How much practice till we went to our first milonga?

[HugoPT]

Work had me traveling to Buenos Aires where I tried a Tango class where I learned the basics, embrace, stepping forward, back and to the sides.

I went then to meet my colleague who was dancing Tango in a Milonga called El Bejo. It was packed, after some pressure/joking for me to try the Milonga, his follower friend told me to go to the floor and so I went.

My objective was to not step on her toes and not move into any couple. I was able to do that, even if she did some stuff on her own.

I was so concentrated I didn't even thought about being nervous. My colleague was like me astonished.

After that I returned with my girlfriend to Buenos Aires in vacation and after two weeks full of classes we adventured to go at the beginning of Milongas when the floor was not packed, it was 4 months after my first class.

The outside line for me is the safest and simpler, they move, stop, do some stuff, repeat. The inside was full of show offs and people in the inside line that moved inside out and inside in of the blue.

 

[Bailango]

Yep, 100% this. Pretty much all I did for the first 2-3 months of private lessons was walking. That's absolutely appropriate in terms of technique, but hopeless in a crowded milonga as there is so little walking going on – just lots of circular stuff. If you don't have any circular vocabulary, you end up doing lots of rebounds in slow circles and generally feeling frustrated.

This gets covered in lessons. Often in the intermediate level lessons. I am using term loosely because most lessons aren't classified by level. The skill set of students defines the level of a class.

There is a specific lessons and way that focuses on teaching how to dance in place when the line of dancing blocks you from advancing. Other thing dancers figure out on their own is about dancing diagonally or perpendicular to line of dance, to dance on spot. It gives more room. Assuming you are in outer most circle. If you are in the inner you have people on four sides around you and need more skills to dance on spot.

When you dance you have to anticipate what the other leader(s) is likely to do. Where the space might open up. Time it. Be ready to change your lead at very last moment if other couple steps into the space you are going for. These are difficult skills for beginners. Lessons can help. The real practice is only in milongas. Innovative teachers will try to simulate by bunching up three or four couples next to each other in very small space and ask everyone to dance within its confines without touching others or the boundary marking objects. The exercises work better in close embrace. I can't remember any lessons or workshops in the past ten years where default teaching was in open hold.

 

[Gssh]

The greatest challenge in dancing Tango for beginners is able to dance in the ronda. It is an additional degree of difficulty introduced in Tango, that is not present in other social dances (ballroom excluded).

This is really a interesting perspective - there are not a lot of progressive dances out there that are danced socially. I sometimes think that a lot of the nuevo vs. trad debates really boil down to some nuevo dancers dancing tango as essentially a stationary dance, but i see a lot of beginners in all kinds of styles that very obviously learned all their figures as stationary, too.
But on the other hand e.g. ballroom should have a framework of didactics in place for how to teach people to dance progressive dances, and aren't quite a few of the country and western dances progressive, too? How do people learn e.g. quickstep or waltz or polka? They should have more problems with beginners moving down the line of dance compared to the relative sedate tango - no matter how much we complain about stagnant rondas we have plenty of tools to keep ourselves entertained there - i don't think i have seen any stationary moves when people do country and western polka?

 

[Bailango]

country and western dances progressive, too? How do people learn e.g. quickstep or waltz or polka?

Country two step (or is it country quickstep) is danced at WCS socials. Per my observations, everyone is moving at same speed along the line of dance. There is no acceleration or deaccleration. No one is stepping back. No one stops to do anything equivalent of molinate/giro or other variations in Tango that can hold up the person behind you. It is only played a few times in the evening.

I have been few times to country dancing only clubs. They have an hour of country dancing that then turns into freestyle dancing.

Waltz and polka socials will be very hard to find in most places. That community will be extremely tiny is my guess. We have a regular Friday night waltz that focus on different types of waltz. I see many leaders struggle to progress around the line of dance. I dropped in a few times because my friend wanted to try it. Most people were like us. Random drop ins with small percentage who may be termed regulars. Again the pace is constant around the floor. No on holds up a couple behind, though you can pass the couple ahead of you. No dancing stationary.

Only seen quickstep danced as part of ballroom socials.

The line of dance is not a single file of people like on a hiking trail but more like a broader road filled with people, each one walking at their own pace.

Which then makes Tango rather unique in terms of navigational challenges it presents.

 

[Greybeard]

Some of the ballroom and country dances are progressive. The dance floors are usually not as crowded as some milongas, but sometimes they feel that way. Wanting to travel, I want to see enough room in front of me to complete a variation; AT seems to have shorter variations while waltz and two step move more.

We also have the problem with some waltz dancers taking a six inch (15 cm) forward step followed by side together while I want to take three 1.5 foot (1/2 meter) steps down line of dance (Forward, turn so side is down LOD and continuing turn so back (instead of side) is down LOD). Some times there's no room to go around a slower dancer.

We also have stall moves in ballroom and country. Leaders should either make sure there is room for the couple behind them or move into the center before starting them. Sometimes leaders mis-judge the room available or just forget to keep moving down LOD.

 

[Rabbit]

This is really a interesting perspective - there are not a lot of progressive dances out there that are danced socially. I sometimes think that a lot of the nuevo vs. trad debates really boil down to some nuevo dancers dancing tango as essentially a stationary dance, but i see a lot of beginners in all kinds of styles that very obviously learned all their figures as stationary, too.

Crowded milongas are a close approximation of stationary anyway. I'm not sure why it's apparently difficult for some people to modify their stationary movement patterns to occasionally take a small step down the line of dance though

 

[Brummbaer]

Some advice from a ballroom dance instructor regarding AT and milongas was to dance it like a string of pearls, i.e. to walk where we could and then to put in some move/sequence we'd learned as a pearl where possible.

It did help to overcome those early fears, and meant that we didn't get in the way on the ronda - which felt, at the time, akin to driving around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris during rush hour.

 

[Brummbaer]

Crowded milongas are a close approximation of stationary anyway. I'm not sure why it's apparently difficult for some people to modify their stationary movement patterns to occasionally take a small step down the line of dance though

They're either blissfully unaware, or consider that they've paid their money and have a right to be there and do their thing. Who are these people who want a progressive dance? Why can't they fit in some stationary figure and wait?

 

[ArbeeNYC]

Crowded milongas are a close approximation of stationary anyway. I'm not sure why it's apparently difficult for some people to modify their stationary movement patterns to occasionally take a small step down the line of dance though

They lose sight of the fact that other people are around them.

 

[ArbeeNYC]

Some advice from a ballroom dance instructor regarding AT and milongas was to dance it like a string of pearls, i.e. to walk where we could and then to put in some move/sequence we'd learned as a pearl where possible.

It did help to overcome those early fears, and meant that we didn't get in the way on the ronda - which felt, at the time, akin to driving around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris during rush hour.

That's a good analogy. It also helps to reinforce the idea that the pearls are all connected and move in sequence around the room. Ideally, that is.