Tango is sharing feelings with one another, to the music, with the others around us. It can't be captured, you have to live it and feel it. It is respecting others and showing it. And when you have started to dance out of your feelings, there's no turning back.

 

For us, the idear of encuentros are as follows:

1. Social skills
At encuentros we expect that organizers have chosen participants that have a certain level into the world of close embrace dancing and social skills. So when you are at an encuentro, you are expected to dance and talk with everyone.

As an example, this means that if your cabecero didn't succeed with you first choice, you move on to the next instead of not dancing. It also means focus on more simpel social skills like greetings, and chatting with other participants. Or bringing your follower back to the seat when the tanda is over.

"Encuentro" means "meeting", let's honor that!

2. Connection
The most important thing about tango is connection, or feeling and acting on your partners reaction to your dance.

If your head is full of trying to remember figures or surviving in the space giving for your dance, there's no connection. You need to practice this, feeling and adjusting to the others reaction.

3. Musicality
Next to connection comes "musicality". Tango music from late 20's to late 40's-50's has so much rhythm and melody. It's our "playground" when dancing together, it informs us, moves us.

4. Technical skills
Figures can be nice for training technical skills, but it must never be the only focus in your dancing and training. Always focus on what technical skills your working on, like balance, position, timing, axis, transition, acceleration, intention ect.

If tango becomes doing figures and combining figures, it becomes more or les choreographies and then it's dead.

When your connected with one another and the music, often all you need is simple steps like sidesteps, forward/backward steps, crossed or not, and turning. Being in the "zone" feeling, is addictive.

5. How to be respectful
Keep you space in the ronda. Do not bounce forward and backwards in the ronda and do not go in and out of the rondas. Stay where you are and dance.

Do not enter the ronda if you have had no eye contact and accept with couples dancing to your left.

Dance in close embrace, and followers keep your feet on the floor no matter what the leader leads you into.


It's not difficult to learn to participate and dance at an encuentro. however, it can be difficult to find teachers that teaches it, at your local community. Start asking around for teaching in how to behave and dance at encuentros.

So, if you're always picky when selecting the next dancer in the cortinas, or you do infinit ocho's when the floor gets close, or you feel a need for open op in the embrace, or you cannot adjust to how much space you have for your dancing needs, you'er not ready for encuentros. You need to start practicing.