Join us every Thursday night at the Dancearts Studio located in 704 Mission Ave close to downtown San Rafael.

No special clothes are required; what feels comfortable for you is fine.
Please do come with a pair of smooth-soled shoes, either leather or suede will work on the dance floor. Later you might feel the wish to buy tango shoes and we can easily advise you about that. Come by yourself or with a partner.

For a map or driving directions please click here.

Thursdays: 7.30pm to 8.30pm Beginner Level Class
 
  8.30pm to 9.30pm Intermediate Level Class

  9:30pm to 10pm Practica

Cost: $ 15/ Drop-in (class and practica)
  $ 50/ 4 weeks (one class)  

For both Beginner and Intermediate levels we will work on these fundamentals:

1. Warm up and stretching: tuning our instrument
2. Weight change exercises: creating “we”
3. Footwork placement skills
4. Proper use of joints and muscles: dance with the whole body
5. Leading and following exercises
6. Building a Good Balance
7. Being grounded, the floor is your friend
8. Finding the Best Posture for Tango
9. Open and Close Embrace exercises
10. Connection: creating togetherness
11. Floor navigation exercises
12. Improvisation and Creativity: tango as a dialogue
13. Change of speed and direction exercises
14. Musicality exercises for Tango, Vals and Milonga
15. Tango etiquette

BEGINNER LEVEL:

A friendly initiation to the Tango. We will focus on the basics needed to enter the world of Tango with confidence and joy. You will learn exercices in balance, body posture, and how to walk, lead or follow properly.

As a beginner you will learn the following Argentine Tango steps:

1. El Abrazo (the embrace)
2. La Marca (the lead)
3. Cambio de Peso (changing weight)
4. How to start and end any movement together
5. Doing One Step Forward, Backward and Sideways
6. Caminada (walking) in Open and Close Embrace
7. La Baldosa (the tile) with four and six steps
8. Molinetes (little windmill)
9. La Cruzada ( the cross): Linear & Spiral variations
10. El Basico (the basic eight step tango pattern)
11. Moving in Parallel and Crossed system
12. Giros (turns) and change of directions
13. Calesita (carousel)
14. Cadencias (rock steps)
15. Forward and Backward Ochos (figure eight)
16. Introduction to tango, vals and milonga rhythms

You may stay in the beginners class for as long as you need or at least for a period of six (6) months.

INTERMEDIATE CLASSES:

So...you have studied in a beginner class for a reasonable time and you have enough experience dancing tango and would like to move to the next level? Then, you will be training with us doing more complex movements. We will teach you the subtleness of the this dance and amazing patterns that make the tango so divine.

1. Caminada, Walking Technique: refinements and variations
2. Getting the most from the cross and parallel systems
3. Going to la cruzada: refinements and variations
4. Corridas, Suspensiones, Pausas and Paradas
5. Forward and Backward Ocho variations
6. Ocho Cortado with variations
7. Advanced Giros
8. Boleos variations
9. Ganchos and Enganches
10. Barridas, Llevadas y Planeos
11. Sacadas, Contra-sacadas and Back sacadas
12. Volcadas and Colgadas variations
13. Embellishments for Leaders and Followers
14. Tango, Vals and Milonga rhythm, refinement of the technique

While learning all these different patterns the connection, navigation and musicality will be always emphasized.

FOR PRIVATE LESSONS PLEASE CLICK HERE