Learn to tango

Last week I wrapped up my beginners 10-class course. First of all tango is HARD! I would actually dread going because sometimes it was very frustrating. I have to say though, after each class my energy level was always at a complete HIGH – and I was so happy I went. Forcing your brain and body to synergize is extremely important. It helps to build and strengthen neuropathways – which keeps things fresh, and in my case produced a natural high. How cool.

The key to learning tango, I think, is repetition – building and solidifying one’s repertoire of steps so that it becomes second nature and you can concentrate on the music and movement rather than thinking “ok, to do this step I have to do this…” – much like painting is for an abstract expressionist – or music for a jazz musician. There are similarities among them all.

So I will continue with it. Not yet ready for “intermediate” as my instuctor kindly pointed out :) If you have an interest, definitely give it a try!

My first class was Monday. About 15 people showed up. We started with just walking in rhythm forwards and backwards. Once we got into moving in couples it got a little more challenging and awkward. However there were a couple of brief moments (very brief) when I stopped thinking about the movement and FELT it – it was like floating and was WONDERFUL. Hopefully the next classes will help me to get the technical stuff down and be able to FEEL it for more than just a few seconds.

OK, the class – which I have not officially signed up for, starts in 2 weeks. I’m nervous and having second thoughts – I’m very self-conscious and am afraid of looking like a total fool…..

Find a class. Amazingly after a couple of attempts in the past couple of years to find TANGO rather than, say, salsa and merengue, I have found a beginners’ class near me! Starting at the end of March…I’m in.