worked on basics, and provided styling advice all in the workshop.  Despite the fact that as I write this, I'm not sure how he could have possibly done all that, it actually flowed very smoothly and didn't feel overwhelming.  Plus I mostly learned a variation of shadow rocks that I'm anxious to work on.

My (our) private lesson was East Coast Swing, and was shared with my East Coast Swing partner.  After watching him dance Tango and teach Tango, I was tempted to stick with Tango (which would probably have been fine with my partner, as she's the biggest pusher of Argentine Tango you ever met), but of course I didn't.  He helped us with several elements of our ECS, at first it was mostly styling, and let me tell you, this guy can swing.  I've been having trouble with my walkaround turns (typical guy - I'm OK unless I'm asked to spin...), and not only did he fix that (I still have to practice, of course), but he really helped me see how to make them appropriate for swing (his demonstration of swing vs cha cha styling in walkarounds was very vivid - the Cha Cha walkarounds were upright and snappy, but with the appropriate hip movement, where the ECS walkarounds had a completely different hip and body swing that I can't describe...  Big hip swings, rather than the comparatively subtle Cuban motion from Cha Cha...

But, man, it swung.

If you ever get a chance to watch, or better, learn from Urs Geisenhainer, take it.  He's an awesome dancer, an insightful and enthusiastic teacher, and a genuinely fun guy to learn from.

Here's a Viennese waltz (my favorite), which he performed with several other dancers.

Tango Face. Waltz Face. Noob Face.

About face

Dancing is so much about the details.

Tango face:  Tango is dramatic and passionate and serious.  Grinning takes away from the drama of the performance.  So you'll hear things like "get your tango face on!" from dancers.  It's encouragement and correction.  It's a light-hearted funny little in-joke and they're mostly kidding.  Mostly. 

It's just one of the hundreds of little details that you have to learn and get right if you're going to be any good.  Or even decent.  I love the hell out of the Tango, and whenever I'm tangoing, I'm grinning like a fool - I can't help it, I'm just having too much fun.  When some one tells me to get my tango face on, I laugh.  It's on my list of things to work on, I swear.

I only think about my tango face because it's a running joke.  I'm sure my facial expressions while dancing include "thinking too hard", "not getting it", and the ever popular "Please stand by while smoke comes out of my ears and my brain reboots".  Occasionally, "Hey, this is a lot of fun!" and "that went pretty well"  and "I actually know how do do this - mostly".  And, of course "wow, that was amazing!"  and "I really, really want to learn how to do that" - These last two while watching others, of course.

But in general, I have no idea what my face is doing while I dance. For once in my life, I'm not watching myself, censoring myself, monitoring myself and judging myself.  Mostly.  Most of my time I'm very self-conscious, and occasionally on the dance floor, or in the dojo, I'll just let myself be whatever I am.  Not often, I'm way too cautious for that.  But if I get busy enough, or am thinking hard enough, or am distracted and engaged enough, I quit watching myself, briefly.  The point of Dancing (one of them), is getting out of my head.  Sometimes I make it out.

And then they pull me right back in.  In a recent group Waltz class, we had a full, unbalanced house and two of the gentlemen had to take turns sitting out or dancing solo while the rest of us danced with the ladies there.  I was doing the dancing solo thing, I need all the drilling I can get.  Then we rotated and I got a partner again.  The Young Turk (who's a much better dancer than I, because he practices like a fiend) was partnerless, and was amusing himself by watching the other dancers.  Including me.  I was working the figure with my partner and was getting it, I thought.

He laughed and said "You just had the dorkiest expression on your face!".  My partner laughed, too, which I took as agreement.   Dang, I need to figure out my frame, footwork, leading, floorcraft, rise and fall, timing, and now I need a waltz face?


Apparently.

Thanks, buddy.  Thanks a lot.

Drilling Wins

For me, learning a dance move always starts with a moment of "this is so cool!", usually followed by weeks of "How did that go again?"  It's frustrating.  I need to drill.

Awesome art by Hugh MacLeod, gapingvoid.com

In group classes, my instructors will cover something until everyone has basically gotten it, then move on.  That's the most efficient use of the instructor's time, and that's awesome. But it's not enough for me to make the transition from head knowledge to body knowledge.

In private lessons, I definitely want to cover as much as you can, so once I've basically gotten it, we move on.  I do often ask for a bit of review either at the beginning or end of a private lesson, but doing that for the whole lesson is like learning to drive a stick shift in a Ferrari.  You can do it, it's just a shame and a waste.

During practice parties, there's a lot going on - you have to find a partner, your partner may not have learned the move you just learned, you have to worry about floorcraft and traffic management, and if you're lucky you get three or four minutes of whatever dance you learned this week.  For me that's not enough.  I need to do a move probably 20 times in a row for my body to start feeling it.

Every instructor will tell you to practice at home, and I do, but only a little, and not enough.  I'll claim it's because I want to work with a partner, but that's mostly an excuse.  I'm rarely home, and when I am, there are a ton of distractions and diversions.  I love working on my house, and it's old enough that there's always more to do.  Not to mention (and much more common), I still need to get caught up on Mad Men, and there's always Tivo Guilt.

Plus, I really want to work with a partner.  :-/  Different partners if possible.

So I finally bit the bullet and approached several women from my classes about meeting at the studio and drilling.  I also checked with the staff to make sure it was OK if we found a corner of the floor and practiced.  I've had my first session already - we drilled a flair promenade that I learned in Tango, and I definitely feel I have a better handle on it than some of the more basic stuff I haven't drilled.  Fifteen or twenty minutes of repetition made all the difference in me getting it (mostly) out of my head and into my body (somewhat).

So if you're a fellow dance student, set aside some time to drill - I'll be doing so again (and I'm always looking for drill partners - email me!)

20 minutes is the difference between "huh?" and "Yeah, I can do that...."

I need the music

At a recent lesson, I was trying to Tango without music and ended up foxtrotting. My brain just totally locked up. I need the music, particularly for the Tango - though I seem to be able to Jitterbug to imaginary music just fine - even just sitting here typing about it, I've got "Rock around the clock" running in my head. Maybe I just need a signature Tango tune in my head.

One of the more interesting quirks I've found from taking dance lessons is how often the music is missing, imaginary or wrong. There are several private lessons and other activities taking place in the same space, and so Teach and I usually just count out the steps with no music whatsoever - which is a great way of focusing at one thing at a time. Occasionally we put on an appropriate song and dance with music. Of course, the other couples sharing the space also do so, so somebody's playlist is always playing, but it doesn't have anything to do with your lesson. At one point I was Tangoing, the music was Salsa, and the singer was singing about "La Rumba". Ignoring the music feels like trying to ignore an itch...

I'm a slave to the beat...

Music you can dance to (Part 2 - Latin)

As I began exploring in part one, learning to dance is making me approach music from a new direction - What dance is this? For a band nerd that's used to being behind the music stand, this is a new and fun thing.

This time I'll explore Latin dances and rhythms. I've always enjoyed Latin music, particularly where it crossed over into Big Band - Bossa Nova, etc (there's that Band Nerd thing again), but I ended up not listening to it all that much. I'm beginning to suspect that what I needed was a context, specifically, a context of dance. I'm getting one.


Tango - another favorite dance, and one that also has music distinctive and dramatic enough for me to recognize easily. I love that passion and the sexuality of this dance, and seeing "Scent of a Woman" didn't hurt one bit, either. I'm not sure I'll end up with a rose in my teeth at any point, but so far, I'm having fun with Tango and looking forward to more. Of course, this dance, more than any other, sacrifices my social goals for total passion. The only people I'm going to meet tangoing are going to be people in the tango club, and it's not something you just go out and do. In the US, it's a niche dance. Oh well, Art for art's sake, I suppose. Tango tunes: Nothing that's ever been played on Pop Radio in North America that I can remember or imagine (see? There's that niche thing again!), but the other night I danced a Tango to a piece with Lyrics in German, but I don't know the name of it. Funky. The Internet claims you can tango to "Roxanne" by The Police And "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers, but they both feel like they're a big stretch to me... What do I know.... The whole POINT of tango music is dancing to it - since I haven't danced, is it any wonder I don't know any Tango tunes?? Edit - "Whatever Lola Wants (Lola Gets) by Sarah Vaughan" is a tango.


Rumba - One of the many uses of the box step, I think of this as the slow, sexy end of the Latin dance continuum. But there's a lot of Rumba music out there that you've heard, and a lot of it doesn't sound Latin to me - "And I love her" and "In My Life" - The Beatles (which have a bit of a latin feel), and "With or Without You" - U2, "You've got A Friend" - James Taylor, "Stand By Me" - Ben E King, "One of These Nights" - The Eagles, "Let's Stay Together" - Al Green. The large menu of musical choices and the obvious social possibilities of a slow dance make it a serious contender for the Dance short list.

Salsa - We've spent some time on this in class, in fact this is probably the dance I'm farthest along in - which is not that far! I've gotten the footwork options in my head pretty clearly, and we worked on a cross-body lead and spin combo in group class last week, which I almost got, need to drill it another 1000 times or so... The social possibilities of Salsa are quite good in New Mexico (maybe elsewhere too, I dunno...), and the music is a hoot, even if not much of it is stuff that I ever listened to on the radio (this is probably mostly a comment on my pedestrian musical tastes, rather than on availability). Salsa is all about the clave. Salsa tunes I've heard of (maybe you have too) are "Livin' La Vida Loca" - Ricky Martin, "Mambo #5" - Lou Bega and "Tequila" - Champs. Interesting (to me anyway) that Salsa beats seem not to have been adopted as widely in Pop music as Rumba rhythms, but Salsa keeps that Latin Fire even on the "crossover" hits, where as Rumba sneaks in and pretends to be pop. And as far as the dance, this is one of the more fun and energetic dances out there - I definitely get why so many people end up wanting to dance Salsa - it's fun even to watch.

Merengue - This is the first Latin musical style that I was able to distinguish from Salsa once I started dancing and it became important to pay attention. Salsa tends to be 4/4, and the characteristic Clave rhythm makes it swing, where Merengue is (or feels) much more 2/4 and more straight ahead, and it has less swing, more urgency. Merengue as a dance is so easy, even
a caveman
I can do it - we've spent maybe an hour on it, and the footwork is locked for me, and as far as I can tell, it's so straightforward that you can pretty much do anything at any time - which doesn't mean *I* can pull it off yet, it just means I'm not having to ask myself "Is this the right time for a spin? (or any other move)" With Merengue, the answer is always "Yes, it's a fine time!". This Dance feels like something you only spend a few hours learning, after that you just need practice. Lots and Lots of practice. Salsa, Rumba, Foxtrot, Tango all get basically fractally complex very fast, where as Merengue at least starts out as basic and regular as a brick wall (which doesn't mean you can't build tall and complex dances on top of a Merengue, clearly). "Hot Hot Hot" by Buster Poindexter is a Merengue, but my favorite surprise Merengue tune is "(Nothing but) Flowers" by the Talking Heads.

Bachata - Initially I had a hard time telling a Bachata tune from a Salsa (maybe I still do, let me know!), but thanks to Amazon.com, I ordered a few CD's to listen to, and I think I've got it. Bachata is slowest, Salsa is Medium, and Merengues tend to be faster. In Salsa, the Clave is the signature percussion element; whereas Bachatas tend to have (or feel) the slow, classic guiro scrape. The other characteristic of a bachata (to my Wikipedia-informed ear, at least) is that the lyrics tend to be forlorn and heartbroken. I have vanishingly little spanish, but I can hear it in the melody and delivery - understanding the lyrics is apparently optional. I've only spent about 20 minutes with the bachata as a dance, so far, but all I can say is: Hip bump. The only song I can think of that feels like a bachata to me is "Guantanamamera" (particularly the slower versions), but that's a Cuban classic, and Bachata hails from the Dominican Republic, so I'm not confident of that. (Edit - the more I think of this, the more I doubt it. Maybe a Rumba???)

Cha Cha - I've spent very little time on this in dance class, and not a lot of listening time, but to me Cha Cha music feels like Bachata's faster cousin. I often hear the same Guiro figure as Bachata, but, well, faster - though the Cha Cha Guiro can get a lot more complex, as well. The other difference from Bachata music is that there are a bunch of cha cha's you've heard, most of them feel pretty Latin, but there are a few surprises..
Oye Como Va - Santana
Smooth - Santana/Rob Thomas
All I Wanna Do - Sheryl Crow
Soak up the Sun - Sheryl Crow
Barbie Girl - Aqua
Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) - Us3
Guantanamera - Los Lobos (this version is a little faster, feels like a slowish Cha Cha to me....)
Walkin' on the Sun - Smash Mouth
Short Skirt / Long Jacket - Cake
Spill the Wine - Eric Burdon & War - (This one feels like it's got one foot in the Cha Cha camp, and the other in Bachata...)


So that's my take on Latin music you can dance to. I'm sure I'm off base with a lot of this, please chime in, the point of all this is to help me figure this stuff out...