Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. As many of you know, Pat and I teach a 2-hour Tango class every Wednesday at the Argentine Consulate in New York City. I’m very proud of the fact that this year marks my fifteenth year of conducting this class. (Pat came aboard as co-teacher several years ago after she retired from her full-time job.)

Recently, a new student (let’s call her Maria) joined our group. She came into the room a bit late (we start at noon, and Maria arrived a half hour later). I could tell at a glance that Maria was feeling completely intimidated by the other students. In fact, when I asked her name, she very quietly told me that she’s never danced social Tango before, and was feeling afraid that we’d all think she was terrible.

I assured Maria that all of us had been through this ourselves, and that we understood exactly how she was feeling.

“But what can I do,” she asked. “I don’t know anything.”

As the other students were practicing a sequence Pat and I had just demonstrated, I took Maria aside, and gave her the following assignment:

“Your job for today, Maria, is to begin by trying to move forward, backward, and to the side — along with changing from one foot to the other in place. You’ll begin by doing this by yourself. After each of these movements, you’re going to try finding nice, comfortable balance on one foot (the one that just traveled).”

I let Maria work on this solo “assignment” for about fifteen minutes, while Pat and I continued the class. Next, I asked one of my more experienced leaders (we’ll call him Jeff) to gently hold hands with Maria, and invite each of the fundamental movements she had been practicing by herself. I told Jeff that when he felt she seemed comfortable enough, he could try the interaction, using the embrace.

By the end of our 2-hour class, Maria was nothing short of ecstatic. She said, “I can’t wait to come back for my next lesson.!” At the same time, Jeff was thrilled. “This was great. I had to concentrate my brains out! It was a real test of my leading skills.”

I suggested that it might a good idea, if Maria were able to practice what she was learning with Jeff during the week. In fact, I recommended that they contact one another, and set up some time together. When she demurred, I said, “You don’t have to get married; just practice a few times together. By next week, I guarantee that both of you will have improved.”

“Won’t Jeff get bored?” She asked.

“Definitely not,” I said. “Jeff knows that this lead/follow practice is exactly what both of you need. As I always tell all my students, this kind of concentrated practice is absolutely the key to becoming a good social Tango dancer.”

It has now been a few months since we first met Maria. She and Jeff have actually been practicing together a few times a week, and both are showing signs of marked improvement in their dancing. Maria is getting very adept at allowing all her partners lead every individual movement she makes, patiently waiting in balance until she’s invited to take another step.

Very impressive.

And Jeff, who always used to constantly badger Pat and me for new “fancy” steps, is coming to realize just how satisfying it is to forget the focus on performance-based fantasies, and simply improvise effortlessly from one movement to the next — as he uses the lead/follow mechanism with steadily increasing skill.

To my way of thinking, when two people can find this kind of dance relationship, this is a great success story. It takes a lot of work, but it can definitely be done, if both partners make a commitment to the process.

How about you? Are you ready to do what it takes to become a better social Tango dancer? If “yes” is your answer, you might want to begin by setting up a few practice dates with a good leader/follower on a regular basis, and start tracking your progress.

I think you’ll be very pleasantly surprised.