So the first way to seek it's beauty and its rewards is to listen to the music a lot - even when you are not practicing or dancing. In the kitchen; in the car; as you prepare for sleep. A certain familiarity with the music is the key to getting your body to move nicely with it. It has to be inside you for it to work. If you notice you never get tired of listening to it as the months go by, you will find many pleasures and rewards in Tango for the rest of your life.

On this website (ToTANGO.net) I have a few pages about the great Tango orchestras and who I call "The Big 8" Maestros, whose music embodies the essence of Argentine Tango. Knowing a little about the recordings, like being able to immediately identify, "That's Di Sarli!" or "Ah, Pugliese!" will really advance your abilities through understanding - not because of "what" you know, but because of what you will have gone through in listening to know it. Trust me.

HOW TO GET REALLY DANCING TANGO

1. The first responsibility - of both the woman and the man, is to really listen to the music. The more open you are to its influence, the sooner it will carry you along to its Heart. Listen before you move. Every song. Always bring yourself back to this basic starting point.

2. Slow down. As you get excited, you lose it. So I mean slow down your inner workings. Thinking is not doing. The time to concentrate on details is in your own practice time. On the floor, it is only time to lose yourself in the moment. That calls for a certain unconcious competence. Here's the practice part coming in ...

3. Only practice will get you going smoothly. And each Beginner must practice regularly alone at first to get sure of the basic movements. Your solitary love of moving with the music is the beginning point for being able to enjoy the dance with another. The follower must be able to do her ochos, for instance, without holding on to someone or something. The leader must work out in his mind what he will lead next - and compose little combinations he likes of the figures he has learned. Fluidity will come. Keep your "frame" up at all times when you move by yourself. Act a bit - move as if you were a great dancer already. Be one in your mind! Tango isn't about your feet, it's about all of you - spirit , mind and body. A good frame supports your desires.

Now practice with partners. Don't just always dance with the same partner.

Remember it's your Body Memory that is most important. The moves have to become automatic for it. Figures or "steps" are for your body memory, not your head. In this way, it becomes automatic and you're on your way.

4. Go social dancing often for the fun and pleasure of it!

By the way, there are more pages on this site about learning Tango, challenges and rewards.

This has been a helpful topic for me. The struggle I have is that I will be dancing with a good lead, but my body gets confused. Last night, he clearly lead a rear ocho, and instead of stepping back with my left I stepped forward with my right. Duh! It's like the signal gets crossed in my brain.

My instructors classify me as an "early intermediate", and I dance about 3 - 4 times a week. Any recommendations, suggestions, thoughts as to why I do this?

Fransesca, Pasadena, CA

Keith wrote:

Your post was also helpful in how it was put, I'm sure.

I suggest the issue is your weight shift commitment. After-all, leading AND following is about this.

There is a place between steps where you are leaving the last step, but have not committed to the next. You find it by not getting excited, not being in a hurry, not thinking. You find it when completely lost in the music and feeling where your partner's weight is NOW. Don't anticipate or guess. Feel it precisely "now." Waiting - suspension - is the key for both followers and leaders. In this place of almost nano-second suspension, tango magic happens. The real communication. The conversation.

When I lead, I'm always waiting/listening for my partner. In every beat, more-or-less. When following, it's all about where is the leader's weight. I say this from my bias of believing tango is essentially a walking dance. One foot, then the other. But not in a hurry. Even in milonga - feel it it slow-motion.

So, think about not automatically committing your weight to another step. Make nothing "automatic." Find the nuance of the suspension moment, and when you are there, there are no "mistakes." Only adjustment, communication. You'll feel - sense - the direction your leader's weight is going to.

Not trying to sound like I have all the answers! (Would that I did).

Keith

What follows is something I just re-discovered sitting on a German website that I had written a few years ago, about NERVOUSNESS.

Most people are nervous as they progress through the stages of becoming accomplished. So first of all, remind yourself that everyone else has felt this too - it's OK to be nervous in the first instance.

Of course the two things you want to get control of are your body and your mind.

Your body problem can be helped when you breathe properly. Before you start, conciously take a couple of relaxing deep breaths. If you are tight, and you don't breathe, your nervousness will grow. Keep breathing as you dance. Make sure your neck and shoulders (while your arms are strong in the frame) are relaxed. Proper breathing is with your diaphragm. Breathing into your lungs will leave you wanting air and tense. (If you had a chronic breathing problem, I would recommend you take a few singing lessons. A vocal coach can show you how to breathe properly).

Your mind is under your control via your meta-mind. So remind yourself that you love to dance; that this is going to be FUN; that by dancing this song in-tune with the music you will make a break-through to being the dancer you want to be.

One other reason for being nervous is because of how you think your partner is going to react to you. Most of us leaders worry that she expects more or better (perhaps we feel intimidated because there is a better male dancer on the floor).

In fact your partner only wants to enjoy the music and the experience of dancing with another partner. She doesn't expect you to be anyone other than yourself.

My then-woman teacher once told me something that was very helpful when I worried about variety, etc. She said,"I would rather you only do 3 'steps' all night as long as you do them well." So just relax, sink into the music, and dance for the pure joy of of what Argentine Tango has to offer.

Remember that not all of the excitement you feel is necessarily because you are nervous. Some of that tingling feeling is part of your reward for learning how to do this!

Enjoy. It's supposed to be fun!