Great learning opportunities
await novice tango dancers
The Tango Center, located
in downtown Eugene, is
a great place for beginner
ballroom dancers to learn
By Natasha Chilingerian
Pulse Reporter
It's amazing. I've had 16 years of
dance experience in individual tap,
jazz and ballet, but I'm clueless
when it comes to social dancing. I
have performed several complicated
hip-hop
routines in
my lifetime,
but at par
ties I always
end up do
ing the same little bouncing move
over and over. I thought about at
tending the ballroom dances at Ger
linger Hall many times, but the
thought never materialized. It is
time to grow up and dance in public.
I chose The Tango Center, located
at 194 W. Broadway, as my gateway
to social dancing bliss. As I ap
proached the venue with my escort, I
noticed a plain, stark white sign on
the awning that simply read, "Tan
go." I hoped the aura inside the
place wouldn't match the dullness
of what I hope is a temporary sign.
Luckily the interior was soft, can
dlelit and welcoming. The decent
sized wooden dance floor was sur
rounded by cafe tables, chairs, tango
posters and mirrors. Behind the
REPORTER'S
NOTEBOOK
dance floor was a romantic cove full
of draping fabric and furniture. A
few middle-aged couples were awk
wardly dancing to saucy, instrumen
tal tango — think Shakira's song
"Objection (Tango)".
When it was time for the lesson to
start, the dance students formed a
circle around two instructors. The
space felt big and empty, most likely
because only about 20 people
showed up for the lesson. We began
by introducing ourselves, but the at
mosphere seemed a little too inti
mate and exposed for someone who
has never tangoed before. As the
evening went on, people continually
showed up, and The Tango Center
eventually became crowded.
The male instructor, Andrew Mc
Collough, was downright inspiring
and passionate about the connec
tion tango provides between two
people. He placed an emphasis on
gazing into the eyes of your partner,
which made it seem like the goal of
tango is to convince someone that
you are in love with them (making
the dance all the more appealing).
We learned the concept of leading
with our chest to gently guide our
partner either front, side or back.
First, we practiced guiding each oth
er in one direction with our arms at
our sides, then we added our arms
— in a traditional ballroom pose,
only more circular — and new step
ping directions. Finally, we were al
lowed to "play;" in tango terms, this
means starting to step in one direc
tion then switching to another.
Switching partners — in other
words, dancing with a stranger —
was required during the lesson. But
the prospect of meeting potential
dates looked dim, since most
dancers were at least baby boomers.
Luckily, I ended up with a recent col
lege graduate instead of someone's
grandpa, but to be safe, 1 would sug
gest bringing a few partners of the
opposite sex to this tango lesson. *
I returned to my original escort for
the last dance, and by then we had
really started to enjoy it. Tango is
sort of a sophisticated version of the
slow dance. The steps are simple, so
there is plenty of room to add heart
and soul to the moves. McCollough
had it right about focusing on con
necting with your partner — it's def
initely romantic. It reminded me of
slow dancing at high school formals,
but with more pizzazz.
The Tango Center is a nice change
from the loud, bustling bar/party
scene. It doesn't come off as a dating
depot, but you never know — there
were a small handful of college-age
people. Mostly, the place served as a
glimpse into the world of tango, and
as a sleek, low-key setting conducive
to relaxation. And I got just what I
wanted out of it: confidence in my
ability to dance socially.
Contact the Pulse reporter at
natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com.
POET
continued from page 6
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