Tango Classes on Maui
Love of Tango Maui is offering Tango classes at the MACC in Kahalui and at the Studio Maui in Haiku. Come and learn this wonderful and exciting dance. If you decide to come to the classes we would like there to be a balance of leads and follows, so bring a partner if you can although if you can't we can work with that as well. The classes are taught by Gawain Bantle who has danced professionally (ballet and flamenco) for many years in Europe and the U.S. and who is now absolutely in love with this Argentine Tango.
There are no ongoing Argentine Tango classes at the moment
For more info on Tango on Maui look at this calendar:
http://www.google.com/calendar/renderß
Private Lessons
Private Tango lessons with Gawain will greatly speed up the learning process for you and the cost is $50 for one hour or a series of 10 classes for $400
For an appointment call Gawain at (808)250-0862.
A few general ideas related to Tango...
Music. Tango arises out of the music. If you want to dance Tango you must love and enjoy the music. The beat in Tango music can be difficult to hear, so in order to dance well we need to listen to the music often and begin to recognize the various patterns that are inherent in it. Check out Gawain's Tango Music Suggestions.
Enjoyment. Dancing is about enjoyment. That is why at least I am doing it. You can have fun at any level. Fun in dancing has little to do with skill In my time as a professional ballet dancer I have seen many people loose their joy of dancing while acquiring the technique and that is such a pity. So find a way to enjoy it. Usually that happens when you get into the music and forget about the steps. In my lessons I will always provide time for forgetting about the steps and just getting into the music and the dance. At other times we will be working with the steps and the structure but the enjoyment in dancing is primary. Obviously the more skillful you are the more enjoyment it can add to your dance. But our skill has really nothing fundamentally to do with it. Just look at children. They play and don’t think about if they do things really well or not.
Here at Love of Tango we will encourage you to have fun regardless of your skill level. Of course as I said in class there will be frustration every so often. That happens whenever you acquire a new skill. So just try to flow with it.
Shoes. Tango is supposed to be a fun thing to do, so make sure that your feet always enjoy it by wearing comfortable shoes. Here are a few tango shoes websites:
www.22tangoshoes.com
http://www.tejastango.com/tango_shoes.html
http://www.mrtangoshoes.com/
http://www.cambridgetango.com/site/info/shoes.asp
Also, if you have sensitive feet, inserts within your shoes (sold through Birkenstock, for example) will help you to stay on your feet much longer. Also if you dance for more than 2 hours it is often helpful to switch shoes. You can switch into dance sneakers when you are practicing.
Personal Hygiene. Since this is a close dance and we live in a hot climate just deal with this appropriately using common sense.
Tango Etiquette. Please don’t criticize your partner when they do things wrong. You are in class because you don’t know. Stepping on people’s feet is part of it. After the dance you might say, "Can I give you a suggestion?" If your partner says yes, you give it. If they say no, you don't say anything. Nothing destroys the joy of dancing faster than uninvited criticism.
Making Time to Practice. In order to really enjoy tango and begin to “make it your own” you need to find a time to practice. It is of little benefit to your tango experience if you only learn steps upon steps and don’t practice them. Tango takes time to filter into your muscle memory. With that in mind next to the Love of Tango dance series, we will have practice sessions (in the tango world, we call these “practicas”), to practice our just acquired skills. If you want to really accelerate your learning practice during the weeks with friends or book a private with Gawain.
Gawain's Tango Music Suggestions
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