We Tried To Tango!

It takes two to tango, but maybe one should know what they’re doing

One could understandably deem tango as antithetical to Icelandic winter. Tango, with its fiery passion, and unrestricted, flowing movement. Iceland, with its ice-y, frigid, stiff, functional point-A-to-point-B movement. But, within the warmth of Iðnó on Mondays and Kramhúsið on Fridays, Icelanders shed coats and boots to don ballroom shoes and light dress.

I heard that Tangófélagið (Tango Club Reykjavík) hosted Monday night sessions at Iðnó while accumulating last month’s listings, and it immediately sparked curiosity in Grapevine HQ. With no Monday plans, curious limbs and an open mind, I decided to check it out.

In preparation for the evening, I surfed Tango Club Reykjavík’s Facebook and YouTube — which sparked more excitement while instilling a small bit of fear. I understood the skill and precision that tango demands, even a friend said upon hearing my plans, “isn’t tango the hardest dance? Like, the most technical?” Nevertheless, just seeing the rapid and beautiful movement of the dancers I’d be joining made me nervous. I didn’t take the time to learn a few basic steps before showing up, hoping I could observe and learn while in the moment. That was maybe a misstep (get it?).

Monday Milonga

With a line of chairs framing either side and Tango DJ (TDJ) at the front, Iðnó filled slowly over the first half hour. I brought my partner in hopes that we could learn together, but frankly we sat transfixed, just admiring the tango dancers, for quite a while.

There was an odd number at one point, which meant a dancer would sit solo between dances. I spotted a man who had greeted us as we walked in as the odd one out, and I took the opportunity to start a conversation. I learned that Snorri, in his 70s, took up tango around 11 years ago. He had been teaching a woman piano, and she had often spoken about her tango dancing. “I kept saying to her, ‘I wish I could dance like you,’” he said, and finally, he decided to strike a deal. Snorri would continue teaching her piano, if she would teach him to tango. I asked him for some advice to someone considering learning to tango, and he offered “just do it! Just start!”

I heeded his advice — well, somewhat. I reentered with more confidence, and striking me at the perfect moment was Helgi (who was TDJ of the night) offering to show me some steps. Despite my clumsy footwork, feeling the natural flow and progression of the moves was much more informative than simply watching it. We had a few dances and I bid him goodbye so he could return to practice skills at his level.

I later chatted with dancers Sóley and Viktor. The two became friends through tango, having started dancing 20 and 10 years ago, respectively. “I had signed up for a salsa class, but went into the wrong room!” said Sóley of her foray into tango.

“I always call it ‘a hug while walking,’’’ said Viktor, with Sóley adding “we have so many saying like this, like ‘it’s a heart-to-heart dance.’”

Time to tan-go

I walked away from the night a (minimally) better dancer than I entered, though my partner walked away having not danced at all (to be fair, Viktor reminded me that it is easier to learn as a follow than as a lead).

From everyone I spoke to, I could grasp the need to diligently attend sessions if you want to really master the tango — both this Monday Milonga Vespertina and the Friday Practica/Milonga at Kramhúsið. This resolve has twofold importance: of course, one has to gain skill through practice, but also, maybe even equally as important, one has to foster trust within the community you’ll be dancing with. It does, indeed, take two to tango. This just proves the importance of having a community like the Tango Club Reykjavík.

If you’re able to tap into the tenacity and courage needed here, or already have some tango moves and just need a stage, step forward and join Tango Club Reykjavík in the Ronda.

More information on these open sessions can be found on tango.is or through Tangófélagið on Facebook. If you have a suggestion for a free activity we should give a try in our ongoing effort to keep entertained in this economy, drop us a line at grapevine@grapevine.is