Novice: where to take classes in the south bay area?

[paladin]

I recently moved to San Jose, CA, and wanna find a place to learn Argentina Tango. I had no experiences before. Can anybody recommend a class to begin with? I really appreciate.

[Steve Pastor]

Welcome to DF, paladin. Sure hope someone can help you.

[Katfink]

I am not entirely sure about San Jose proper, but I go to college in Santa Cruz and there is a positively vibrant tango scene. There are classes/practicas at least three nights a week with several monthly milongas sprinkled in. There is a weekly class offered through the UCSC rec department that is run by the UCSC tango club. Its on sundays 1-3 they start with basics at the beginning of each quarter but as the quarters progress through the year it becomes more and more accelerated. There is a class/practica on wednesday nights, but I would not really recomend it for brand new beginners and the same goes with the tuesday practica. Though once you get a couple classes under your belt, you'll be all set. tangomango.org is the big calendar site for the sf bay area tango community. I haven't been able to find anything on San Jose specifically, but with some scouring of the site you will probably find something.

I hope this helped you out some!

[Lilly_of_the_valley]

I highly recommend this teacher's classes:

http://www.marcelosolisargentinetango.com/

Check out his schedule. There are 2 regular classes and a practica on Mondays in Mountain View, and fundamentals and technique workshops on Saturdays in San Jose that are perfect for beginners.

[Captain Jep]

Had a look at his video page , including this one :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YScy78cflJ4&feature=player_embedded

I liked it, but it raises an interesting question : would you enjoy dancing with a guy if you had only seen his feet dance ? :p

[Lilly_of_the_valley]

Had a look at his video page , including this one :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YScy78cflJ4&feature=player_embedded

I liked it, but it raises an interesting question : would you enjoy dancing with a guy if you had only seen his feet dance ? :p

To answer your question, yes, I can tell quite a bit about how dancing with a person might feel just looking at his footwork.

[Heather2007]

To answer your question, yes, I can tell quite a bit about how dancing with a person might feel just looking at his footwork.

Absolutely. And a good example of how to move well in a small space.

[bastet]

To answer your question, yes, I can tell quite a bit about how dancing with a person might feel just looking at his footwork.


I think you can tell a bit about how people dance by their feet, certainly not everything...

For instance, he doesn't' look like a beginner by any means...but he did nearly run his follower in to 2 couples during the course of one song....which would give me a little pause if I were watching from the sidelines....

[Lilly_of_the_valley]

I think you can tell a bit about how people dance by their feet, certainly not everything...

For instance, he doesn't' look like a beginner by any means...but he did nearly run his follower in to 2 couples during the course of one song....which would give me a little pause if I were watching from the sidelines....

This video was taken at a festival milonga, the festival notorious for the abysmal floorcraft habits of, lets say, 85% of its participants. I think many people here know which one I am talking about. ;)
So, it was others who nearly run into them, not him.

[bastet]

hmmm- not sure I can agree with that completely.
I've looked multiple times at the little incident with the 2 follows heels at :48.

It could be the lead in front attempted to move in to an inner lane and couldn't make up his mind and tried to come back, or was trying to occupy both lanes at once (not good)...but if I had been the lead in back, I would also not have continued moving my follower forward at that point til I could see what became of the odd situation...I'd have considered turning to take whatever backlash I thought was coming myself...then their heels would not have hooked each other.

[Lilly_of_the_valley]

hmmm- not sure I can agree with that completely.
I've looked multiple times at the little incident with the 2 follows heels at :48.

It could be the lead in front attempted to move in to an inner lane and couldn't make up his mind and tried to come back, or was trying to occupy both lanes at once (not good)...but if I had been the lead in back, I would also not have continued moving my follower forward at that point til I could see what became of the odd situation...I'd have considered turning to take whatever backlash I thought was coming myself...then their heels would not have hooked each other.

It's OK. You don't have to agree. I have no reason to doubt that you are a better leader and navigator than a milonguero with 20+ years experience dancing in milongas of Buenos Aires and all over the world. But alas, you do not teach in South Bay area. So, I tried to answer the initial question the best I could. :)

[Captain Jep]

Uh-oh - girl fight!!

I've looked again at the "incident" too and it does look odd. Even if the leader in front was invading the outer lane he looks fairly static. I guess he might have come backwards to avoid traffic in front but we cant tell.

Marcelo dances quite conservatively at the end so it could be that this couple were then in front. A calesita to that music says to me that he was probably spooked by something or other.

Tough situation. It looks also as if people were walking along the edge of the dance floor while he was trying to dance on it :)

[bastet]

It's OK. You don't have to agree. I have no reason to doubt that you are a better leader and navigator than a milonguero with 20+ years experience dancing in milongas of Buenos Aires and all over the world. But alas, you do not teach in South Bay area. So, I tried to answer the initial question the best I could. :)


No need to be snarky, even with a smile.

I am not a milonguero with 20+ years of experience, you're right. I'm not even primarily a leader...but I am a follower who has been in put in to similar situations on both the giving and receiving end (and have scars on me feet to show for it). I also know what it looks like when a follower pulls her steps to avoid completing what she has been led to do, which this one does at least twice.

And I know this is off topic but I think this captured an ideal situation to show guys exactly what can happen on the social floor (and this incident is mild compared to some I've heard of or experienced myself) and that they happen to be walking a 3-4" weapon around on a dance floor and just how easy it is for something to go wrong plus how important it is for ladies to have just as much awareness as the guys do when they dance. The follower reacted well, despite the trouble. She was clearly making herself aware.

Just because a person is a teacher doesn't make them infallible on the dance floor, nor do years of experience guarantee anything either.

[bastet]

Uh-oh - girl fight!!

I've looked again at the "incident" too and it does look odd. Even if the leader in front was invading the outer lane he looks fairly static. I guess he might have come backwards to avoid traffic in front but we cant tell.

Marcelo dances quite conservatively at the end so it could be that this couple were then in front. A calesita to that music says to me that he was probably spooked by something or other.

Tough situation. It looks also as if people were walking along the edge of the dance floor while he was trying to dance on it :)

Yes- I saw that too. It was an odd situation all around for sure.

[dchester]

Had a look at his video page , including this one :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YScy78cflJ4&feature=player_embedded

I liked it, but it raises an interesting question : would you enjoy dancing with a guy if you had only seen his feet dance ? :p
I'll admit that I had a negative reaction to that video, but then again, I hate videos where you can't see their entire bodies. So I found another one where I could actually see what he is doing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPI04Mw4THA

[Captain Jep]

Just because a person is a teacher doesn't make them infallible on the dance floor, nor do years of experience guarantee anything either.

Exactly. Most people plateau at some point or another. Especially if (as maybe in this case??) they dont have a regular dancing partner.

I wont say anything more, in case it's adding fuel to the fire :rolleyes: