Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Most of us have a deep-seated, unconscious, preconceived idea of what it's like to dance. It's a little secret that we keep hidden from everyone -- in all likelihood, even from ourselves.

But it's there.

This is not something we're particularly aware of from day to day. It only manifests itself, when we actually attempt the physical act of dancing. Or perhaps when we begin taking dance lessons. Suddenly, we feel that we have to do something special, something quite different from our everyday manner of moving around in the world. Our little secret makes itself known. We do that thing we think deep down in our souls is what people do when they dance, what we think we're supposed to do in order to be able to tell ourselves that we are now dancing.

We reveal the secret to the world. And we're almost always -- really, almost always -- dead wrong.

In case you have no idea what I'm talking about up until now, let me give you a few examples from my experience as a dance teacher. As a rule, both men and women (leaders and followers) feel that the dance embrace involves a vice-like death grip in order to be successful. Both men and women feel that they must personally enter a state of virtually paralytic tension in order to avoid making mistakes. Both men and women believe that a dance -- let's say, Argentine Tango for example -- consists of memorized figures, which must be learned and forever after maintained in order to dance well. Both men and women believe that when things go wrong, it is always their fault. Both men and women believe that they should be able to learn how to dance in an hour or less -- beyond which they question the point of going on.

Does any of this seem familiar? I find that when I teach an individual or a couple how to dance, I almost always have to start by spending a great deal of time just peeling away the layers of preconception and misinformation people aren't even aware are holding them down. If you're a man (leader), it may take you months to become aware, for example. that you can induce movement in your partner without pushing or pulling her. If you're a woman, it may take you a year or more to be able to attain stillness at the end of any given traveling movement without having someone drag you to a stop.

I am saying these things, because I think you need to know why learning how to dance under the guidance of a competent teacher is so crucial, if you want to be any good at it. The process doesn't have to take years. You don't have to spend your life savings in getting there. But to think that you can achieve the goal of becoming a credible social dancer by grabbing a few fancy steps from YouTube is precisely the wrong road to take.

This year, treat yourself to the experience of actually learning the art of Tango. Find a teacher you like, make a commitment to take a series of lessons, and get the process going. I guarantee that you'll absolutely love the results, as you finally join the ranks of people who really do know how to dance.

Please join Fran and Pat for our Saturday Practica at Pearl Studios, 500 8^th Avenue (between 35^th and 36^th Streets; 2-4pm, $10 per person. (Bringing a partner isn't necessary.) Fran and Pat will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about your dancing, and to help you with material you're working on. If you’d like a private lesson, call Fran directly at 212-662-7692, or email him at franchesleigh@mac.com. For the practice, all you have to do is arrive with $10 and your dance shoes in hand.

The following folks helped set up, break down and clean up before and after the milonga. Without them, there would be no Firehouse Tango.

• Ferd Ritz - (We just love having Ferd at Firehouse, and we hope he keeps on coming every Thursday night.  Thanks also for helping clean up.)
  
• Sydney St. James
• Elena Titova
• Elena Syrett
• Bob Brillo
  
• Barbara Lombardi
• Steve Maisch