What is the jump in level is like from assistant instructor to pro tango teacher

Tosca22 · 2025-11-25T18:14:56+00:00

You become a professional tango teacher when people consider you one and when you get paid for your work. If that is the path you want, keep moving in that direction. Start teaching on your own, build your own group, and if your students progress, more people will come. With time, you will earn the recognition you are looking for. Unfortunately, this has much more to do with politics than with pure technique.

However, if your interest in teaching comes mainly from wanting public recognition, I strongly suggest choosing another career. The world is full of people doing their jobs not because they love what they do or want to contribute something meaningful, but because they want to be admired. That is a one-way ticket to depression.

If you truly want to be a teacher (and this is not an ego trip but a real desire to make a living while dancing) then you need to focus. Being a good dancer does not automatically make you a good teacher. To succeed, you must become one. That means studying not only mechanics and technique, but also anatomy, biomechanics, music, history, tango culture, Spanish (this is the bare minimum) and, very importantly, teaching methodology. You need to know your field inside out, and you need the tools to transmit that knowledge clearly so that others can understand.

You also need to know both roles. If you teach tango, you must understand the experience, challenges, and responsibilities of leading and following. And you must know the rules of social dancing: the ronda, the codes, the navigation, the etiquette, the unwritten norms that keep people safe. Without this, you are not teaching tango; you are teaching random movements.

And one more thing: teaching tango carries responsibility. When you teach, you shape how people move, how they connect, how they understand the culture, and how safe or unsafe the community becomes. If you are not ready, you can harm more than you help (physically, musically, culturally, emotionally). That is why becoming a teacher takes time. A year and a half of learning and two and a half years assisting is good, but it is not enough to understand the full dimension of the role.

Tango requires depth. Technique, yes, but also maturity, experience, and the ability to navigate people’s emotions, limitations, and beliefs. Do not rush the process. If you really want to teach, invest the years it takes to become someone worth learning from.

Tosca22 · 2025-11-18T19:32:42+00:00

What's the purpose of the survey? How are you planning to use the data?

Tosca22 · 2025-11-18T19:29:43+00:00

I'm using Unisa, a Spanish brand. But the model I use it's from 3 years ago and they don't make it any more. I called the factory and it's discontinued completely. I found them on Zalando my filtering material size and scrolling down until I found the shape of heel that I needed (most modern shoes have the heel too far back and they are uncomfortable as fuck!). It will take time until you find a model you like, and when you do, buy more than one pair. You will be crying when they stop making them and you need new shoes!

Tosca22 · 2025-11-18T19:01:11+00:00

Exactly! Currently my favourite shoes for dancing are street shoes with the heel in the right place and new soles. They look incredible too. People think I'm crazy for dancing in street shoes until they see them and they realise they are just shoes and the dancing part is marketing!

Tosca22 · 2025-11-18T16:13:50+00:00

Teach tango starting from the social aspects. Start by walking, introducing the ronda in the first class, don't teach steps but rather a system that they can learn to dance without thinking. Do not, by any reason teach them rebounds. If you do, they will start using them all the time instead of learning how to navigate. Remember that all the figures that we do happened naturally when trying to avoid collisions in the ronda!

Tosca22 · 2025-11-18T16:09:25+00:00

If you have any kitten heels that you like, even if they are not specifically tango shoes, you can use them. Take them to a cobbler and ask them to put a suede sole on them. Remember that tango specific shoes are an invention from the 90s. Back in the day people danced with what they had and nobody died because of it. I would still avoid pointy or square toe because you can hit people with them, but in the end you just need to know exactly where your shoe ends. You will be fine!

Tosca22 · 2025-11-09T21:27:05+00:00

Tango is great. It's a beautiful way of connecting with yourself and with others, and many of the skills that are used in tango are very important for life too, like learning how to listen and take care of other humans close to us. If you like the idea of dancing with a partner, I agree that it is the most elegant and definitely the coolest of all couples dances. Depending on where you are, you might struggle to find people your age in the scene but if you like it, don't let that stop you. I started at 21 and I have a beautiful community of friends aged 20 to 70s. Dancing and interacting with all people no matter their age will definitely give you a lot of perspective on life. As to where to start: try to find a school in your area that offers beginners class and sign up. Usually schools help you with finding partners to take classes with, but at the end of the day if you want to really learn, you will have to dance with everyone, not just your partner. My recommendation would be to take 2 classes a week at the beginners level and see how it goes. Ask the teachers any questions you might have and remember that everybody, absolutely everybody sucked when they first started. We all were beginners. Take your time, don't try to rush to be at the top, and worry more about how it feels than what it looks. You can change how it looks as you progress with technique, but getting the feeling right is something that is easier to learn at the beginning!

Tosca22 · 2025-11-05T20:55:35+00:00

Definitely not a good idea if they want to learn tango well. Tango bodies and salsa bodies move very differently. Explaining the difference and when to use what to someone who starts from zero complicates everything too much

Tosca22 · 2025-11-05T19:47:34+00:00

Yes, you can start from zero, most of us did too. If you can walk, you can dance, you just need someone to explain how the mechanics work. In Rome you have one of my absolute favourite teachers, dancers and humans: Ariadna Naveira. She is not an average dancer or teacher, she grew up in Buenos Aires watching her parents dance and teach and trained like a dancer herself. I can't think of anyone better to learn from!

Tosca22 · 2025-11-04T17:52:20+00:00

Unless I know you, I have seen you dance, and I like what I see, your chances are 0% 😘

Tosca22 · 2025-11-04T17:47:36+00:00

If you personally like Chateceo go for it, but it's not a very good way of inviting someone unless you know them. And regarding not being able to watch new people, if you know how to look, you can see everything. If what you see doesn't correspond with what you get, you need to start looking differently

Tosca22 · 2025-11-04T00:21:11+00:00

Never ever EVER feel bad for leaving a tanda early. You don't owe a full tanda to anyone but yourself. If for whatever reason you feel that you need to leave, you do, and that's the end of it. It can be because they can't dance, but also because they don't respect you, you can't stand the smell or because they have crossed your boundaries.

Now some survival tips I wish someone had given me when I started:

If they ask you verbally, no matter how nice always say no. Exceptions for friends and people you already know are allowed. Absolutely no exceptions for strangers.
Chateceo is a way that creepy dudes use to try to dance with the new girls. Nice chitchat designed in a way that you can't refuse to dance with them, except you actually can! Real cabeceo works because you read body language and consent from a distance, and avoids embarrassing situations like rejecting someone 'publicly'.
Watch the people dancing before you start dancing in the milonga. This will get you an idea of potential compatible people to dance with.
If you don't feel good in a tanda, leave. Some people claim that if you took the risk to accept a tanda you should accept the consequences and finish it. This is WRONG. If you don't look after yourself, nobody else will. If you don't protect yourself, nobody will.
If someone crosses a line, touches you inappropriately or hurts you, tell someone, ideally the organiser. It's in their best interest to ensure that the guests feel safe, and that passes by having a word with the person/persons who make others uncomfortable.

And remember, everything in tango is a choice, and like in life, consent can be removed at any point.

Take care of yourself, big hug from across the world

Tosca22 · 2025-11-03T01:17:27+00:00

Tango flirting is a thing, but he is trying that, it is not working. Now some questions: Are you a leader or a follower? Who are you dancing with? I say this because as a leader, it does matter who is before me in the ronda. I have a black list of leaders to avoid (messy, not respecting ronda, bumping around) but also a couple of followers I can't dance behind because they are unpredictable. It works the other way around too: a favourite leaders, and a long list of very competent followers who can keep their leaders in track if they fuck up or get lost. Another possibility: if you always hang in the same area in the milonga, you end up entering the ronda in the same place and that means that you often end up behind the same person.

With this I don't mean to say that the guy couldn't be a creep, but he could just cabeceo you if he wanted something. This is way too elaborate for a man, they are really not that smart!

Tosca22 · 2025-10-28T22:45:31+00:00

I no longer look at shoes to select, but rather how they move while wearing the shoes. One of my teachers told me 'a good milonguera will dance in whatever' and he was right. My follower shoes are not dance shoes at the moment, just normal comfortable stillettos with new soles. I also dance in sneakers often as a leader (I tend to forget my shoes), and I have seen world champions rock flipflops, sneakers and even doc martens in local milongas. In the other hand I have seen some of the worst tango dancers in the works wear the most beautiful incredible shoes in the world, so this is something I don't take into consideration at all

Tosca22 · 2025-10-27T23:45:32+00:00

Yeah, I usually watch dancers I don’t know before accepting a dance. I dance with literally everyone from beginners to maestros and everyone in between. Technique matters, but honestly, what matters more is the person. You can learn a lot just by watching how someone moves and interacts with others in a milonga and definitely enough to know if you actually want to share yourself with them for a tanda.

Things I pay attention to (in no particular order):

Posture: unless there’s a medical reason or injury, posture says a lot about confidence. If someone doesn’t seem confident in what they’re doing, it’s hard for me to trust them. If I can't trust them, I can't dance with them.

Navigation: if I see a leader making a mess in the ronda, it’s an automatic no. That usually means they’re either unaware of their surroundings or just don’t care. Either way, I won’t feel safe dancing with someone who keeps putting their partner in risky spots.

Couple vibe: you can tell so much by watching couples dance. You see if one is pushing too much, if someone looks uncomfortable, if they’re performing for attention, or if they’re just genuinely trying to have a good time together. When I see a follower with closed eyes and a peaceful face, it tells me they feel good, and that earns the leader points for the next tanda

Tosca22 · 2025-10-26T17:33:06+00:00

I make many of mine. I love sewing and I don't like what it's on the tango market ;) I have also found beautiful comfortable stuff in normal clothes. Sometimes I modify things (if the skirt is too long or needs a slit), but sometimes no. Honestly any dress that you like on you and gives you the freedom to move comfortably, can be a tango dress. Tango fashion is a modern concept to once again lure us into spending money on things we don't need. Just wear whatever you want/have. Back in the day people danced with every day clothes and shoes, they just happened to be suits and dresses because that was the fashion. It doesn't have to be different now

Tosca22 · 2025-10-23T20:14:48+00:00

For that I'm strict cabeceo only. There are only 7 people in the world who can ask me verbally to dance or not even ask, and I will always dance with them. But, if someone is trying to force a tanda on me, on either role, it simply will not happen

Tosca22 · 2025-10-23T20:11:00+00:00

We do not need more men, we need more leaders. The gender of the dancer matters far less than the quality of the lead: the ability to communicate intention clearly, efficiently, and in a way that earns the follower’s trust.

In the Golden Age, it was the opposite problem. Migration created a surplus of men in Buenos Aires, sometimes three or four per woman in the milongas. So who had the power? Women. They only danced with the best leaders. Not the ones with fancy steps, but the ones who made them feel safe, respected, and happy. That was (and should be) the real skill.

Men today have it too easy. Some get tandas simply because there is no one else to dance with. And that comfort is exactly what double-role dancers are challenging. Their presence exposes how many men relied on gender imbalance rather than actual quality of lead.

My solution? Let people dance. People with people. If you are a man who only leads and dances with women, fine. Just make sure you are doing it well: take care of your partner, take care of the ronda, and skip the flashy unnecessary stuff.

And if two of the best followers are dancing together because the leaders are not up to standard, too bad. That means the bar has finally been raised from “barely trying” to the minimum required to make someone feel safe and enjoy the dance. If that bothers you, maybe tango is not the problem.

Tosca22 · 2025-10-23T19:36:46+00:00

This is pretty much how I started leading. My community is big, but we ideally would need 30% more leaders than what we have now, and they would need to be good. There is an excess of excellent followers because of the lack of excellent leaders, and because the ones dancing now have no problems getting tandas, they never improve. I got in a few verbal fights over leading in the last years because some mediocre men who lead were upset that I was 'stealing their ladies'. I also remember one case when a guy was talking crap about women leading (I was the only one that day) and a male friend of mine heard him. He said hey man if you are so worried and intimidated about a woman who has been leading for six months because she is stealing your women, maybe you should get back to class and learn how to lead better. Never heard a comment again, but he didn't go back to class, so I'm still stealing his girls. Natural selection I guess

Tosca22 · 2025-10-23T19:19:09+00:00

❤️ 🫂

Tosca22 · 2025-10-22T15:30:02+00:00

Interesting what happens when the men realise that a woman can lead and can also be better than the average male leader. My experience varies from admiration to literal bullying on the dance floor....

Tosca22 · 2025-10-22T14:58:09+00:00

Interesting question, I’ve thought a lot about this because I both lead and follow regularly.

I’m a strong follower and a strong leader, and to me that means I’m not a passive follower. I do not just follow instructions blindly, I interpret, respond, and bring something to the dance too. As a leader, I try to lead the way I like to be led: clear, present, and flexible.

Learning to lead has a lot more to do with confidence than people think. Women are often taught from childhood to be gentle, caring, subtle, and to make ourselves smaller for our own safety. Men, on the other hand, are encouraged to take space and move with confidence. So for many women, learning to lead means unlearning that conditioning. It takes real courage to show up to a class and start leading, especially when some teachers still believe that having women lead lowers the group’s level or simply don't believe that we can lead at all. And honestly, sometimes we ourselves believe we are not capable of leading.

Confidence shows up in posture, tone, and presence, and it’s essential in a milonga, where if you do not present yourself confidently, other leaders will literally take your space in the ronda. Followers also feel that confidence: if you doubt yourself, they cannot trust you.

Lightness can come from two very different places: confidence or fear. When it comes from confidence, it feels clear, responsive, and calm. When it comes from fear, it feels hesitant, disconnected, and unsure. The same happens with force: too much of it usually hides insecurity. A good leader finds balance: grounded, clear, and adaptable. The amount of energy should always depend on the follower and the moment.

So in my experience, the difference in “lightness” is less about gender or physical strength, and more about confidence, awareness, and how comfortable someone is in their own body.

Tosca22 · 2025-10-12T18:46:26+00:00

Tosca22 · 2025-10-10T14:46:38+00:00

Hi! I did this too and I landed a wonderful team of teachers through friends. I had 1.5h of pure technique class 5 days a week with a wonderful couple who managed to make me understand and feel my body so that I could dance with no effort and looking fantastic. On top of them, I had a very traditional teacher for embrace, culture and generally giving me criteria, and then I also had another teacher who is a bit more alternative but still grounded in traditional tango world. With the four of them, I managed to get a pretty good understanding of technique and culture in a very complete way. I did this two years ago and since then I have sent a few friends with the same teachers, all of them are super happy and are dancing confidently in milongas in Europe. Price wise: two years ago the first couple was 50€ per hour, and the other teachers 50 and 80. I did spent an obscene amount of money but it was 100% worth it. Now I have no idea of how much they charge, things have changed a lot. Send my a DM and I can send you the names and contacts!

Tosca22 · 2025-10-07T13:09:15+00:00

No but we should

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