How to Tango

Tango dance has been associated with romance, passion and sensuousness. The dance originated in South America and with passage of time it evolved in various forms and styles. It's a type of ballroom dance that requires a duet performance with the opposite sex. Subtle steps bringing partners close to each other make the dance intensely romantic. It's said that while learning tango, you need to connect with the emotions of your partner, as well as with the lyrics. Your feeling and emotions must reflect while dancing. Furthermore, your body movement, gestures and expressions should not be presumptuous, rather they should be natural.

How to Dance Tango

The best way to learn tango dance, is under the guidance of a professional tango dance teacher. Once you have adopted the basic movements and techniques, you can gradually move on to the intricate steps. According to the place of origin, tango dance has been classified as Tango Canyengue (original tango), Ballroom Tango (America and Europe), Finnish Tango (Finland) and Tango Argentino (Argentina). Each of these dance forms vary, based on the steps despite the basic gestures remaining the same. You have to keep certain points in mind while performing tango dance.

• Be graceful while dancing, and move freely while stepping backward or forward. Listen to the music and follow the instructions of your teacher while walking.
• Follow the beats minutely and take a clockwise turn after the fourth beat is complete. Females, generally, look on their right hand side while men look on the left.
• One of the most important thing that you should learn right from the beginning is holding your partner. Whether you are holding your partner by her/his arms, palm or waist, make sure you do not leave the grasp while dancing.

These were some important things you should know while thinking on how to do the tango, or how to dance the tango. The dance movements and the steps are listed under are from a male perspective.

1. Stand close to your partner and face each other.
2. Hold her lower back with your right hand.
3. Bend your left arm a little, extend your hand and grip her right hand moderately.
4. She will hold you by your right shoulder by placing her hand on it.
5. Her right elbow will be bent and you will loosely grasp her palm. The dance position is ready.
6. The first beat starts and you step ahead with your left foot and she will move back with her right foot.
7. In the second beat take a small step ahead with your right foot in a gliding motion to the side of your left foot.
8. The third step is a quick step forward move with your left foot and collect your foot around the right one, shifting your weight on it.
9. The step on the fourth beat follows by moving your left foot near the right, while it is bent slightly.
10. In this step you take a clockwise turn by shifting your weight on the left foot. Step forward with your right foot and take a half turn quickly.
11. Now take your feet close to each other and replicate the 3rd to 9th steps with your opposite leg and hand. This will complete one set of tango.

The dance seems difficult to perform while reading the steps. So start dancing with your partner in front of a mirror. If you are adept with the basic tango moves, you can easily step up with the intricate ones. You can also follow online video tutorials to learn to tango. Enjoy the dance with love and freedom because someone has said that tango dancing is like dreaming with your feet!