3/15/2017 Caught by the tango bug  Langley News

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by  Miranda Gathercole - Langley TimesLangley posted Mar 12, 2017 at 2:00 PM — updated Mar 12, 2017 at 8:55 PM

Born in the late 1800s in the streets and brothels of Buenos Aires, it is a dance once coined ‘thevertical expression of a horizontal desire.’

The Argentine Tango was created at a time when there were 10 men for every woman in the SouthAmerican capital. The men would dance with the men until they mastered their skills, and only thencould they ask a woman for a dance.

But from the 1950s until the 1980s, a military dictatorship forced this once popular danceunderground. It’s only been through recent generations that it has experienced a renaissance.

And now, Dancing for Dessert in Langley is o�ering locals the chance to learn this challenging, yetrewarding Latin dance.

On Monday evenings, husband and wife team Bobbi and Patricia Lusic are teaching Argentine Tangolessons for all levels of dancers, ranging from beginner to advanced.

This is the first time that the dance studio  — which specializes in ballroom and Latin dance lessons — has o�ered a comprehensive program in this style.

Caught by the tango bug

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“It’s di�erent than a lot of other ballroom dances where you want to shine outwards — tango isinwards,” Bobbi said.

“The best tango literally comes from the heart, it’s not from the mind.”

Bobbi began learning tango in 2000 a�er seeing the show Forever Tango. Although he had danced avariety of dances since his childhood, it was the emotional style that captured him.

“Once I heard the music it touched me right in the heart, right from the start, and I loved the musicand interpreting it in a partnership,” he said.

“It’s like a real time artistic expression with another person.”

Patricia also has a background in dance, learning tap, jazz, ballet and musical theatre as a child. Shefirst came across the Argentine Tango in 2005, a�er signing up for a salsa class with a friend.

“We showed up at the salsa class and while I was filling out the paperwork, through this big glasswindow I could see a tango class taking place, and it was Bobbi teaching the tango class,” she said.

“And the more I watched, the more I knew that was the dance I wanted to do. And so by the nextweek, I had joined the tango class. I kept salsa going for a while, too, but it eventually fell by thewayside.”

Not long a�er, Patricia, who worked in public relations, began training with Bobbi as a show partner,and o�ered to interview him for a tango article she was writing.

“I asked Bobbi if I could take him for co�ee, just 15 minutes so he could be my interview piece ontango. He agreed, and about two hours later we discovered that we actually had a lot more incommon than just tango, and our dance partnership started to grow into a life partnership. I’m theonly student he’s ever married,” she laughed.

“Or dated actually,” Bobbi chimed in.

Both Bobbi and Patricia agree, the Argentine Tango is not for the faint of heart. It is a di�icult danceto learn and can take years to perfect.

“I danced ballroom prior to tango, and it was more about knowing the patterns,” Patricia said.

“I could back lead my partner if they needed help and I could keep them on the music. With tango, Ihad to let go of all my back leading, I had to listen to my partner, I had to listen to the music and Ihad to stop anticipating what I thought was going to happen.

“So it’s a dance that puts me in the moment, in real time. I can’t think about what just happened, Ican’t think about what’s happening next, I can only think about what’s happening now. And if I dothat, and I can get into that — what I call a Zen place — then you experience the zone and there’s thisreal time communication with your partner.”

Although the Argentine Tango is no longer associated with the Red Light District, there are rules andetiquettes from that era that remain.

“They were things that were developed to stop people from being killed in knife fights in Argentina.You don’t want to invite the wrong girl, you don’t want to be turned down, you don’t want to beembarrassed in front of your friends,” Patricia said.

To tell someone you’re available to dance, for example, you must hold your head up, eyes up, andscan the room. You then must make eye contact with the person you want to dance with to confirmthat they, too, are available.

Dancers are also not allowed to go into a tango embrace until the music starts playing.

“And that has its roots way back as well because once tango moved out of the Red Light into themiddle class of Buenos Aires, a lot of the young ladies were coming to the dances with chaperons,and the chaperons were close by. So standing in an embrace when there’s no music to dance to, wasawkward and the chaperons wouldn’t have that,” Bobbi said.

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And eye-contact with your dancing partner is “basically forbidden.”

“It’s considered an intrusion of your personal space. You’re letting someone into an embrace, who inmost cases is not your lover, you might not even know the name of that person,” Bobbi said.

While the Argentine Tango classes are new to Dancing for Dessert, they are not new to the Vancouverscene.

Argentine Tango social dances, known as Milongas, are held almost every night of the week in MetroVancouver, and there are around 1,000 active dancers.

“It’s a seduction, really, and some people just can’t resist it, whereas others might totally beannoyed by it. We say it is a ‘Tango Bug’ because if it gets to the right person, it’s irresistible, you justfall for it,” Bobbi said.

The group lessons were launched on Feb. 27, but new dancers are welcome to join at any time.

“We’re really excited to have Bobbi and Patricia here, I think it’s just a great fit and there hasn’t beenan opportunity like this for Langley ever, I don’t think,” said Andrew McIntosh, owner of Dancing forDessert.

For more information on the dance lessons, contact Dancing for Dessert at 604-881-1234 or visit theirwebsite dancingfordessert.ca. The studio is located at #3 20279 97 Ave.

More on Bobbi and Patricia is available at tangobug.com.

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Elfi Baars Woydelko · Director (company) at SelfEmployedInteresting interview,and such a beautiful dance and lovely dancers.

Like · Reply ·  1 · Mar 13, 2017 3:07pm

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