Many students ask me for tips on how to keep improving their dance — especially when time feels short.
I get it. Life gets busy, and it’s not always easy to make room for practice.
And most people start Tango as a hobby, not with the mindset of a professional dancer. So why spend countless hours training?
Let’s give this a thought.
Choose a skill you’re really good at — anything.
Maybe it’s cooking, playing an instrument, speaking a second language, even navigating your career.
Now, remember your very first steps at it.
Were you as fluent then as you are now?
What happened in between?
I’m sure there was a process and it wasn’t linear — full of practice, mistakes, and patience to restart as many times as needed until it worked.
Some skills might feel like we’re born with them, and they just showed up in us as if by magic.
Others required more time and dedication, first to work out, then constant training to master them.
Skills of the body and movement, like Tango Argentino, belong to that second group: They grow through repetition.
Because movement lives in the body — and there’s no pattern without repetition.
To improve your Tango, the best help you can give yourself is:
Train until your body remembers.
Once your body organization (posture, balance, and movement transitions) become natural, your mind can let go and invest your attention and creativity into something else.
That’s when the magic happens!
Your attention can then go into:
Listening to the music and connecting your movement to it, until you can express it freely.
Feeling and connecting with your dance partner, allowing creativity and playfulness to emerge.
Using space efficiently and creatively, staying calm and confident even when the dance floor is crowded.
Improvise beyond the steps and sequences you initially learned, and enjoy!
Everyone can reach that point — even those who believe they have “two left feet.”
The path looks different for everyone, but two ingredients are always needed: persistence and repetition – Of course a dose of patience will help to accomplish these.
It’s easy though to lose patience when overwhelmed.
To make it possible, especially when time is short and you feel it’s too much:
Focus on one thing at a time.
Just as we climb stairs step by step, we grow in the dance detail by detail.
Choose one aspect to work on — posture, connection, sequences, rhythm, you name it! — and give it your full attention.
Practice with different dance partners, in front of a mirror, or by recording yourself. Observe without judgment.
Progress is not about perfection — it’s about awareness.
And yes, the more time you give to your dance, the faster you’ll grow. But even small, regular moments count.
Walking to work? Waiting for coffee? Sitting at your desk?
Everyday movement is an opportunity to refine your Tango.
No need to have a full day available to train every week. Just willingness to include easy and quick exercises into your routines and allow a switch of mindset.
That’s the spirit of our Focused Prácticas — sessions that start with short, concentrated exercises to explore one topic deeply, train alone or together, take ideas to practice at home, and support each other’s growth while having fun in a relaxed atmosphere.
Tango is community at its core — and it’s each of us who keep that community alive.
If you’d like to strengthen your practice habit (or begin one!) in a supportive space, make sure to join us at our Focused Prácticas and Tango Immersion Weekends.
See you on the dance floor!
Abrazo,
Jessica
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Tango Argentino
&
Body-Mind integration
by Jessica Gerdel
contact@jessicagerdel.com
+43 681 10323630
(La web en español está en proceso de actualización. Mis disculpas)
