What makes a good tango dancer

These dances are commonly in small, crowded spaces, and many believe this is the only way to truly dance Tango. It is close and intimate, as two bodies lean forward chest to chest, into each other, with faces and heads often times in contact. For this reason, couples appear to move as one entity, and the connection between the two must be on point. It is common for the follower to dance with closed eyes and totally immerse into the experience in order to get into the zone and completely feel the music.

Thus, this style evolved as the musical styles evolved, calling for the music to be interpreted differently. This clip is shows a Nuevo Tango improvisation to Ed Sheeran — a totally non traditional Tango song:. The embrace in Tango Nuevo can be closed or open; it is up to the dancers and their interpretation. This style requires a larger dance floor.

However, Neo Tango allows dancers to incorporate steps from other types of dances as well, expanding the possibilities for self expression. This style of Tango is reserved for performances as it is impractical to execute at a social dance scene. Because of the many frills of stage Tango, it is trickier to stay connected within the partnership.

Partners must enter completely into their roles and the leader must still lead his partner, whether or not the routine is set. There is a trust factor that followers must embrace, as they let the leader lead and have control. The most important thing for a follower is to be balanced and poised, waiting to respond to the lead. As the follower commits the momentum, it is at that time that the leader may step as well, so that they step in sync and precisely together.

Feet are close to the floor as partners walk, and ankles and knees brush as one leg passes the other. As the follower pays full attention to her partner and immerses herself in the moment, so the leader listens and accommodates for her. Since the Tango is highly improvisational, there needs to be clear communication between partners. For this reason, whichever embrace is used, there should always be complete contact along the embracing arms.

Not everyone goes into Tango, or any other dance for that matter, wanting to be the best dancer. Perhaps you just want to have fun, get out of the house or meet people. And that is totally understandable. It is still important to work at becoming the best dancer you can be. The better your dance level, the more you will feel good about yourself and be able to enter any milonga with confidence and a smile.

Find a good instructor and take regular, consistent lessons. Take group classes to learn how to lead and follow different people. Take private lessons to receive quality feedback and improve your technique. If you are a visual learner, watch videos of professional dancers. You need practice by yourself and with a partner. Practice by yourself to work on your footwork, your posture and your balance. Looking at your posture in the mirror can help a lot.

Best of all, find someone to take lesson with you, and then soon after the class practice what you learned. Or gather with a small group of dancers and practice together. Listening to Tango music over and over again will help you to understand the phrasing, improve your musicality and establish a deeper connection to the dance. A list of the top tango orchestras can be found here.

There is no substitute for time spent on the dance floor. Along the same lines as trusting ourselves, self-confidence will help us lead or follow with ease and clarity and without hesitation or second-guesses. We can, of course, help other dancers to gain self-confidence by, for instance, trusting and being patient with them. And of course, with practice and hard work comes increased mastery of the dance, which should lead to more self-confidence.

Once we know that we know what we are doing, that will come across to our partners and help them trust us. Self-confident dancers usually attract more partners, in turn helping them improve their skills and gain more confidence, attracting more partners still, and so on. But beware the fine line between self-confidence and arrogance. A healthy trust that we know what we are doing does not mean we should think we are beyond fault or better than everyone else.

Tango is an improvised dance, so not only does it not always go according to plan, it should not always go according to plan. Smile, forgive your partner, forgive yourself. Then everyone can relax and move on rather than revisiting the unpleasant moment that made them uncomfortable and might very well stick with them through other dances or a whole evening that otherwise could have been more fun. It is tango, after all.

Once a week is not enough, class time must be combined with practice time as well as dancing in the milongas, and six months of experience is nothing. Besides, passion will bring a quality to our dancing that goes beyond solid technique and a good sense of rhythm.

People will see it and, of course, our partners will feel it. Skilled dancers tend to be in demand, for obvious reasons, and of course so do young, attractive dancers. If I dance with you and I enjoy myself, I will surely seek you out again, and not only that, but I will spread the word. Lots of factors can contribute to my fun, not the least of which are skill level and musicality, but the most enjoyable dancers are those who put their partners first.

Take care of our partners — by dancing to their level thus making them feel good about their dancing, by not using them as shields or battering rams on the dance floor, by shrugging or laughing off any blips — and they will keep coming back to us. And it comes back to them in the end, because a dancer with happy partners is inevitably a happy dancer. Good listening skills: In life and in tango, the best communicators are good listeners.