Tango Classes

Today I reluctantly went back to the tango school. I was really tempted to crawl into bed, but the first class today at 12:30, was improvisation. What attracted me to it was that it was listed on the schedule as only beginner and intermediate - no advanced. That meant there was a good chance it would be easy. I finally took a deep breath and went.

There were four students in the class. An Italian guy, a Russian guy, me and a woman who said she was from Sweden but I think maybe was Thai. The teacher was Valeria Inarra. She was great. Just my level!

I don't remember exactly what we did but she taught us how to improvise a little on the dance floor. Nothing fancy, but depending on where you are with your partner and how much space you have, she showed us how it might be possible to do different steps. What I liked was that we focused a lot on the basics, a lot of practice walking, and then some very simple steps. She spoke mostly Spanish, but also spoke English. Actually she was speaking Spanish for me and English for the other students. I didn't bother to tell her I spoke English too. I figured I needed the practice.

I stayed for the next class which was Tango Salon. Salon style tango is easier for me than close embrace, even though I really like close embrace. The woman at the desk had marked this class on my schedule as another one that she said was "easier".

I'm not sure who the teacher was because on the schedule the name is Alejandro "El Turco" Suaya. But it was a woman, and I don't think her name was Alejandro. Anyway, she was also great. We also did a lot of basics, walking, shifting weight, basic steps, etc. She danced with all of us and gave us all a lot of correction. After 3 hours of dancing, I was pretty exhausted.

Tomorrow I am going to try another 3 hours with Jorge, the teacher I had last week. He teaches a milonga and a Vals class. I know they will be challenging but I am going to try anyway. I have to use up the 12 classes on my abono.

I felt better today after class than I did last week. Last week I wanted to cry. Today I just want to take a nap. Level of difficulty is important. Also I like the smaller classes because we get more individual attention, which I need at this point.

It's pretty incredible that they offer so many different tango classes all day long. At the other center, classes start at 9:30 a.m., and go until 10 p.m. Where I am taking classes, they start at 12:30 p.m. and finish at 11 p.m.

I am glad I put that I would be studying tango in my sabbatical proposal because otherwise I am pretty sure I would not be forcing myself to go to these classes. I learned a lot today from the woman whose name is not Alejandro about some basic things that I've always wondered about. This is a great opportunity and I'm glad I can take advantage of it.