Vol 4 No 6, June 2010
©2010 Salt Lake Vienna Waltz Association
"Away they all went, twenty couple at once, hands half round and back again the other way;
down the middle and up again; round and round in various stages of affectionate grouping;
old top couple always turning up in the wrong place; new top couple starting off again,
as soon as they got there; all top couples at last, and not a bottom one to help them."
Charles Dickens
We’d been meaning to try Argentine Tango for the past couple of years, but just never seemed to find the time. Then,
when Wasatch Tango, www.wasatchtango.org, announced the UTango Festival, “a Spring celebration of Argentine
Tango in Salt Lake City,” June 10-13, we knew our time had come.
We signed up for the “First Steps in Tango” package which included two group lessons, and a milonga, or tango event,
of our choice, plus a special Sunday brunch at Sugarhouse Park. Our first lesson was held at Gallivan Center Friday
night, and was taught by Mitra Martin and Stefan Fabry of Oxygen Tango in west Los Angeles. We were assigned
random partners which helps avoid the bad habits one can develop dancing with the same partner over and over.
Argentine Tango is different! It’s slow, sexy, and very fluid. See www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2mVJDQyyWg
However, I dance almost exclusively Viennese Waltz and Foxtrot, two dances which cover a lot of the dance floor. And
that waltz and foxtrot energy showed in my tango steps. Stefan had to keep stopping me, telling me to relax and slow
down. I was relaxed; I just found it hard to slow down. Fortunately, the dance floor was small and rather crowded. The
couples blocking the way in front of me were the main reason I didn’t sprint across the floor.
For me, dancing is aerobic. Those dance scenes in old 1940s-era films where couples shuffle a few inches back and
forth on a crowded dance floor while conversing casually about love and war seem stilted and contrived. Not that
Argentine Tango is; just that it is so different than what I’m used to.
Saturday night we took our second lesson at Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Holladay. And we stayed for the
milonga. Here was where we saw fabulous Argentine Tango. Instructors from New York, Montreal, and Los Angeles
showcased their talents in solo dances, and almost everyone in attendance was an accomplished dancer. And they are
an accepting bunch. We beginners were made to feel welcome, and we were not intimidated as we hesitatingly danced
across the floor.
Argentine Tango has a solid following in Salt Lake City. Hopefully, Wasatch Tango will host another of these festivals; I
expect them to get an even better turnout. Keep your eye on Wasatch Tango’s website.