Tango Chicago

Tango Chicago — As Far As I Know, This Business Has Closed In the Fine Arts Building Location

Tango is foreplay on your feet set to music.
I had so much fun, and am looking very much ahead to returning as soon as possible.
After three hours at Tango Chicago late in the afternoon yesterday, today I am sore… my feet; just my feet are sore.
Nice touch: they supply water and fresh fruit, gratis.

Tango has been called «the vertical expression of a horizontal desire». And ohhhhh, it is!
The decision to go here initially, was made solely because of the 3 – 6 PM Sunday Tango class — it fit our schedule. $ 25 is a good price, for a three hour class. Packages for more classes are available, as is a membership for discounted classes and milongas (open Tango dancing).
The studio and floor was clean and spacious. Small snacks, fruit, coffee and water were available gratis if you needed to take a small breather towards the middle of class — and for after class socializing. A nice touch.
Al, the teacher was a great person, really humorous. However, his teaching style left a bit to be desired. I’ve taken a lot of dance classes, and I tend to want to see the teacher dance at the beginning of class, or at some point during the lesson. Al seems to know his stuff, but we never saw him dance Tango during the time were were there. He uses other students as class helpers — which is a great idea — except that most of these students are relatively inexperienced Tango dancers as well, and not all that effective as teachers.
The class structure was fine, as myself and my 7star companion were gleefully Tangoing together by the end of class. I’m a fairly advanced Tango student, but I gladly busted myself down to beginner to review basics, as I’d not been to a class in some time. My handsome Tango partner was a total beginner — who did incredibly well.
Class started with practice in walking and getting in tune with Tango music. Tango meanders, and is «stretchy» — if you’re not used to listening to the genre, this is the first hurdle to overcome when thinking about dancing. That took up around half the class, as it’s fundamental to dancing Tango.
Next, we started the basic Tango step — the Salida, or «entrance to the dance floor». Women worked on the Cruzado (cross) and some backwards and forwards Ochos (figure 8 turns). Men worked on leading — crucial, and their half of the beginning Tango step.
Now, here is where I wanted Al to grab a more advanced student and dance some Tango as a demonstration. In all the classes I’ve taken, the teachers — usually male-​female partners — will bust out some devastating Tango moves to show how easy it is to look good using very simple, basic steps. Then, they teach the step, and then everyone practices, while adding other simple steps.
There is no choreography, no «memorized steps» like there are in ballroom dances — this is Argentine Tango not Ballroom, and it is ALL improvisation. You learn the figures (there are MANY) and then put them all together as the music inspires you.
After class, a couple advanced students did dance and were great. I’d come back here again, as they have a lot of classes on many different nights. The class prices are reasonable, and teaching styles notwithstanding, a dance class is what you make of it. We were Tangoing by the end of class, so it was definitely worth the money. And practica makes perfect!

This is a great place for tango-​ing! Its cheap to go nightly, its $ 12 and includes an hour long tango lesson and then open dancing until midnight! Check their website for upcoming events and deals!