The lessons are fun, so you will enjoy learning.
We pride ourselves on being friendly and delivering personal, relaxed teaching that is professional and reliable. From start to finish the lessons are structured around you. We plan the lessons very carefully, so you’ll continue enjoying the lessons and develop new skills to improve your dancing.
Tango is a beautiful improvised dance, and so we don’t teach you sequences that are hard to remember and cannot be used at Tango dances. Instead, we teach Tango that’s easy to learn and enjoy, and that’s why people in our lessons enjoying dancing tango so much!
What to expect
The lessons always start on time, so it’s best to arrive a bit early! When you arrive you register and pay, then put on your dancing shoes. Then before your lesson starts there’s time to practice and warm-up, chat with your tango friends and teachers.
The lessons start with reminders of what we have covered in previous weeks, and the necessary techniques.
Then we add in new ideas, always giving you plenty of time to practice everything.
Lots of people ask questions, and everyone helps each other to learn.
Changing partners
If you come with a partner that you’d like to stay with throughout the lesson then that’s alright with us.
But it’s perfectly OK to come without a partner (most people do); there’s usually a good balance of leaders and followers in the lessons, and more experienced dancers are on hand to help out too.
During the lessons it’s good to change dance partners frequently, because dancing with different people can help you to learn faster. It’s also good preparation for Tango dance events, where you will be dancing with lots of different people. Everyone is learning together so it can be good fun and a nice way to get to know everyone!
After your lesson
When your lesson ends there’s a short break before the next lesson starts; time for more dancing, chatting with each other and the teachers, or just relaxing.
You are encouraged to stay during the next lesson. There’s always space set aside for you to practice, or we suggest that you watch the lesson in progress (ask us before joining in!)
Dress code
The lessons are informal, so we wear comfortable casual clothes. Your shoes can make a big difference. For ladies we suggest a shoe style with a small heel, leather sole, ankle straps, and an enclosed toe for comfort. Smooth soles will help you to pivot easily. The best choice for men is smooth (ideally leather) soled shoes that are close fitting around the front. We do not recommend boots, fashion shoes with long toes, dance ‘pumps’ or trainers.
What if I have to miss a lesson?
If you can’t attend every lesson then don’t worry; the lessons every week start with a short recap of what we learnt previously. You could also come to the lessons at a different venue; the lessons are the same at all our venues each week.
Enjoyment & learning
We want you to have a good time. This is not always easy when you are learning something as unique and challenging as Tango, but even when it gets difficult or frustrating we will support you.
We believe that you will learn Tango best through encouragement and guidance. There’s no room for criticism or negative judgements when learning or practising, so please don’t blame or criticise your partner. If something goes wrong then explore what you need to do to put it right, openly and constructively with help from your teachers.
We are all learning, and we enjoy sharing our learning, regardless of how good or experienced we are. We treat each other with courtesy, consideration, and respect.
Safety and Respect
Tango is an intimate and sensuous dance. Leading & following needs respect between partners. We ensure that there’s a safe and wholesome environment where you feel free to enjoy yourself.
It’s possible to injure yourself by poor technique or wearing the wrong shoes. You know your body; please give any warning signals the attention they deserve.
On a crowded dance floor it is easy for inattentive or selfish dancers to collide with other dancers. This must be avoided, and we are vigilant for your protection and safety. We promote the highest standards of floorcraft and respect for other dancers.
Style
We don’t believe in teaching you to dance sequences of steps. That’s because Argentine Tango is not a sequence dance.
Instead, we show you how understand the principles of Tango, allowing you the freedom to explore and enjoy Tango for yourself.
But just doing the steps correctly is not enough. A beautiful dance happens when there is harmony between the dancers. We dance for enjoyment through partnership, so the dance doesn’t need to be flamboyant or crowded with complicated manoeuvres. We prefer a few steps danced musically and beautifully.
