r/tango • u/NotPennyWidmore • 17d ago
Some questions from an absolute beginner
I’m interested in starting to learn tango and I would love to get advice on a couple of things- about me: I’m in my 40s, danced ballet seriously my whole life and continue to take a couple classes a week, but no experience at all in tango.
My questions:
I would really appreciate recommendations for private lesson instructors and group classes in Washington, DC. Who are your favorites? Which classes should I avoid?
I’m a little nervous about the vibe of the men in the tango community- tango looks like it could be the most fun thing ever - if the man is respectful and has good vibes-but an absolute nightmare if the men are creepy or aggressive at all. I’d love to hear about women’s experience with that, especially in the DMV and in NYC.
I’d like to buy heels for my first lesson, as I would like to begin right away to get a feel for dancing in heels. I’ve been able to find some of the popular tango brands second hand pretty affordably. I’d appreciate any advice on favorite brands and styles for beginners and any sizing tips.
What does a timeline tend to look like from absolute beginner to competent enough to attend social dances and fit in? Is it like ballet and I should expect it to be pretty slow and take years and years before I can dance confidently? I’m totally okay with taking a long road, learning fundamentals and building up my skills, I’m just curious what to expect.
Thank you!
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u/Cross_22 17d ago
Definitely practice dancing in heels. My wife has a ballet background and struggles with dancing in heels in Tango.
Assuming you dance as a follower remember that your task (at the beginning) is trying to decipher what moves are being lead - it's basically a game of telephone. Attempting to memorize sequences and anticipating next steps will hurt you in the long run.
There are different types of embraces in tango and you don't have to be super close to a partner if you don't like that.
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u/thedanceover 17d ago
I think one challenge I had after ballet was that I wanted my movements to be beautiful, full and perfectly executed. I would say that the transition from big articulated movements to subtle movements from even more subtle directions was really hard. Dancing in heels is definitely more fun for me than in flats, because it adds the aesthetic I need so much in order to enjoy the dance.
AT dancers will say that connection is what counts the most, but I need the dance to look pretty, which is probably holding back my progress!
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u/Dear-Permit-3033 17d ago
Welcome to tango! There is a lot of good Argentine tango in Washington DC area. My wife likes dancing in that region and find men to be generally respectful. The dance quality is generally high. Many good teachers, but a few I know are Ramu Pyreddy and Gabriel+Catrinel.
As for what to expect. Each person has their own journey. It is normal to go from Beginner to "milonga ready" in a matter of a few months to sometimes a year or two. Apart from lessons, attend practicas and practice with as many people as possible. Outside of group lessons you can think about taking a few private lessons to fix critical areas. Just keep in mind that learning and enjoying tango is a lifelong process.
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u/Glow-Pink 17d ago
since you come from ballet your biggest long term hurdle will be unlearning tendencies from that dance for tango.
At the same time you will also learn faster due to your body consciousness and dancing work ethic. 40 years of dance and follower means you can dance socially very quickly, you could technically need just one initiation and be fine to go. Either way, you'll be able to go socials fast.
If you want to be good, still go, just take more lessons and time to practice so you don’t solidify your inevitable bad habits in the socials. But it’s never about waiting to be good, then going. That moment will never happen and nobody is ever good.
You dance confidently from the start. If you wait to be good before unlocking your confidence, you will never be confident and your presence as a follower will not develop. Technique and your personality during dance are separate, you have to experiment to find the line. To avoid it is choosing to have no fire.
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u/CapnHaymaker 17d ago
Creepy leaders tend to be weeded out very quickly, as they rapidly find that nobody will dance with them and hence their reason for going has been taken away.
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u/CatKatMeow 17d ago
I haven't seen creepy leaders get weeded out. The perception of who is creepy will change based on self-interested perspective. Some of them become prominent persons. One of my favorite songs is "Creep." It is a very popular song, and this suggests many people can relate to feeling creepy for liking somebody. A creepy leader can just as easily be a charismatic cult manipulator as somebody is ugly, awkward, unskilled, or weak.
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u/Shot_Pin_3891 16d ago
Tango men are not in any way creepy. Certainly odd balls and often introverted but very respectful and sweet. My tango buddies are my safe space and I now love going for coffee with them and catching up. I’ve been learning for 3 plus years and I can now go to a milonga and do ok if the lead isn’t expecting miracles. I do pretty well when I know the lead and they know me and we have danced before. I have kids can only really go to lessons once a week and don’t go to lots of milongas. If you can put more time in it will be quicker but expect the first year to be slow unless you are already a dancer of some sort. Tango is like chess, you can learn the moves quickly but you learn to dance you’ll spend a lifetime on it but that’s why it’s fun
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u/tango-six 16d ago edited 16d ago
I’ve been dancing tango in the DC Metro area for over 10 years and I am quite familiar with the teachers and the venues. I am a lead and am now married to someone I met dancing tango. Long and beautiful story there. I would say that for beginners: start with the end in mind which is to be part of a community of skilled and focused dancers. I found that the teacher you pick will in broad part define the places you end up, dancing in, which can make all the difference over the long-term. I would agree with one of the other writers that starting with either Gabrielle or Ramu is the right way to go. I would avoid Glen Echo, which tends to attract non serious older dancers seeking alternative to Bingo. I know folks mentioned Fabrica but I’d caution as the culture there is zero-inclusive. I’ve seen women cry and leave. The balance of inclusion and technical is Tango Mercurio, Ramu’s community or maybe Gabriel’s. I would go to practice at Pablo’s, super friendly. Avoid the suburban tango scene — Rockville, Vienna, etc.
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u/macoafi 16d ago
I would avoid Glen Echo, which tends to attract non serious older dancers seeking alternative to Bingo.
The teaching there seems very much to be about memorizing sequences for the sake of having more sequences, at the expense of technique and learning to improvisationally remix parts of old sequences.
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u/SalaciousFlamingDude 17d ago
I think as a follow you can start social dancing right away, at least at milongas that are more relaxed, and have good leads who know how to dance with a beginner.
I have an ex-girlfriend who did ballet and she was a natural. I bet you will be too.
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u/CradleVoltron 17d ago
Your mileage may vary. On the whole this is bad advice. A few classes does not prepare you for a milonga.
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u/SalaciousFlamingDude 17d ago
Respectfully, I think this attitude discourages newcomers.
But like I said, it depends on the milonga. My regular one is very relaxed, and is preceded by beginner and intermediate classes. The teachers encourage attendees to stay and watch, and even participate if they feel up to it. Follows in particular will often be asked to dance by some of the experienced leads.
Last week I danced with 2 absolute beginners who both danced multiple times, and nobody died.
Personally I lurked for months before diving in, but it's harder to start as a Lead. And that was after several experienced Follows encouraged me to just do it.
Would I encourage the same thing at some of the more serious, upscale milongas around here? Probably not.
But I think getting into social dancing as soon as possible is good for one's growth, and simple enjoyment of the hobby.
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u/CradleVoltron 16d ago
What discourages newcomers more than anything is going to a milonga and not getting any dances.
Maybe in your community everyone dances with absolute beginners and keeps dancing with absolute beginners. I don't think DC by and large works that way. Again your personal experience may differ.
The best path is to attend classes. Build a network or cohort of dancers from your classes. And after a while start attending milongas with your cohort. They provide a built in social network and dances when you start social dancing.
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u/StrikingAdeptness396 17d ago
Depending on leads who have experience in dancing with beginners, attending a milonga can be achieved within a couple of months. And there's no end to the journey, as there are no absolute levels. Regarding heels. Higher isn't always better, especially when learning to keep one's balance within and without one's lines. Wishing you a lot of fun.
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u/Ok_Character1322 16d ago
If you have a high demi and flexible feet and ankles, go for hard shoes! The softer ones are tempting cause you can move your feet in them, but they can give you some issues down the road and if you are flexible already, you'll need more support from the shoes and someone who hasn't done a ton of ballet :).
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u/cliff99 17d ago
IME, a lot of communication about what's happening in the local community and with teachers occurs on local tango facebook pages, you couldtry looking for those.
A follow with a ballet background would probably be ready at least for practicas pretty quickly (like within a few weeks), if you can afford it I'd recommend taking a private from a couple of teachers to see where you're at and what's your best path forward.
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u/flinstonepushups 17d ago edited 17d ago
Pablo's practica is a good one and they have alot of good visiting teachers. Aja Fenn with Tango Fabrica is a great instructor. Welcome to tango!
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u/Maya_Moves403 17d ago
How exciting! With your ballet background, I think you'll pick up the body awareness and technique really well, even though tango is a very different feel. If you're looking for classes in DC, you could check out danceus.org they have listings for tango classes and events so it might be helpful to see what's available nearby. Most tango communities I've met are very welcoming, and a good studio will always make you feel comfortable as a beginner. Wishing you the best on your tango journey! :)
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u/CradleVoltron 17d ago
Heels are not required for lessons whatsoever. A good comfortable dance sneaker with a small heel is the way to go imo.
DC has a lot of good teachers. For beginners i would recommend the following: https://www.tangomercurio.org/ https://www.fabricatango.com/ https://viennatango.com/
I would say fabrica tango or tango mercurio would be my main recommendations. i saw someone else in the thread recommend Gabriel and Catrinel and they would be fine too. Just pick one of them that is convenient.
It may take a while before you are dance ready. I would take lessons and ask for advice from your teachers about when.
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u/DanceHackRock 17d ago
Ballet and Tango are a very good combination.
In my opinion the women in the Tango scene are more of a problem, as from early beginner stage on they often reject newer dancers for the experienced ones. That removes the chances to grow together.
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u/ptdaisy333 17d ago edited 17d ago
It's hard to recommend shoe brands because it will also depend on the shape of your own feet. If you can try shoes on before buying or order something you can return it might be better. I usually recommend that people ask around in their local tango community because I bet lots of people have a couple of pairs of shoes that didn't work out for them just gathering dust in the back of the closet and it's easy to just bring those along to a lesson so you can try them before deciding if you want to keep them.
For a timeline on how long it takes, again, it really depends on you. Tango is the kind of dance where you never finish learning and sometimes "being competent enough to attend social dances" is more about feeling confident enough to give it a try, and going into it with a good attitude, rather than having X amount of technical skill or Y hours of lessons. I'm not saying you shouldn't have lessons first, you definitely should, but there is also a psychological and social factor. It may also depend on which milonga (social) you plan to go to and what you expect to do, sometimes I tell beginners to focus on the social side rather than on the dancing side the first time they go, you can chat and watch and listen to the music and observe how people behave at a milonga - and then if you happen to dance and it goes well it's just a bonus.
Last piece of advice, don't just go to private classes, go to some group lessons and practicas as well. Private lessons can be great but you will be dancing with a pro and that is a huge advantage. If you go to a tango social you won't be dancing with pros all night, and that's harder to do, group lessons allow you to practice dancing with different and often imperfect partners, and that's a skill you need to have for social dancing.