r/tango

Hi all, my current partner is not a dancer so I’m looking for guidance from those who dance.

I have been doing tango for almost 5 years and love it. My local community is very small so I try to travel when I can. I had a brief relationship with a tango dancer in another city which lasted a few months. Things ended last year. However, my ex-partner is very active in tango and we’ve chosen to maintain a certain level of friendship because we will see each other at events in the future.

My new partner is not a dancer, but I have shown him tango and explained how the embrace works. He has no problem with me dancing or traveling for tango, he even encourages me to do this, but he has a problem with me dancing with my ex at future events. I have tried to explain that physical touch has a different meaning to me when I am dancing versus in my daily life, but he says it’s the history that bothers him.

I would like to dance with my ex on occasion, maybe one tanda per event, because he is a very good dancer and we are genuinely still friends. I have offered to only do rhythmic/non romantic dances, or to only dance in open embrace, but this is not enough. My partner would still rather I not dance with him at all.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Do you dance with previous partners when you see them?

Edit to add: I travel very frequently, at least once a month. I haven't encountered my ex at an event since things ended, so this is not something that would happen often. At most, we would end up dancing maybe 3 or 4 tandas over the course of a year.

Above all, I want my partner to trust me, and I am willing to avoid my ex if necessary. I am mostly curious to see if this is something my partner doesn't understand since he doesn't dance, or if it's something I need to adjust my boundaries with

What did your teachers get wrong, miss, or never address that you had to figure out yourself? What is a real struggle that you still try to figure out?

I often hear on this sub that Piazolla is an amazing tango composer and that he revolutionized tango music. While I can see how is music is innovative, I don't understand why so many people talk about him, mainly because I have absolutely never heard a Piazolla song in an actual milonga.

So why do people talk so much about a composer that gets basically no time in a normal milonga? Do people actually dance to his songs? Is he popular in certain areas, say Argentina?

I have been listening to some of his music, and (with my extremely limited DJ experience) I find it hard to believe that it can be made into a tanda that wouldn't get me side eyes from nearly all dancers in the room.

Been teaching tango in Buenos Aires for a while now. Always curious, what was the single moment that made you fall in love with tango?

Dear tango DJ collegues.

What kind of music would you play in an evening where there is a small group of extremely good dancers and a large group of beginners with quite old age, 70% women and no mixing at all between the two groups?

I am not very skilled probably, I had a similar case recently and I decided to stick to the good dancers, but at one point they were clearly tired of dancing between them so the athmosphere was ruined. At the moment of Pugliese, one of them came to me saying "With whom am I supposed to dance this tanda?" It was on the El Panuelito.

It is true, they had basically nobody to dance it, but what was I supposed to play then? I could drop a bad Pugliese tanda so they had another excuse to sit down? Skip Pugliese at all is an option in this case?

I know I can't be the only one!

I am late deafened and in my early 40s. I started dancing Tango about 20 years ago, just when my hearing started to deteriorate. Now, as a profoundly deaf dancer, I have found more challenges, but more love for the dance. I've also been wildly blessed by the automatic and open-armed acceptance of my deafness by those in my Tango community and how willing, and even proactive, they have been in accommodating my needs (i don'tthink they realize how very rare that is). I am also the only deaf dancer I am aware of in my area, and have met only 2 others who wear hearing aids (they need no other accommodations/considerations to hear the music or converse, mostly comfortably, at milongas) in the 20 years I've been dancing and the traveling I've done to do so.

My question is, my fellow deaf dancers, what accommodations do you ask for/need/use in order to dance your best during classes and milongas. I have new Bluetooth hearing aids that have been astounding in their ability to give me back sound/music in a way that I have not been able to access in 10 years, if not more. But, as should be expected, I still struggle. I also use automatic transcription on my phone, make sure that new partners know of my deafness (especially if I'm leading), and I'm sure I do other things that have become automatic throughout the years. I'd love to hear your experiences and suggestions. Thanks!

There’s a move where the lead holds the follow-up as she air steps on his feet to look like she’s stepping up stairs, it’s very interesting and I kind find it anywhere

Hi everyone,

My situation is as follows. I know the basics:

• The basic 8 and box
• The forward and back ochos
• Sandwich
• And a few extra little turns

So at this point, beginner classes are a little redundant. Fine to refine the basics I guess, but not moving me forward.

The issue with group intermediate classes is that its usually just one move that feels random in the context of the dance....and kind of hard to use---so what happens is I "get it" by the end of the class, but I'll try it a week later somewhere and its just a little forgotten.

Also, the vibe in some intermediate classes can be, well.... cold. As in, you don't belong here, rookie...

I guess people will say privates is the missing link, but in New York, that's very pricey.

Does anyone else experience this gap and/or have any thoughts on how to progress?

I really want to get better, but I often just feel like I'm treading water and not being efficient.

Thanks

Hey! I would love to hear about the vibe, milongas, teachers and social life in tango scene in Athens. Also other parts of Greek if travelling. I might be next spring season there, so curious about that. Do you think it’s easy to integrate?

In case you both you and romantic partner do tango, do you dance something like Pugliese with other people ?

I have lately started getting dances with more high level leads. I feel this change in my own presence when dancing with some of them and also with visiting teachers.

Often it’s related to that those dancers seem more selective and don’t use their energy to chatting(it’s ok that they are not), but with goofier leads i’m more relaxed and that’s where I know I can do better at my best.

The feeling in my body is something like that: kinda listening too much to the lead and not fully trust my step, feeling wobblier as i’m quite stable normally.

How to overcome this? Thank you in advance. :)

Hello! I would like to have some outfit inspiration from tangueras with personal styles. I tried to post previously and mentioned one name as an example but it seems you can’t name names even if it’s a famous teacher?

So maybe you can post pics from your favorite tangostyles, your own or from the internet! :)

Hello! I am doing a world music presentation about Argentine Tango and I need to interview a musician that performs this kind of music. Is there anyone who is willing to answer a few questions in an interview?

🎸 Rosa de otoño (vals) - Extracto del tutorial para 2 guitarras
👉 Tutorial COMPLETO con partitura en mi canal de YouTube
📥 Partitura PDF en Patreon

Regina is advertising their new line of women's shoes as barefoot style. They don't seem to be listed on their website yet. Hopefully they are as comfortable as promised (also hopefully the colour range is not all so pastel). Sharing because the inquiries regarding barefoot shoes emerged from time to time.