Secrets of Leading Argentine Tango (EXCP Bronze)

This is a nice disc about leading in Tango, but not a “step by step” on how to dance Tango. More of an informative pep talk about leading in general than a lot about learning or doing any particular “Tango” pattern. Which may be a good thing for you, depending…

One thing that stands out on this disc is that Aton speaks in very plain English – no heavy accent, no dropping of the voice when it comes to “Taaaan-gggooo” terms, and no cultural bias in his tone beyond good sense. He speaks quickly, directly, and, clearly in introducing topics and explaining them in straightforward terms using “hands-on” examples. THAT lack of accent and “heaviness” is a big deal if you’ve had to deal with a heavy accent from an instructor, odd sounding terms that mean nothing to you, and/or have barely a notion of what Tango is about and needs facts, not attitude, to progress.

Of “dance” interest to beginners and intermediates are basic/intermediate discussions of which parts of the arm to use in leading, the need to always know where the follow’s balance is, and so forth. There are many “topics” headlined and discussed, “do’s and don’ts,” and lists of things to keep in mind on this short disc. There’s even an oft-repeated, and demonstrated, suggestion to practice with a chair (brooms work too) plus there’s a short discussion of how men came to practice with men in discovering, developing, and promoting Tango – and how that “maleness” colors the dance itself.

If you’ve had a lot of classes and still find leading difficult this might be “the” pep talk, and “the” straightforward list of “things to do” that you need – all in one place. If nothing else, you can toss out what you’ve been told – that hasn’t worked so far - and simply go with, “Aton said…” if it works better for you. If you’re a beginner, many of these “ideas” are the kind of thing your instructor(s) will often mention here and there, but never all at once – which can be a problem when you’re dropped into a class and told,

“Now… Do like this.”

To which many students, for many months, can only honestly say: “Uh... Sure… How?”

Here are a lot of how’s - and why’s… If you haven’t heard them before, or, enough times to know them by heart, then invest 30 minutes in this disc, take some notes, watch it again, and be a better Tango lead, or, even better general dancer, for a small amount of effort.