Add Tango to your Dance To-Do List!
You may not know it yet, but you want to tango…
Taking my first tango class had been at the top of my to-do list for years. The passion, control, and grace of the dance drew me in, and I wanted to know what the movements felt like as a dancer.
Luckily, my friend Tina sent me a message about two weeks ago about a FREE tango workshop (Thanks Tina!). The workshop was presented by the Latino Interdisciplinary Graduate Association at Drexel, and hosted by Meredith Klein of the Philadelphia Argentine Tango School. Alejandro Larenas and Marisol Morales, accomplished tango dancers from Argentina, came to wow us with performances and then taught a beginner lesson (that's me with the below!).
The night began with a brief history of tango. Honestly, I just wanted to get up and start dancing! But, I was glad I kept still because Klein shared some really interesting history with us (and because I may have gotten escorted out by Drexel security for dancing during her talk… eek!). I learned that tango began as a “street” dance in Argentina and Uruguay; the classy and sophisticated aura that is has today didn’t exist from its beginning. Men from different races and ethnicities would get together and play music in the streets (and often next to the brothels), because it was often the only language they shared. Many Argentinians looked down on the dance, and it wasn’t until other countries started “ooohing” and “aaahing” over tango that Argentina finally took the hint and started treating it like the art form that it is.
Students from the Philadelphia Argentine Tango School demonstrated a “milonga,” social dancing for tango. I enjoyed watching them, especially the couples that you could tell LOVED what they were doing (to be honest, I enjoy the super dramatic, super intense looking tango dances a lot less…)
Then came performances from Alejandro Larenas and Marisol Morales (see video below!). This is where I really started getting fidgety because watching them dance made me want dance! Soon enough, their lesson began. They were fun, engaging, approachable teachers who, as tango champions, humbly taught complete beginners like myself the first few steps of tango.
It’s been a few years since I’ve been a complete beginner in a dance class. It was kind of hsyterical. My husband and I took quite a while to realize that in a milonga, couples basically dance in a large circle, moving together more or less, in a counter-clockwise direction. We, on the other hand, stayed in one place, oblivious, causing tango-traffic-jams. Oh well. Everyone was nice enough not to run us over.
Being used to latin dancing, a few times during our lesson, my husband and I also burst out laughing when we realized our bodies had started dancing bachata somehow, instead of tango. Little by little, though, I think we picked up a few things by the end. In fact, we learned one combination that night that we still practice in our kitchen randomly (you’re not a true dancer until you’ve injured yourself by treating your kitchen/office/bedroom like a dance studio).
The students from the Philadelphia Argentine Tango School were super friendly, and one even bore the burden of dancing with me during that first lesson (thank you, kind soul). My husband and I would definitely enjoy taking more tango classes in the future.
Now, you may be kicking yourself at this point, saying “Goshdarnit! Why didn’t I go to this awesome event?” But no worries my dancing friend. The Philadelphia Argentine Tango School has another event coming up at the end of the month (which is very soon…) From October 29th to November 3rd, the Philadelphia Argentine Tango School will present tango dancers of “international reputation,” Ivan Terrazas & Sara Grdan. Although this program won’t be free, I have no doubt that the classes, workshops, private lessons, demos, and social dancing will all be worth it!
I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to learn a new type of dance, along with its history, from Philadelphia dancers, and international pros! Now back to the kitchen to practice…
Article written by Hannah Lorenzo.
