Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. As a teacher, I hear a lot of students complain again and again about how difficult Tango is to learn. Maybe that’s how you feel. (I used to feel the same way.) And today, I’m going to tell you why. That’s right; I’m going to let you in on the secret. You have the learning process backward.

Yes, backward.

This is what I mean. As we discussed last week, many teachers are under pressure by students — particularly male students — to focus more or less exclusively on “moves.” It is unfortunate, but true, that stage-oriented steps are what most men want. I think this is because most male students believe that:

·      Such material will make them look good on the dance floor

·      A repertoire of complex figures will impress their partners

·      Accumulating fancy figures will provide them with a shortcut to mastering the dance

None of this is true.

Here are the facts:

·      Complex material, executed badly by inexperienced students, is nothing short of ludicrous to anyone with a discerning eye

·      The vast majority of followers are not at all impressed — and are, in fact, really turned off — by being uncomfortably wrestled through figures, which such students cannot lead with any degree of expertise

·      As you will eventually find out for yourself — if you don’t know it already — there is simply no shortcut to learning Tango

Yes, I know, major bummer — but facts, much as we may not want to hear them, are facts.

The late Carlos Gavito used to tell his students: “Tango is a way to walk.” He would follow this up by saying, “Forget about figures; learn how to move through space. Only then should you begin to consider building a vocabulary of steps.” Next week, I’m going to share a few things that Pat and I think are important in “learning how to walk.”

Stay tuned.

In a recent interview appearing on YouTube, the renowned milonguero Flaco Dani said he strongly believed that passing down the music and dance tradition of one’s country from one generation to the next was a necessary mandate for those who had the power to do so. Pat and I agree, and to this end we’ve begun what we call the American Social Dance Project, an all-new initiative designed to preserve and nurture real American social dancing – the way it was meant to be.

We’ve kicked off our project with what we call “Class One” – a weekly exploration of three important American Social Dances: Foxtrot, Triple Swing, and Salsa. (Yes, we know Salsa is from the Caribbean – but here in America, we’ve adopted this and many other social dance forms as our own since the 1920s.)

We hope you like the idea of keeping American social dance alive, not competitive or performance dancing, but real social dance the way it was traditionally done. To that end, we invite you to join us every Monday evening at 8:00 p.m. for a fun-filled social dance fix. We guarantee that you’ll have a ball!

Here are the details:

Class One

Concentrating on authentic American Foxtrot, Triple Swing and Salsa

Mondays, 8:00 p.m.

Studios 353

353 West 48^th Street, Second floor (between 8^th and 9^th

Avenues)

New York City

This Monday: Another Special Holiday Treat – A Swing performance in the classic social style -- by Fran and Pat!

The longest-running and friendliest practica in NYC! Come join our happy group of social tango dancers, whose sole purpose is to enjoy dancing and to practice what they’re learning. Everyone dances! Essential Tango Therapy! Pat and I will be on hand to answer any questions you may have, and help you with material you’re working on. Plus you get a new “must-have” move each week! No partner required, all levels. Dardo Galletto Studios, 151 West 46^th Street, 11^th floor, (bet. 6^th & 7^th Aves) www.franchesleigh.com

If you’d like a private lesson, you can visit our website at www.franchesleigh.com, call Fran directly at 212-662-7692, or email him at franchesleigh@mac.com Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/franchesleighllc

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

• Steve Turi
• Jesse Barton
  
• Mike Porro
  
• Lynn Gross
• Tsipoyra Sartan
• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Steve Maisch
• ​​​​​​​Hilda and Rafael