ArbeeNYC
Forum Master
Dunno, I see a lot of people in their 20s at Gallo Ciego. Plus the regulars, who are a bit older. I haven't been to El Destino in a while but I doubt it's changed much.
Leaders. How was your Tango journey?
- Thread starter Pharaoh
- Start date
If it's lonely and expensive why did you stick with it?
I didn't have this experience (I always had as many friends as I needed and it wasn't expensive compared to other options for going out) but then my path was unconventional enough that I don't even want the tanguero label.
Maybe your sense of age perception is off since there’s a lot of asians who look young but they’re more around mid 30s.
ArbeeNYC
Forum Master
Could very well be. I'm not a very good judge of age in general.
opendoor
Forum Master
It was as if I had started a new life and I could imagine pursuing it professionally.
When I started I had no money. I sneaked past the cash register into the milongas. I couldn't buy a drink either. I certainly couldn't afford to book a class, so I learned by doing, by simply dancing at milongas socially.
Tango is an expensive hobby in the US if you take a lot of private classes ($100-130 each not including room fee ($20-30)), or one of the most affordable ones if you only stick to milongas / group classes.
It’s also why I extremely dislike when in BA, the instructors will give tourists 3-5x the usual pricing they give to locals, the gringo tax. For locals it may be $10-25 for privates, but for tourists it can be $50-100.
It’s also why I extremely dislike when in BA, the instructors will give tourists 3-5x the usual pricing they give to locals, the gringo tax. For locals it may be $10-25 for privates, but for tourists it can be $50-100.
TTanguero
Forum Master
I don't think that's at all unreasonable given the income disparity.
I don’t mind paying a bit extra, but 3-5x is ridiculous, especially if you try to budget for trips according to the cost of living of the city. I.e budgeting for a trip to hong kong is a lot different than budgeting for thailand/vietnam.
Not to mention it reinforces tango is just for white collar / well off / older people.
I have some good relationships with instructors there now that I buy a package and basically pay $50/lesson which I think is somewhat reasonable. But a lot of them aren’t even the best teachers and will just see you as a “tourist with money” and treat you as such.
I personally have done more privates with a partner than 1:1. If i practice with a partner and do privates with the same partner we both learn how to debug our dance. So my approach was to do maybe several hours of practicing between privates. In theory practicing could happen at practicas, but at least here practicas are mostly informal milongas and i have found that renting a studio and practicing there works better for me. And suggesting to split the cost of a studio rental weeds out partners who don't want to seriously work on their stuff quite quickly.
I also think social dance to validate if the dance actually works is important - i would probably prioritize that over privates, too. Dancing at local milongas whenever i am travelling might have been more useful than festivals in that regard.
ArbeeNYC
Forum Master
It's still a hustle.
ArbeeNYC
Forum Master
That can be very productive if you're focused. Especially if the room fee isn't too high.
TTanguero
Forum Master
I'd argue you're looking at it the wrong way around: it's a pretty average price for tourists, and 3-5 times cheaper for locals who would never be able to pay full price.
I pay $50/hour for privates in BsAs and consider it excellent value.
If you’re gonna look at it that way, then tourists should pay 3-5x prices for everything including lodging, food, taxis, etc.
Not to mention there’s other latin countries arguably as cheap as Argentina now with excellent tango teachers who don’t try to upcharge you as a tourist.
TTanguero
Forum Master
There is some dual-pricing in effect – at the grand cafes, for example, and at some milongas (locals get a discount card).
The only two tier pricing I ran into at BA milongas was one where non-dancing spectators were charged extra. I didn't take lessons (well, I only did a total of 6 private lessons in tango ever, and do not feel that any more were necessary)