Dancers attend the Safari Spring event hosted by Argentine Tango Club April 5. Credit: Courtesy of Alejo Almanza
It takes two to tango, or maybe just a trip to West Campus.
Delving deep into the art of dance, the Argentine Tango Club at Ohio State offers dance lessons and open practices every Friday at the Women’s Field House, Mackenzie Jones, a second-year Ph.D. student in environmental economics and the club’s president, said.
Jones said the evening begins with a roughly one-hour dance lesson, taught by instructors Penny Johnson and Jorge Rosas from Trinity Tango, a dance studio in Columbus, Ohio. Following the lesson, Jones said there is an open practice, during which members can socialize and work on what they learned.
“The stereotype of some traditional dance clubs is that it’s very strict, but I think we’re pretty relaxed, and you can kind of make the club whatever you would like to make the club,” Jones said.
The lessons involve instructors demonstrating a step or series of steps, followed by a brief time for partners to practice before returning to learning the next sequence of steps, Holly Paden, a second-year Ph.D. student in human nutrition and club member, said.
Paden had no experience dancing tango before she joined the club, something she said is common for most of its members.
“Even though I was really, really new to it, everyone was really patient and really willing to work with me and help me to learn,” Paden said.
At its core, Argentine Tango is a partner dance between a lead and follow, Jones said, with a lead making most decisions. She said bringing a partner is not required to attend, and members can learn how to dance either role.
“Here, you could learn how to lead or follow or really take whatever role that you want to take, which is something a little bit different,” Jones said.
In addition to the weekly meetings, Jones said the club hosts an event once a month that includes a potluck and often outside instructors or other dance groups, as well as larger events once per semester.
Jones said she suggests wearing shoes with smooth soles to the meetings. If attendees do not have them, she said they can dance in socks instead. She said no prior dance experience is required.
Jones said joining the club is as simple as attending a Friday meeting, which is free for first-timers. After the first time attending, the lessons and practice cost $3 for students and $5 for nonstudents, according to the club’s website. Attending only practice costs $2 for students and $3 for nonstudents.
The Argentine Tango Club at Ohio State meets every Friday at the Women’s Field House. Lessons are from 7 to 8 p.m. and practices are from 8 to 10 p.m.
