15. Take Argentine Tango lessons

It must have been the writer's strike last year that subconsciously influenced this decision. I found myself suddenly mesmerized by the plethora of dance shows. Before I knew it I had the urge to take Argentine Tango lessons.

Now, I was drawn to the name. Argentine? I liked Argentine steak houses, so it was an obvious sign that this was the style of dancing I would do. I had never seen it performed, and couldn't tell you the difference between it and any other kind of tango, or even dance, for that matter. I signed up for a six-week class at Ric Seeling's Dance Club, and arrived at my first class slightly nervous and mostly eager. My biggest dilemma was what kind of shoes to wear? I sorted through my closet-full of sandals and finally settled on a pair of pink, leather-soled loafers, which I hoped would let me glide gracefully around the wooden dance floor.

As the teacher joined us in the room, I looked around at the other seven participants and had an immediate flashback to my junior high dances. Once again, I was the tallest person in the room:-) I didn't have time to dwell on it, though, because I was soon concentrating on learning the steps.

I discovered that Argentine Tango is an improvised dance, where basic dance patterns are put together by the man as he moves his partner around the floor. The woman's job is to trust his lead, and be ready to move in any direction at any time, and to not anticipate a move. For someone like me who is used to running the show on a daily basis, I could already see where my challenge was going to be! I attempted to relax and be a good partner and stay off my partner's feet.

The dance looks a little odd, too, as the two dancers hold their upper bodies close together, with their feet apart, almost like an 'A' frame. This is so their feet don't get tangled up in the improvisational nature of the dance, but it makes the women lean into the men. I was informed that we're not actually leaning with our weight on the man, but somehow are expected to magically balance while twirling and stepping. I was afraid to try this during the first class because I didn't want to flatten a dance partner while I was learning. I could picture it. "Whoa! Dancer down in the Argentine Room!"

Argentine Tango had its origins in dance halls, bars and houses of prostitution. When done by someone other than us beginners, the dance is very close, entwined and very sensuous. The teacher informed us that a dance is called a 'Milonga'. Why, I'm practically Latin already.

Now that I've had several classes, I'm starting to get the hang of the steps and think I'll stay with it. Like most anything, the basics are fairly simple, but mastery is a lifetime process. My teacher suggested that I look on YouTube for some Argentine Tango video, and after watching, I'm SO glad I didn't see it before starting the class! I would have been quite intimidated. At least now I can sort of see what steps they're doing. Maybe I'll get a pair of nice dance shoes, that way, as long as I'm standing still, no one will know I'm a beginner.