Imitating Steps vs. Developing Skills

Beginners often think that if they can master the steps, they can dance tango. This mindset leads many to focus solely on imitating steps. As soon as they memorize one step, they move on to copying another. They believe that by doing so, they can learn faster and start dancing tango sooner.

What they don’t realize is that becoming a qualified tango dancer isn’t about how many steps you know, but rather the foundational skills that underpin those steps. These essential skills include musicality, embrace, posture, connection, the ability to use the torso to lead/follow, switch between parallel system and cross system, the ability to return to the home position in a timely manner, flexibility, lightness, balance, stability, walk, salida, resolution, cross, pivot, dissociation, ocho, molinete, gear effect, cadencia, rock, traspie, synchronization, and slow motion. These are the building blocks of all tango movements. Dancers who have a solid grounding in these basics can perform beautifully with just a few simple steps. In contrast, those who lack these fundamental skills often appear incoherent and awkward in the dance, even if they know many fancy steps.

The purpose of teaching steps in tango is not merely to teach the steps themselves, but more importantly, to develop fundamental skills. For instance, when a teacher instructs students to use dissociation in an ocho, it’s because dissociation is a vital skill—not only for performing ochos but also for mastering many other tango movements. However, students may not grasp this point. They often imitate the motion of an ocho by simply crossing one leg in front of the other, neglecting the crucial work of swiveling their hips. Instead of putting in the effort to develop the underlying skill, they take shortcuts to achieve quick results. As a consequence, while they may have tried many steps, their fundamental skills remain underdeveloped.

Another purpose of teaching steps is to help students overcome bad habits, such as bending over, leaning back, bowing their heads, keeping their knees bent, breaking the embrace, using their arms and hands to lead or follow, or grasping their partner to perform steps. Until students break these bad habits and develop good habits that align with the requirements of tango, they cannot dance it well. However, students often fail to realize this. They focus on imitating steps and pay little attention to correcting their bad habits. As a result, even though they may have attempted many steps, their old habits persist, and their dancing still falls short of the standards of tango.

The eagerness to succeed can often become a major obstacle to learning. Students must recognize that the quality of their dance is not determined by the number of steps they know but by the fundamental skills and good habits they develop. Instead of focusing on merely copying steps, they should concentrate on building a solid foundation, ensuring that each step they learn serves as a building block for the next. By advancing in an orderly and gradual manner, diligently practicing basic skills, carefully following instructions, paying attention to technical details, committing to drills, and establishing a strong foundation, students can achieve twice the results with half the effort. This is the only path to becoming a skilled and competent tango dancer.