GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Writer John Berger, above, followed the lead of tango instructor George Garcia in a Honolulu Club studio Tuesday.
"Why did I agree to this? I'm going to make A, big time," I thought as the music started. "Forever Tango," Luis Bravo's superb celebration of Argentine tango, returns to the Hawaii Theatre next Thursday, and my editor had suggested that, as part of my story on the show's return, I take a tango lesson.
My dance lesson at the
Where and when
Honolulu Club proves
edifying, and mercifully,
no one is injuredBy John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com
Even though I don't dance.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
K'ai Roberts partnered with Garcia, demonstrating the intimacy of the dance.
"That's even better," she said.
OK, so the Shonas of Zimbabwe say that anyone who can walk can dance. I've got walking down, but in decades as an entertainment writer, I've seen excellent dancers in styles ranging from ballet to locking -- and watched thousands of people on nightclub dance floors who could barely maintain a basic up-down move to a beat. I'm one of the latter, but there I was at the Honolulu Club with George Garcia and his teaching partner, K'ai Roberts.
Garcia's had almost 25 years' experience teaching everything from disco-style "touch dancing" to salsa and Argentine tango, and has specialized in tango since 1997. In addition to teaching at the Honolulu Club, he conducts tango workshops on the neighbor islands and the mainland. He also hosts Islatango Milonga, a dance party for tango dancers of all levels, each Monday at the Al Franz Dance Studio in Kakaako. (For more information, see www.tangohawaii.8m.com.)
Adding to the pressure was the fact that my dancing partner was Mariko Lyons, a longtime "tango aficionado" and competition-caliber Argentine tango dancer. It was the equivalent of me stepping out on a volleyball court with Kim Willoughby or trading tennis serves with one of the Williams sisters.
First, Garcia pointed out the several styles of Argentine tango.
"There's what's called 'tango for export,' that's 'Show Tango,' and that's the most attractive style of tango because it's very eye-appealing, it's very exciting ... it's mesmerizing to watch -- it's also extremely difficult to do.
"There's also a social type of tango that is more toned down for general use. There are no flying legs or bodies in the air, but it's (still) a structured event with people going around in the same direction. There's a flow that goes counterclockwise around the dance floor almost like a ballroom dance, except this is very much Argentine and Buenos Aires style."
A third style, which Garcia calls "close embrace," is not as dramatic and athletic as show tango, but requires more than casual acquaintance to do well. Lyons, who specializes in show tango, will rehearse for hours with her partner before a show. People with a little experience dancing Argentine tango can make eye contact across the room, meet on the dance floor and dance the basics without saying a word.
"You don't know the person, but by the end of the third dance, you understand their character, their personality, and a lot of it is just through the wordless lead-and-follow on the dance floor," Garcia said.
There are, of course, sexual undercurrents since tango danced well -- even the social form -- suggesting desire, attraction, seduction and combustion. Social dancers "leave it on the dance floor," Garcia explained, although many who dance tango more seriously are partners off the dance floor as well.
AS FOR MY LESSON, I was fortunate enough to have avoided stepping on Lyons' feet, but no matter how many times I saw Garcia perform the step and a half in which he turned completely around, I couldn't get my feet to end up where his were.
DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Mariko Lyons and John Rampage strike a classic tango pose on stage at Diamond Head Theatre.
I should have relaxed and gone with beat, but I was more concerned with stepping off on the right foot.
But mostly, it felt uncomfortable to be so close to a stranger. As Americans we're taught not to touch or brush up against people, and the tango is an intimate dance even at the social level.
Garcia also had a graceful way of twisting his legs to cross and uncross. I couldn't do it. I had to stop and step out of it.
If you want to try it at home, the basic dance from the man's perspective involves three steps forward starting with the left leg, bringing the right foot in line with the left, pausing in place, then stepping to the side with one's right foot, to the left with one's left foot and back to the right with one's right foot, and then moving forward again with your left.
From there the dancers can off on any tangent, circling -- always counterclockwise -- dipping and lifting.
Needless to say, I didn't get that far. If I tried to do show dancing, Lyons would have ended up stepping on my foot because I couldn't move it fast enough. I could imagine her spike heel coming down.
Even so, I enjoyed it enough to try it again ... on a preschool level.
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On stage: 7:30 p.m. next Thursday through Dec. 29, with additional 2 p.m. performances Dec. 28 and 29 'Forever Tango'
Where: Hawaii Theatre
Tickets: $22.50 to $55
Call: 528-0506
Weekly tango dance party: 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Mondays Islatango Milonga
Place: Al Franz Dance Studio, Waterfront Mauka Tower Suite 140, 419 South St.
Admission: $6
Call: 471-2123
Click for online
calendars and events.
