What else would you like to know? email klaus@funkytango.com

What if I miss a class??
If you miss one or two classes in 6 weeks you will most likely not find it a mayor problem. However, if possible please contact klaus to ask if there is any catch up class scheduled (others may have the same problem) or arrange for a private class. Alternatively, as we teach the same class twice every week (Sundays & Fridays) we might get you a place temporarily in another course to catch up.

If none of this works for you, we will tell you the essentials in your next class or practica. Missing more than 3 classes is not recommended and you might be better of waiting for the next course to start.

What is the right level for me?
We recommend to sign up for the 6 weeks beginners course (booking required) - you willl see it's fantastic value for your money. Even if you have taken courses with other teachers before you will find a lot of new and essential information and terminology taught in this intensive (and fun!) course designed for beginners/refreshers.

If you know and can do comfortably most of the the things we teach in the Beginners course - you can save 5 dollars by only going to the Intermediate level classes. However, many experienced dancers like to do the beginners course as a warm up and to get extra dance practice. Frequent dancing with less experienced dancers does accellerate your learning considerably as it is more challenging and adds experience and confidence.

Students with a Tango or other dance or sports (e.g. Salsa, Ceroc, Tai Chi, Yoga) background and/or those who regularly practice after every evening will be able to take in more information after the beginners course.

For those we have designed the intermediate level class that follows the beginners course. This course focuses on a particular theme for 4 weeks before it changes to the next theme. You can also drop in here but it will be more expensive.

After the intermediat level class we always have free practicing which is where the real learning takes place - and its most fun - with a great range of fantastic music!!

Where can I practice Argentine Tango?
Generally Tango is danced in bars, clubs and restaurants on special dance nights (so called "milongas") open to everyone.
Worldwide many towns over 100 000 people have at least one regular Tango night.

Cairns is currently experiencing a new era of rapidly increasing Tango dance opportunities. We have already two regular practicas (Thursdays and Fridays) with another one every Sunday afternoon starting on 25.5. 2008. Many Tango dancer also come to the Salsa/Latin dance practica on Tuesdays with SalsaPassion. There will also come some guest teachers on the 17 and 18 of August conducting special workshops with a dance party (milonga) on Saturday night.

Today open minded Tango dancers also dance to non tango music such as swing, jazz, blues, or other danceable tangoish or non tango (often live) music. Tango has no rythmical restrictions i.e. defintions - the only limits are set by the dancers technical skills and attitude. I like to say if you can dance Tango and Salsa you can dance to everything.
Cairns has a Jazz club where some of our dancers can be seen dancing.

Knowing the "secrets" of Tango dance technique also benefits Salsa and other social dances as you will be able to minimise arm /hand leading that can affect your partners balance and comfort.

For more information on our Salsa classes see www.SalsaPassion.com

How soon can I go and dance in the clubs?
Go to the tango clubs as soon as you feel comfortable with the basics of controlled walking, which should not take longer than a month.

Experienced dancers are happy to have one or two dances with a beginner as it improves their dancing too. If you dance with 5 to 10 different people a night, this will take you to the next level soon.

Is it more difficult to learn than e.g. salsa?
No - but there's a different approach to learning it since there is no basic step in Argentine tango. Both salsa and tango can be learned with ease and fun from the first moment.

The trick is not to try to learn everything at once - learn one new element per week and you will have an impressive repertoire of movements in a few months!

Most importantly - like in any other "sport", practice the new elements! This can be best done at the practicas - it is hard and simply not enjoyable to learn/control a new move in a real club situation.

Many dancers learn both salsa and tango - why?
Both can be danced socially in clubs (Tango in so called "milongas") to have a great time and get to know people. There is a lot of freedom in both dances but many salsa dancers have learned all leadable moves already after a year or two.

Tango dancers have material for decades to explore and can choose a much wider variety of music (tango fusion). This is why more people eventually expand from salsa to tango. Knowing both makes you a real social allround dancer and you can have a great time - and surprise your friends - dancing in any Night club or to many life bands.

What to wear?
Come and be as you are. Best are shoes that are comfortable and don’t stick to the ground. Klaus loves his slippery red trainers. Women may find (low) heels useful.

Do I need to drag my partner along?
No. You will find men and women of all ages and backgrounds to dance with, and we do rotate partners in the classes many times.

Warn your partner, though, that most people get addicted after a few weeks and you might lose some weight, improve your posture, balance and fitness and even give up smoking while saving plenty of dollars compared to a night in the pub.

Is it for couples or singles?
Both. You can dance the night away with your partner or, more commonly, with dozens of other tango lovers, including visitors from overseas or other Australian cities. We strongly recommend changing (dance) partners during the night to improve your improvisation skills.

… but I’m not a dancer…
Nobody is born a tennis player, painter or tax accountant either. If you can walk, you are able to learn tango. If you have done some sports or other dances, you will learn faster.

… not musical either…
If you enjoy listening to music, you can learn to dance to it. There is a logical connection between music and dance we can explain and show.

Is it only for people over 40?
Not at all. Argentine tango can be danced as simple and slow or fast and comples as you wish. Because of the abolute freedon in you rdancing Tango can be danced according to the dancers personal preference and is therefore the only dance genuinely suitable for all ages. Styles range from traditional that emphasize sensuality and elegance to the popular and powerful Tango Nuevo.

What about the sensuality I heard of in tango?
Tango - when improvised - requires a high awareness of each others movements, muscle tension and balance. Sometimes you will also experience a powerful mental connection between you and your partner. If it is mutual – it can become sensual.

Isn’t it the same as European or ballroom tango?
It is a completely different world – once you have tried it - you will see.

What is tango nuevo?
Tango nuevo is a structured way of teaching authentic Argentine tango. Because of its systematic structure, students progress fast and can soon exlplore more advanced tango moves such as leg swings (boleos), leg flicks (ganchos), wraps, leans (volcadas), hangers (colgadas), even jumps (saltos).

The advanced level of tango tends to emphasize dynamics and fun, less emotions or melancholy.

Like most other international teachers, we teach using the highly effective approach of Tango Nuevo. Because people who learn with the Tango Nuevo system can master an impressive repertoire of moving techniques fast they tend to look more entertaining to watch than others.

These dancers are often referred to as Tango Nuevo dancers even though it is just Tango at a more "advanced" level.

"Advanced" in the sense the moves may look more impressive though they could still be executed poorly i.e in a uncomfortable way or simply choreographed. Advanced dancing can also happen in small intricate (nearly invisible) milongero style dancing.

The only way to find out if someone is a good enjoyable dance - with any style - is to dance with him/her! - eyes can be deceived easily.

Only on special request and for very advanced dancers we show how dancers in many parts of the world are currently fusing other dances into tango - see also www.neotango.info or TangoFusion.

What is tango fusion?
Tango fusion is the fusion of tango with contemporary dance and music - in particular: electronic, swing, house, reggae, salsa but also classical music.

It is becoming extremely popular amongst young and young in spirit dancers – from Buenos Aires to Berlin, San Francisco to Tokyo and now also in Sydney.

It is great for those who love the freedom to improvise to a wide range of dance music. Tango fusion dancers tend to be very musical and curious to expand their dance repertoir.

Already in the early 19th century the young tango itself was the result of a fusion of various dance forms from different continents. Later Astor Piazolla fused it with jazz sparking off this exciting new area in the development of tango.

Why don't you support the recently appearing Argentine Tango competitions?
It is not unusual to believe that Tango is just another form of dancing. In this case - naturally - a competition - would help promote it and appear to be an adeqate tool to identify good dancers and teachers.

Fact is, Tango competitions are not very popular in Europe and the US (in fact they don't exist most countries). We believe this is mainly because of two reasons:

1) Argentine Tango's unique and characterising fearture is the art of improvising with a partner.

On the social dance floor the most sought after dancers are those who are comfortable, musical and creatively dancing with a wide range of partners.

Dancers who concentrate on "looking good" may not be very comfortable to dance with and may in fact not have the techique to lead and follow different partners very well.

What would you think if your teacher only judges/assess your dancing by (only) looking at you?

In Europe those dancers who prioritise how they look to others when dancing would learn ballroom tango and enter ballroom competitions.

These are fantastic for watching and the dancers don't need to bother learning the (for shows) unnecessary leading and following technique..

2) Argentine tango dancers are typically too busy enjoing dancing in the milongas than to care who "looks" better in a competition.

Real improvement comes from practising in practicas and the reward is higher quality dances in the milongas - what can be more important?

Argentine Tango is an introvert dance than puts the dancers "chemistry"- the result of undevided mutual attention during improvisation - before the entertainment value for potential onlookers.

However, this is also the reason why Argentine Tango is nearly impossible to "showcase" in a movie or on television.

In our opinion the best Tango movie that comes close to showing the "real thing" is "The Tango lesson" with Sally Potter and Pablo Veron. It also shows the difference between show and social tango and the inablity of mainstream movie producers to explain the attraction of Argentine (non show) tango.

Show or choreographed Tango is more of an attempt to show or "explain" to an audience what may be (emotionally) going on inside or between the dancers - if they dancers where doing "real" (improvised) tango like e.g. in a Milonga (social dance club). Show dance is an acting skill with the goal to give an audience a good time whereas social dancing is about having a great time with each other.

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We believe that a tango competition encourages the wrong attitude, technique and priorities.
It can become part of a destructive circle where ballroom dancers will dominate not only the competitions but also the teaching of students.

As a consequence the art of improvised partner dancing - especially on a more advanced level - might give way to the dancing of step sequences and only the simplest led steps.

This can already be seen to some extend in the Salsascene in some countries.

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So is it better to learn from a show or a social dancer?
Like in any other areas of life, I would ask a specialist for specialist advice.

I would ask a show dance specialist for styling and performance tips but a good social dancer to learn technique of improvisation (leading/following) - if you like to dance socially.

If you want to be on stage and enjoy entertaining an audience or judges, take lessons with successful stage dancers.

it is not impossible to be a great social and a great show tango dancer at the same time. Although it may be a little like finding a great mathematician with another honours degree in linguistics - possible but not very likely :)

How does a beginner know if someone (including one-self) is a show dancer or a social dancer?
I would say you are a show dancer if you are more worried about what people (an audience/judges) think it looks like than what your dance partner thinks/feels.

You may be more of a social dancer if you often find yourself enjoying and trying to create new combinations with many different also unknown partners to music you have never heard before.

Best way to find out somebody elses strengths is to dance with the person in a milonga/practica. If you find it was uncomfortable he/she may still be a great stage dancer but a good social dancer will have you "fly" on the dance floor.

If you don't feel comfortable to ask a famous stage dancer, simply wait and watch if he/she seems to dance well with other perhaps unknown dancers (check e.g. if their partner keeps smiling !).
If that is the case he/she is comfortable with his/her social dance skills and will also likely say yes if you ask - and you may have a great time :)

Initially it has nothing to do with skills - only with attitude. Both (stage and social) approaches are "valid" and require a lot of hard training but the kind of skills you develop will depend on that attitude.

Both attitudes are "authentic" and have existed since the birth of show tango in the early 30s or earlier.

How come Argentinians endorse these championships?
You will find mainly dancers with ballroom dance backgrounds and those keen on increasing their marketing value to participate and score in these competitions - which is not good or bad - only a result of economics.

I believe these competitions became only recently more known after the economic crises in Argentina. Selling licenses to other countries organisers and sending teachers on tour is certainly a good business.

You will be suprised to see how few of the good Tango dancers in Buenos Aires and worldwide participate in these championships (check their CVs!).

How do you teach?
In our classes we explain the relatively simple concepts (e.g. sweeps/barridas or tilted axes moves/colgadas) that make logical and intuitive sense.

We rarely show sequences but encourage our students to incorporate the taught concept into their current repertoir of moves. That way they are able to execute many (not just one!) new combinations/sequences as they put them together and fit them to the music they actually dance to.

Ok. I want to learn it really, really fast – how?
Take regular classes. Perhaps try different teachers. Take a private lesson for every 5 hours you can practice at home, in the dance clubs or - even more effective - in our practice after class.

Do the exercises we show in the lessons - many you can do without a partner. Ask for (and give) feedback.

I took lessons with other teachers - all of them were teaching different techniques - which one is the real Argentine Tango?
Durin our journeys in the last 10 years, worldwide, we identified 4 different ways of leading/following techniques in Argentine Tango.

Many schools specialise and believe or know only one system. We like to explain and use all of them. By knowing all of them you will be able to dance with (nearly) anyone anywhere..

So... ifI go to other tango events can I dance with people who have not learned with you?
Of course. Sometimes you find that dancers who learned elsewhere may not use all the concepts you have learned with us, but it doesn't prevent you from dancing and enjoying dancing with them.

Tango nuevo is the system that most good teachers from Buenos Aires and other countries teach during their world tours and workshops.

Have a look at the themes of international argentine tango festivals like CITA which all cover sacadas, ganchos, boleos, colgadas, volcadas, enrosques, changes in direction, dynamics, fluidity as much as musicality or male/female technique.

What kind of music do you play?
We play many kind of music - especially those that are popular in many European and North American (and some Argentine) milongas.

The main criteria is that the music is suitable for dancing. You will dance to some carefully selected tangos and electronic tangos but also entirely non-tango music, such as selected jazz, swing, pop or movie soundtracks (one of our favourites is Henry Mancini's Pink Panther theme).

I'm a student, can i get discount?
Yes. University, Language and TAFE students do get discounts!

Should I take private lessons or can I learn in group classes only?
That depends on your learning goals. There is no denying that you will learn faster during private lessons. You will get continuous personal feedback and instruction. During group classes, however, you'll have the advantage of testing out your new knowledge with different partners.

Whichever you choose, remember, that the key to fast progress is practicing. For each class hour you should match at least a few hours of practice time.

Do I need a partner for private lessons?
Many private students come without a partner. Leaders usually have Ulla to dance with, followers dance with Klaus. Often you might get both of us to learn from especially at more advanced levels. Give us a call/email: 0415 431199 or klaus@funkytango.com.

After London, San Francisco, Buenos Aires and Sydney - how long will you stay in Cairns?
We are planning to stay for at least a year or two in Cairns. There is always a chance we stay longer and might even settle properly. At this stage we like to think we could live in Tasmania, New Zealand or Canada at some point in the future.