Item 44: Argentine Tango Lesson

Location: Confeteria Ideal, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Ok, this one needs to be back dated to around Easter.

I was completely demoralised in my third tango class in London, holding in my tears on the tube after the class only letting them pour out when I got home. It was my third lesson and the instructor decided it was time to pick on me. Scalding me front of the entire class over and over and over until I ‘almost’ managed to follow his lead correctly.

“No. No. No! You are thinking too much! You are not walking properly” he said.

“Stop thinking, just follow my lead! It’s no good!”

There were sympathetic smiles when I let out huge sigh of relief as I turned and walked back to my spot in the circle of other students. All the females in the class came to speak to me at the end of the lesson showing their support.

“Oh, you improved so much the third time he made you dance with him.”

This only indicated the amount of anxiety held by the ladies in the class, and how grateful they were that I took it for the team that night.

So the story continues, I had a trip booked to Argentina mid-last year. By the time it came to visit Buenos Aires, "City of Tango" I was in complete FEAR! I had been told tango was all the people did in the country’s capital, even the kids. I couldn’t dance, and through all the pain of my London dance classes, the shine on the holiday had been tarnished.

My first dinner in Buenos Aires comprised of the famous Argentine parilla (quality barbequed meat), and my company of ex-pat "Tango Tourists" who were visiting the country purely to fulfil their lifelong dreams to live and breath tango for a whole year. It seemed all I had been told about the dancing and city was true. Tango traditions, milonga (tango night) etiquette, dance teachers, dance halls, it went on and on for the whole meal. Boring!

This was a case for ‘When in Rome….’ I managed to find enough courage to sign up at Confeteria Ideal to experience a true Argentine Tango Lesson hoping like crazy it was nothing like the dodgy Las Estrallas crap I experienced in London.

Slightly wary of the three hour lesson, it was make or break for my tango trials. Thankfully, the class was greeted by two lovely teachers who spoke English. There was no half hour spoken induction, instead it was three hours of solid learning and practice. We covered some basic moves and were able to dance with partners of our choice – not the sleazy instructor.

At the end of the lesson, it was more relief knowing that not every dance instructor is an asshole needing his ego to be stoked by his students. Our teachers were supportive and friendly, and did not hold you up in front of the class criticising you. It was almost an enjoyable experience in a pretty location, and one day when I recover from the scars of my lessons in London I may even try a class once again.

Item 44: Argentine Tango Lesson? CHECK