How long is a piece of string?
We all are different. Wouldn’t it be pretty freaky if we all had the same eyes, way of walking, laugh? For that reason, we all learn tango at different speeds. Typically, what helps is:
- Previous dance experience. It will have developed your co-ordination and your kinaesthetic memory (that means memory of physical activities, rather than mental activities).
- Sports experience. It too will have developed your co-ordination and muscle strength. We find that pilates and yoga especially help because they help develop core strength. Martial arts are a big plus too, as they develop coordination, usage of the floor and a sense of “partner work”.
- Previous social dance experience (the kind that involves 2 people dancing amongst other pairs of dancers). This should have given you the gist of leading and of following.
But more than anything else, what matters most is to do something you enjoy, and if you fall in love with Argentine tango, you’ll learn fairly quickly. Does it really matter how fast you learn as long as you enjoy the journey? For the overachievers screaming “of course it matters, you numpty!”, I would say it’s not how skilled you are, it’s how good you want to be. The sky is the limit and the ball in your court. We find that consistency is key in learning tango, and so is mixing tango group classes with private classes and of course joining our Los Angelitos milonga, where tango magic happens. All our classes and milongas are in North London.
