Tangling with Tango

On November 4, for one day only, the hot springs at the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort weren’t the only things heating up. In the Saratoga Room, just past the Silver Saddle Room, five couples learned Argentinian Tango.

The class, which was taught by Amy Beaudet and Ilya Lisenker, was sponsored by the Platte Valley Arts Council.

“When I first got onto the Platte Valley Arts Council, it came up as a possibility of bringing tango to the Valley. I think one of the long-time members had brought it up and I volunteered to do it since I have danced most of my life,” said Nancy Ford. “I’ve always wanted to do the Argentinian Tango myself.”

Nancy and her husband, Jim, were just one of the five couples who spent their Saturday learning how to tango. The day was split into two classes with one in the morning and one in the afternoon with lunch in between. When one thinks of tango, a variety of images may come to mind with many of them likely centered around the romantic nature of the dance. Much of the lessons taught on November 4, however, had to do with walking. Walking forwards, walking backwards, walking in time and tempo. Lots of walking.

“At its basic, the Argentinian Tango is about walking but the difficulty comes in when you have a leader and a follower and each has a different part to play in the dance. When one or the other doesn’t do their job, you can have some difficulty,” said Ford. “I think when it comes to dance, a lot of people really don’t know what to expect. With the Argentinian Tango, you can dance very closely or you can dance a little farther apart. We started a little bit farther apart and the whole premise we were learning at that point was leading and following.”

If there was any anxiety about learning a new dance among the five couples, much of it seemed to be worked out in the morning class. On Saturday afternoon, the couples paid close attention to the instructors and to their partners and counted their steps. According to Ford, the class could be declared a success.

“They really enjoyed the day. I took a survey at the end and people really enjoyed it. Just about everyone who was there would like to continue doing some form of dance,” said Ford. “I’m planning to try to keep it up.”

The instructors also enjoyed themselves, said Ford, and she believed they would be more than willing to return to Saratoga to teach more classes. Provided enough people sign up to make it worth their while. Ford also said there was discussion of starting up a dance group in Saratoga as well.

“There are places that have tango groups. It was something we thought could expand to a group of people who really loved the tango. I talked to a number of people in town and they told me they had thought about signing up for it, but didn’t,” said Ford. “I still think there’s opportunities there for people to learn different dances.”

Overall, said Ford, the day was not only a success but also rewarding. Even for a veteran dancer like herself.

“I’ve danced most of my life and I found it very difficult, actually. It’s not easy to dance with a partner and, in our society, we’ve kind of gotten away from that type of dancing,” said Ford. “I think it’s unfortunate because I think it’s a very powerful art form.”