Tango at Almacen!

Hola friends, family, and everyone who is following along with us on our amazing journey in South America! Last night we had the opportunity to see some live entertainment and were able to really be immersed in something that is considered a big part of the Argentine culture, the tango. We visited a small theater called Almacen where many professional tango dancers as well as some very talented musicians had performed for us. Some of these dancers have been dancing the tango for many years. It was mentioned that there was one dancer who has been dancing the tango for over 50 years!

When we walked in the theater the lights were dimmed and the opening number began which immediately captured everyone’s attention. Right from the start you can tell that the tango is a very fast paced dance with endless intricate footwork. All of the time and effort that goes into dancing the tango makes it that much more interesting to watch. After a few dances a singer would come out and serenade the audience with her beautiful voice. Even though she was singing in Spanish and hardly anyone could understand her, the power that her voice possesses still managed to capture and amaze all.

I personally find the tango to be a very interesting dance because of the extremely difficult footwork and the fact that each tango tells a different story. After talking to a few of my classmates Maggie and Jackie, they could not agree more with the beautiful difficulty that the tango has. Watching the dancers up on stage made me want to figure out the story they were trying to tell the audience through their movements. Each dance we watched seemed very intimate and filled the air with romance. Looking around the theater I would see many couples sitting together watching the dancers in awe.

If I had to choose a favorite part of the show it would definitely be the second to last performance where only two dancers were on stage. They danced the most amazing and dangerous lifts and turns of the entire night which made it so interesting to watch. The male dancer through the female dancer around and would catch her so close to the ground that I can guarantee everyone was on the edge of their seat! Overall the performance was just one of the many amazing experiences we had in Argentina, now we are off to Chile! 

Vamos a bailando!

Vamos a bailando!

Last night, we all cleaned up nicely, put on our dancing shoes and suited up to go to Viejo Almacen. Viejo Almacen owns two buildings on the corner of San Telmo. They offer tango lessons along with dinner and a tango show. We took advantage of this opportunity and we learned how to tango!

Our lesson started off with a demonstration of a “simple” tango dance. To be quite honest, it did not look simple at all but it was quickly our turn to learn. The instructors lined up the men on one side and the ladies on the other to begin teaching us this authentic Argentine dance. Before we were even allowed to dance with a partner, we all had to learn the first 8 count of the dance. By learning the dance solo first, we definitely saved a lot of toes which would have been crushed had we learned the dance while holding our partners.

When you broke down the steps piece by piece and slowly, it seemed simple. Forward, right, back, back, cross, back, left, and together. Easy enough right? Well, not really. After we all began to remember the steps and get the tango down, we all picked a partner. Many of us danced with people we did not really know on our trip which was a great way to get to know each other even more. We first danced the tango to slow counts by the instructors and then transitioned into faster counts to traditional tango music. Some of us were doing really well, while others were really struggling.

Once the instructors saw that we were learning quickly, they began to add more complicated steps. This included learning to tango in a circle rather than in a line. This threw a lot of people off and by the end, some of us looked like we learned nothing. But, hey it’s all for the experience! Learning to tango was such an amazing experience for all of us because it was a great way to experience the Argentine culture first hand. After the instructors recognized the fact that we were all awesome tango dancers, we were given certificates to bring home to mom and dad to put on the fridge! Altogether, it was a great night with some really great people.

This afternoon, we arrived in Vina del Mar, Chile! We arrived at the hotel around 8pm. When we got out of the hotel everyone immediately got excited because of the surroundings. To say the least, it is beautiful here. Our Hotel, which is called Hotel San Martin, is right across the street from the beach and surrounded by nice restaurants, exciting street shops, and of course the glistening ocean! The only thing we are having trouble with is the Wifi. Steve, Dustin, Mike, and Frank said the rooms had a stunning view and the waves were incredible. Hannah and Emily Jansson had a chance to immediately go out and explore nearby the Hotel. Along with the great natural surroundings, there are many restaurants and boutiques to keep everyone busy on their down time!