27 Before 27: Tango Lesson

In my 27th year of life, I’m attempting to do 27 new things. Full list here.

I bought a Groupon for a month of unlimited tangos way back in the beginning of January. The next day I sprained my ankle, because I’m not graceful, not at all. This is part of the reason I wanted to take a tango/dance class. I’m a girl, after all, and I like the idea of being an elegant, graceful one.

Alas, somehow, in the last couple of years, I have evolved into a tomboy. I play softball, soccer, volleyball. Most weekends you can find me at a sportsbar with a good beer. No complaints. I absolutely love my life and love the things I’m involved with. But I do sometimes look at other women on the subways, the ones with perfect makeup, stylish dress suits, giggling with their lady friends, shopping bags draped around their arms, and I wonder why that’s not me. Like I’m missing the girly gene.

So I walked into my first tango lesson in an old concert t-shirt, athletic pants, and my dirty softball sneakers. All the other women (very few men were there) were wearing slinky dresses and stiletto heels. I felt like such a frump! Why did I wear dirty sneakers to a tango lesson? I’m sure I must have a pair of sexy shoes somewhere! I vaguely remember wearing a pair once.

The tango studio was located off of Times Square and is run by an Argentinian couple. The lady who taught my class had an adorable accent. What I really liked about this class was how slow it was, how careful. We started by just shifting our weight from foot to foot, then doing the basic tango step forwards and backwards, then pairing up with someone and going back and forth across the floor. It was a slow progression, which made it feel less overwhelming once we actually did the box step.

This was so much fun. I quickly had images of myself becoming an Argentinian Tango professional. The dance, the people there, the instructors. I loved it. I wish I had more free time to take advantage of the month unlimited that I bought. I definitely wasn’t good at it or graceful. I had to focus really hard on every movement, but I never felt embarrassed or out of place. I’m so glad I did this. I might have to add this into my sports rotation.