Tango Downtown Classes

Monday Evening Classes

Tango Downtown offers group classes in The Essentials of Argentine Tango, technique classes for various experience levels, incorporating insights into the music, dance and etiquette of Milonguero Style social dancing at the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque. We may also offer special-topic seminars to be announced.

Argentine Tango Group Classes

with Karen Reck & Paul Akmajian

2010 Classes

Classes emphasize the important elements of Argentine Tango as a social dance: embrace & connection to one's partner; navigation & connection to other dancers in the room; music, the connection that brings it all together. 2010 classes are organized in 5-week sessions. Dates may be subject to change.

Session 1: January 4 — February 1, Essentials technique & basic elements classes for entry level and up (see description below). No Essentials II classes this session.

Session 2: February 8 — March 15 (no class March 8)
Essentials technique & basic elements classes for entry level and up (see description below). No Essentials II classes this session.

Session 3: March 22— April 19

Essentials II Topic (subject TBA): April 26

Other sessions to be announced.

Classes

Essentials
Mondays, 7:30-8:30pm for Beginners & up, followed by 30 minute practica
These classes are open new beginning students, but will include dancers from our previous sessions and will build on (as well as revisit) vocabulary from those sessions. Classes may include more experienced dancers who enjoy exercises to improve their basic technique.

Essentials II
Intermediates & up (offered by demand, no class II currently scheduled)
These classes are for intermediate level & up students. Advanced-intermediate & up dancers who are interested in refining technique or learning opposite-gender roles are also welcome.

$50/5-class session or $12/class.

Weekly drop-ins OK! (We will be continuing with material from our previous classes.)

Classes are designed to give beginners a entry to Argentine Tango as a social dance, and to help committed students gain more confidence in their dance in order to better enjoy their experience at the milongas.

Classic Argentine Tango music is intrinsic to the dance. Beginners will receive some grounding in the essential elements of Argentine tango — connection to one's partner, the music, and other dancers sharing the floor. More advanced dancers will be invited to take a deeper look at expressing the depth and subtleties of the music in their dance.

Email karen@tangodowntown.net to receive latest news.

LOCATION
Classes are held Monday evenings in the Theater Studio &/or adjacent Dance Studio at the Harwood Art Center, 1114 7th Street NW, at Mountain Road, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Our location is DOWNstairs in the Harwood Theater Studio. Park in the NORTH side parking lot & head downstairs; the front door to the building is usually locked in the evenings. Additional parking is available on 7th St. & in the paved south side parking lot.

Please contact us prior to attending your first class to confirm the specific dates/times of our current or next session. It is not necessary to attend with a partner. First-time attendees, please arrive 10-15 minutes early to register.

CLASS LEVELS
Class levels are specified for each muliple-week session. If classes are described as "Essentials," "Essentials II" or "Intensive" the following definitions apply:

Essentials Classes are for all experience levels — absolute beginners & up. These classes explore the essential elements of Argentine Tango as a social dance — connection with one's partner in the embrace, dancing to the music, navigating the dancefloor — via technique exercises and dance sequences useful for dancers of all experience levels. Students work on both essential technique and small, useful dance sequences for the social floor.

Essentials II Classes are for students who have previously attended All Levels Essentials sessions, or other Intermediate level students. (Advanced-Intermediate & up dancers who are interested in refining technique or learning opposite-gender roles are also welcome.) These classes focus on developing confidence on the dancefloor.

Intensive Classes are for Advanced-Intermediate & up dancers, and assume significant prior experience in milonguero/apilado social dancing &/or strong Argentine Tango technique. We will explore diverse topics via class exercises to add depth and character to your dance.

PARTNERS
No partner is necessary, but as we connot guarantee gender/role-balance we encourage dancers to invite a friend/partner to attend.

2010 Class Schedule

Email us to request placement on our e-list
to receive information on specific session dates & other NM tango events.

No group classes in May, August or December.

Dates may be subject to change.

ATTIRE
Dress comfortably for you; class attire ranges from professional/casual dressy to jeans. Wear comfortable shoes that will stay on your feet (not sandals or clogs) with leather or other non-sticky soles. Thick soles are not advised, since we emphasize being aware of contact with the floor. Women: high heels are not necessary for class; strapped shoes with closed toes & a low or medium heel are fine.

On occasion we may use the wooden platform floor in the Dance Studio (next door to our usual space) for exercises focusing on grounding, partner trust, and flow in turns & pivots. Please be sure to wear comfortable socks, as we would be dancing in stocking-feet (shoes aren't permitted on this wood floor used primarily for the yoga, samba & belly dance classes).

PRICES
$12 per class or 5-class session card for $50, paid in advance. Class cards expire at the end of classes in the year they are issued. Sorry, no refunds.
You may share, transfer, & use these cards nonconsecutively.

All cards purchased in 2008 or previously expired on November 24, 2008.

Private Classes

Private Classes with Karen Reck &/or Paul Akmajian
Milonguero Style essentials for men & women. Individuals, couples, or small groups.
Karen specializes in dancers with beginning to intermediate experience.
Paul (or Paul & Karen together) teach all levels, beginning through advanced.
Also, we both welcome advanced-intermediate & up students (women or men) who are interested in learning their opposite gender-role.
$50/hour, with one of us; $60/hour with both.
Classes in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque/North Valley.
karen@tangodowntown.net or (505) 453-1786 (Paul's cell).