Tango in Ann Arbor

“Ladies, you must slide, then push,” tango artist Silvina Valz instructed the class in a lilting Spanish accent. “The foot that is sliding is all for show. It is the foot that is poooosshhhing that is doing the work!”

“Slide, then poooosssshh! Slide, then poooosssshh!”

Every few years or so, I learn of the existence of a flourishing subculture in Ann Arbor. You know what I mean – a large group of people who are fanatically involved in something, yet somehow manage to operate under the radar and don’t make the pages of the Ann Arbor News or the Observer. A few years ago, The Button and I stumbled upon Robotics.

And now I’ve discovered Argentine Tango.

Earlier this year, a friend told me about the tango classes she’d been taking at the U. “It’s a lot of fun with a really diverse group of people,” she told me. “And, Mandy, the SHOES! It’s worth it just for the beautiful shoes!” So I signed up for a beginner class with the Michigan Argentine Tango Club, and have been taking private lessons for a couple months.

Last weekend the Club hosted it’s 6th Anniversary Dance Festival. 180 dancers participated in classes, practicas (practice sessions), and milongas (dances) over the course of four days. Along with the five guest instructors, 70 of those participants were from out of state. Silvina and her partner, Oliver Kolker, taught a “Tango Walk" class. As Silvina was telling us “slide, then poooosh,” I had a bit of an a-ha moment, realizing that it’s a little like ice skating (another activity to which I bring enthusiasm, but very little skill).

Silvina and Oscar performed a wonderful fast-paced, whimsical tango (view clip) at the final milonga in the Ballroom of the Michigan Union. As an undergrad, I shared an office on the second floor of the Union and in all those years I don’t think anyone ever told me to stop dancing in the halls. Maybe it’s a Homeland Security thing.

I also took the “Waltzing It Up" class, taught by Tomas Howlin, my favorite instructor of the weekend. His self-deprecating sense of humor put the beginners like me at ease. But an interesting contrast – as Tomas danced with his partner Rebecca Schulman at the final milonga (view clip), the expression on his face was very focused and intense.
I noticed this watching the experienced dancers over the weekend. I know these people are having a good time, but boy, if you go by the expressions on their faces you’d think they were doing their taxes. I’ve heard it said that Argentine close embrace tango is like “sex on hardwood.” So perhaps like sex, some people laugh, some people cry, and many are simply transported by the intensity.

And some of us are still just trying to find our balance.