Argentine Tango is a silent conversation in a partnership that takes on a style and energy changing with every setting, mood, song and partner. It is a dance of improvisation of which there is no basic set pattern - only a set of guidelines or rules setting it apart from other dances.

No! However, bringing a partner would help to balance gender. Those who do not come with a partner will be ‘paired off’. Material will be first taught and practiced with your partner. Once couples have an idea of what to do, partnerships will rotate to gain a better understanding of what is taught.

Partners who wish to remain together will be accommodated, but those who rotate learn proper technique more quickly. Partners who stay with each other for a long time tend to, sometimes unknowingly, compensate for each other’s mistakes and neither realizes it until they dance with others.

Shoes: Wear shoes that do not ‘stick’ to the floor. You want to be able to pivot on the front part of your foot. Bottoms that use smooth leather or suede work best. Please - do not wear your outside shoes on the new floor. Thanks.

Clothing: Do not wear clothing that restricts your movement, such as long pencil skirts.

Argentine Tango music is 2/4, but does not have a strict tempo – tempos may change during a song. It is also possible to dance Argentine Tango to contemporary and some non-Tango music.

Argentina was undergoing a mass of immigration (mostly poor men) from the late 1800s. It was this intermixing of European immigrants and Africans that resulted in a melting pot of dances and music and led to Argentine Tango. Though no one really knows where the word comes from, there is popular belief that the polka, waltz, mazurkas, the Habanera from Cuba, and the candombe from Africa were strong contributers to this dance. Being a risqué dance danced by the low class in bars and brothels, it was neither respected nor accepted (particularily by the upper cass) until it was introduced to and became popular with Europeans. Once it did, the dance thrived until 1955 when President Perón was ousted by a coup. Since Perón had used Tango artists for his political purposes and many were involved with his movement, the bans on meetings of more than three people was rigidly enforced - against Tango clubs especially. This greatly dimished the Argentine dance culture. It was only after the restoration of democracy in 1983, that Argentine Tango re-kindled and grew to what it is today.