Tango for Beginners
Is dancing on your bucket list? Taking the connection with your partner to another level? Meeting people while trying something new?
Do it with Tango Argentino!
Join us to learn it the easy way, even if it's the first time you dance or if you think you have two left feet 😉
Register with or without a dance partner. Everyone is welcome. Just bring a good attitude and an open mind to learn and co-create a good atmosphere for all.
You're welcome to learn the role(s) of your choice (I encourage you to learn both) and expect openness to dance with any person in the room regardless of gender.
What’s in the Tango for Beginners course?
When not familiar with tango, it might seem choreographed when watching advanced dancers. You’d be surprised then to know that tango argentino is an improvised dance 
In this course you’ll learn the fundamentals of tango argentino with tools to develop body awareness and to connect with dance partners and the music.
I’ll help you to understand and feel the mechanics of movement to develop skills for improvisation rather than just imitating a few steps by memory.
This will save you time in the long run and allows greater freedom in the dance.
We’ll build up your familiarity with movement and confidence in your dance, with the patience that every learning process needs.
🗓 Sundays at 17:00 (Starting on Oct 1)
📍 EWTO Akademie (Liniengasse 14, 1060. Entrance around the corner, on Haydngasse)
Registration is open for the new trimester Oct-Dec.
Looking forward to welcoming you!
FAQ
No. You can come with any type of shoes. Nevertheless, some shoes will support your movements better than others. Check out some recommendations on how to choose proper shoes for dancing tango here.
There's no need for special clothes either. Wear what makes you feel comfortable.
You can come spontaneously but it's recommended to sign up in advance to make sure there's room for you if the course gets fully booked (which has happened in the past).
To favour the learning process, the course includes a recap of the previous class at the start of each session so you won't miss any contents if you need to skip a class due to travels or other personal reasons.
Especially at the beginning of your tango path being constant will make your learning process easier and favours a stable rhythm in the group. For this reason it's recommended not to miss more than 2-3 classes in a row.
If your times are non compatible at all with this course, you still can learn tango. Contact me for private or semiprivate lessons and we'll make a personalized plan for you.
Improvers course
Improve the technique of what you already know and expand your knowledge to advance in your dance.
We focus on body awareness, connection between dance partners and with the music, and ways to find ease in movement to favor the improvisation which is in the core of tango argentino.
Some previous knowledge is needed to follow the group's pace (not necessarily advanced). This is a mixed level course where each class contents are adapted to the participants.
Recommended for beginners with previous experience, intermediate, and those interested in continuously improving their tango technique or learning both roles.
Classes are in English, or bilingual English/Spanish according to the group’s needs. If you don’t feel comfortable with these languages we'll manage to help you with translation to Deutsch.
🗓 Sundays at 18:15 (New season starts on Oct 1)
📍 EWTO Akademie (Liniengasse 14, 1060. Entrance around the corner, on Haydngasse)
You can join spontaneously although recommended to save your place.
Special: Milonga Workshop
It's a delight having Nico Típico with us once again!!
Our first milonga at Amerlinghaus was a true party with his super danceable live music and charismatic presence.
If you joined you surely remember how good it was!
Nico is a versatile artist: Tango dancer, singer, guitarist, interpreter and composer.
No surprise how he embodies the soul and energy of Argentinean popular music in such a way to create a unique atmosphere when he plays live.
What you might not know yet is that he was already dancing tango salon (the social tango) before playing and composing. No wonders why his music is so danceable.
He has a quite particular way of dancing milonga and this time you'll have the chance to learn his secrets for it and for dancing in close embrace.
🗓 Thursday Oct 5. 19:00 to 21:00
📍 Kenyongasse 15, 1070 (Seminarraum, upstairs)
You're welcome to join with or without a dance partner.
It's possible to join spontaneously although recommended to save your place.
Giros/Molinetes Intensive Course
Molinetes or giros are a classic in tango argentino.
We could conceive them as a figure or more comprehensively as a technique.
If you've been to my classes you already know that I don't put students to imitate and memorize sequences by heart, completely disconnected from each other.
My goal is to help you understand and feel in your body the mechanics of movement and to develop skills for improvisation in a dialogue-based dance.
This way we can build up confidence in your dance, with the patience that every learning process needs, and focus on developing a good base for the smooth and interconnected way of dancing that makes tango argentino so special.
– Ok Jessica, but I thought this is a workshop about giros… Won’t we learn the figure?
Yes. You’ll learn the family of figures known as giros or molinetes.
And more (if you want to).
I invite you to see beyond the figures.
When you understand what tango is about, you find that figures are just the envelope, the excuse, the means to get to…
To what?
To the core of tango argentino. Which is far from just throwing figures on the dance floor.
The workshop consists of 4 hours distributed in 2 sessions of 2h each.
On January 19 & 26 from 19:00 to 21:00
You can take the full course or join per class.
@ Login Base (Weiglgasse 19, 1150. Door on the corner of Weiglgasse & Jheringgasse)
This course is recommended for beginners with previous experience*, intermediate, and any person interested in improving their technique and seeing beyond the envelope if they already know the figure.
*You need to know at least the basics of walk and embrace in tango argentino and how the ochos forward and backward work.
It's not required to attend with a dance partner, just openness to dance with any person in the room regardless of gender.
Come with a good attitude and an open mind to learn and co-create a good atmosphere for all.
You’re welcome to join spontaneously although recommended to save your place.
Gallery under construction. More on the way 😉
Happy to meet you
Hi! I'm Jessica
My journey to connect with my body started with Tango Argentino.
I wasn’t looking for it back then, but after a while dancing I became aware of how disconnected I was from my body and how tango was opening that door for me.
Being a very rational person (academic overdose included: graduated from three BA, went through a MA program and half of another one… just to start the list), body and emotions were like two invisible islands for me.
My sociological eye helped me notice that tango was being transformative not only for myself but for other people I met in the community.
I became curious.
How’s that a dance can impact in such ways other aspects of life?
I wanted to know how the body-mind connections work and thought that Yoga could be a place to look for it. So I decided to enrol in a yoga teachers program.
I was lucky to learn in a school that understands yoga as much more than fancy poses and physical demand, and became certified as a Yoga Professor in Yoga Integral. A style that focuses on what yoga is supposed to look for: self-awareness and integration of our physical, mental and spiritual bodies in the journey to meditation. Choosing and adapting the many techniques that exist in yoga to what’s beneficial for the student. Regardless of their previous experience or physical condition.
These learnings gave me some of the clues I was looking for and many others I was totally unaware of.
It of course influenced my approach to tango as well.
This kept opening my curiosity and the doors to my inner journey, which led me to try other body-mind approaches like Bioenergetics, Body-Mind Centering®, Psychodrama, Authentic Movement, Expressive Body Arts, Contact Improvisation, among others.
From the many paths to body-mind integration I tried, I chose to follow a postgrad in Dance/Movement Therapy to deepen my journey.
This experience has been the most influential in my work during the last years, as the path of embodiment, conscious movement and movement analysis was more clarifying for my approach to dance than many tango technique classes I attended before. More supportive for my self-awareness, self-confidence and empowerment than traditional counseling. And definitely powerful to improve the way I relate to myself and others both in dance and daily life.
My interest in the connections between body, mind, emotions, identity and culture keeps driving what I do.
For me tango argentino is a philosophy of life.
A path to freedom, empowerment and personal transformation.
A door to a deeper connection with ourselves and others.
It’s culture and community.
Definitely way more than a mere collection of memorized steps to repeat.
When learning with me you can expect a mix of all this.
Traveling is my other big passion so it is also present in what I do.
In a more obvious way by designing and coordinating transformational retreats and cultural immersion experiences in Argentina and other Latin American countries.
And in the subtle ways by bringing parts of that culture to the classes and events I organize in any place I’m based at. Which at the moment means bringing what I love and miss from tango in Buenos Aires to Vienna ❤
Milonga Itinerante
Itinerante means this milonga takes place at varied locations.
You can get updates on your email via my Newsletter.
NEXT CONFIRMED DATES:
⭕ Oct 4. 19:00 in Amerlinghaus with Nico Típico! (Stiftgasse 8, 1070 Wien)
Tickets available here.
More dates are coming! Join the Newsletter to be the first to know.
❤
"Tradition is not to worship the ashes but transmitting the fire"
My classes and events bridge tango argentino tradition with awareness of being in the XXI century.
Come as you are! With or without a dance partner, solo, with friends, beginner or experienced, dancing the role(s) you want, wearing what makes YOU feel good.
All combinations are welcome!
Just bring good vibes and an open mind to co-create a welcoming space for all.
Respect and consent are the rules.
If it's your first time in a milonga I'm happy to guide you through the social codes of tango argentino so you can feel at ease. Just ask me and join us! 😉
Join the Newsletter and follow me on Instagram and Facebook to get all the news and updates in our agenda.
The friendliest Práctica in town
NEXT PRÁCTICA:
Sunday Oct 1. 19:30-22:00
New location!!
📍 EWTO Akademie (Liniengasse 14, 1060. Entrance around the corner, on Haydngasse)
❤
Prácticas are gatherings to practice tango in a more informal setting than traditional milongas, to ask for feedback and to socialize with other tango enthusiasts.
All levels of experience and backgrounds are welcome to experiment, play and get rid of the weight of judgement on the dance floor, in order to expand your skills and gain confidence in your dance.
It's a space to try out the new knowledge you've got or even to learn the basics from other attendants if you're new to tango.
Dance and practice whichever role(s) you like. Most regular attendants practice both.
There's enough space in the studio for practicing the social circulation or to be on the spot if needed for the moves you're working on (there's space for two rondas / dance floors).
Just be mindful if the moves you're working on require you to stay on a fixed spot, and use the center of the ronda or the adjoining room to not interrupt those who practice the social circulation.
I play the music in the "tandas" format so newcomers get familiar with the structure they'll find in traditional milongas, and as a reference for partner switching so everyone gets the chance to practice, but as a práctica there's a difference with the milonga codes where you're expected to dance the full tanda with one person.
You're free to choose which songs you dance and with whom (even alone if practicing solo technique).
As in every práctica, I’m available for feedback if you want to ask for it (it's not a class).
A milonga is not the place to correct others, especially if unrequested (that's another of the milonga codes). A práctica is a space to co-learn, so constructive feedback is part of it. Just be courteous when sharing your thoughts.
There's no entry fee for course attendants, you choose what you contribute to keep it sustainable.
Regular fee for other attendants 10€
If you're unemployed and can't afford a regular fee nor the courses, reach out to me.
It's ok to bring your own drinks or something to share in the common table.
All kinds of shoes are allowed at this studio.
Come with an open mind to co-create a welcoming, friendly and respectful atmosphere for all 🙂
Join the Newsletter to get updates on the next prácticas, milongas and courses.
How can I help you?
Tango Argentino
&
Body-Mind integration
by Jessica Gerdel
contact@jessicagerdel.com
+43 681 10323630
(El sitio en español está en proceso de actualización. Mis disculpas)
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