Your Input Please!

25 Nov 2024 - by Graham (from newsletter)

It is estimated that one in twenty people in the UK do some form of dance on a regular basis, with around twice that number having an interest in watching dance performances either on stage or on the television. A significant percentage of both categories say that Argentine Tango is the dance they most like to watch and want to be able to do themselves, yet a recent survey suggests that only around one in two thousand people in the UK actually regularly dance the tango.

What is going on?

Whenever tango is performed on stage, it is always the dramatic and acrobatic “Tango Fantasia” version that is featured. With its spectacular lifts, cat-like flexibility, and sizzling hot passion the dance creates a powerful visual impact, and the rapid leg flicks and super-fast footwork give it a unique and instantly recognisable dynamic. The music starts, the dancers connect, and within seconds their lips brush close together as the man runs his hand up the woman’s leg. It is fiery, passionate… and to people who have ever wondered about trying it themselves it must look completely unattainable!

Getting people – especially men – in the UK to be interested in partner dancing is challenging enough, but when you are trying to attract people to a dance style that is seen as athletic, sexy, and impossibly difficult to do the challenge is so much harder. So what can we do about it? And how do we get people to realise that whilst tango might be harder to learn than some other styles, most of what they think they know about it is probably wrong? Tango is accessible, achievable, and sociable; you do not need any abnormal flexibility or Olympian fitness to dance it, and any passion in our dance classes is generally reserved for the biscuit selection at break time!

So this is where I need your input.

There was a moment for all of us when we saw someone dancing tango and thought to ourselves “I want to be able to do that”. Something drew us to it, and despite everything telling us that we could never be that flexible, that it must be impossible to learn, and that we could never ever wear those outfits, we went along to our first ever tango class. And then against all the odds we enjoyed it, and we kept going!

What was it that made you take that step? What convinced you that tango would be fun? Was it the challenge? Were you looking for a social event? Did someone insist you came with them to keep them company?

When you have a few minutes, please could I ask you to email or WhatsApp me (in no more than a couple of sentences) with what it was that drew you to tango, and what keeps you coming along. I know what drew me to this dance, but your experience will be different and knowing those differences may well help our classes grow. All comments will of course be confidential and your names will not be used, but I will use them to build our next round of marketing material.

Many thanks!

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