It Takes Two To Tango

Dance was always Jackie Wong’s destiny. Her father, a Chinese immigrant, named her after his beloved dance teacher, and she grew up devouring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies like ice cream. In the 1980s, she worked during the day as the manager of a bread and cheese shop in New York City. Come evening, she’d head out to shimmy across the Big Apple’s dance floors or take jazz and tap lessons on 42nd Street. “I’d go and pick her up at 10 o’clock after work," her husband Paul Marshall recalls, “three stories above a porn shop." But it wasn’t until 2000 that Jackie discovered her ultimate passion: tango, the give and take, push and pull dance form created by European immigrants in Argentina during the early twentieth century. Today, Lenox residents Wong and Marshall are the twin forces behind Tango Pulse, teaching classes in Lenox, Northampton, and Hartford, and hosting twice-monthly milongas (tango dance parties) as well as weekly practice sessions at Studio Helix in Northampton. Wong says that learning tango involves much more than following complex choreography in lace skirts, fedoras, and strappy heels. In reality, tango is all about community. “Argentine tango is about sharing, support, respect, and taking care of each other," Wong says.  “Today’s society feels so fragmented, with families living far apart, that I really try to stress the social aspect of tango. After every class," she says, “we go out and get to know each other."

A people person by nature, Wong entered the world of tango by way of extroversion. Thirteen years ago, she was selling vintage costume jewelry at Great Barrington’s Emporium Antique Center. One evening, a happy, chattering group of people came in and announced that they were heading to tango class. Wong asked them to show her some moves. “This was before Dancing with the Stars," Wong says—tango was far from mainstream. But when she watched the group twist and dip across the store, “it opened up a door that I had shut after moving from New York City and becoming a mom." Marshall recalls, “She came home and said, ‘We’ve got to do this, because the kids are going to grow up and we’ll be sitting around watching TV. That’s not acceptable.’" Indeed, Wong says that taking up tango can offer people the kind of passion and sensuality that’s sometimes missing in routine adult lives. “Once you become a partner, a mother, it's very hard to hold on to the piece of you that is a woman," she says. “Of course, I am speaking for myself.  So tango spoke to that neglected space in me." Romance, connection, mystery: Tango had all three in spades. But since tango requires people to dance with multiple partners--you don't even have to show up with one!--the passion it evokes can take many forms. “I learn a lot about myself and my partner through the dance," Wong says. “Some are playful and love moving fast, others love the slow thoughtful step, or maybe they focus on the embrace more and love the conversation that develops, while others love the dramatic moves." Marshall adds that learning to tango has a lot in common with perfecting the art of conversation. “There’s a push and pull that’s physical rather than verbal," he says. “You’re trying to sense whether your partner is enjoying this, and developing these physical sensitivities." For that reason, some say that tango requires a level of emotional maturity that tends to come with age. And knowing what to do with your hands. “You have to think about what you’re trying to get out of the dance and pick up on what your partner wants, too," Marshall says. “It’s very different from doing 360s and popping wheelies."

For tango novices, Wong has a few tips to help them start twirling with ease. First, she says, “You won’t be doing ganchos or boleos" — iconic moves where dancers hook a leg around their partner's or wrap an ankle over their knee — "right away. Once you accept that, allow yourself to enjoy the experience of holding or being held and learning to walk with someone." Second, to be a good tango dancer, you have to learn when to speak and when to listen—how to trust and respect your partner. Third, have fun: “I don’t buy into the concept of tango as angst or dramatic," Wong says. “Not that there isn’t room for that, but there’s nothing better than dancing with someone with my eyes closed and a soft smile on my face." And finally, Wong says, know that when you take on tango, you’re gaining a passport to a whole new universe. “Tango will expand your world," she says. “When you travel, you’ll be able to go to tango events in other cities and make new friends." If you’re not careful, Wong warns, tango can wind up consuming you—and your closet space—whole. “You may find yourself the owner of many tango shoes," she says. While tango-lovers can find fellowship everywhere from Japan to Turkey to India, there's also a stomp-worthy scene right across the New York state border in Hudson. At its helm is tango teacher Ellen Chrystal, who moved to the city from New Paltz seven years ago. Chrystal hosts guided practicas at the Sadhana Center every Tuesday night, and she keeps the social milieu thriving with a monthly milonga at The Red Dot. Like Wong and Marshall, Chrystal fell in love with tango long after her twenties were over. "The possibilities in tango are really intimate," she says. "Salsa and swing are more exuberant, but tango is about a controlled passion. I always say it's much more of an existential dance — there's something about it that really took me over." -- Sarah ToddPhotos by sabinephotoart.comTango PulseClasses Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings in Hartford, Lenox, and Northampton; for schedule and locations, click here. Milongas first and third Saturday of every month at Studio Helix and Dynamite Space in Northampton; for details click here. Sunday practicas at Studio Helix, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; for details click here. Private lessons also available. (413) 281 9722 Tango Hudson Tuesday night practicas at The Sadhana Center at 7:30 pm 403 Warren Street Hudson NY, 12534 Milongas third Sunday of every month at The Red Dot from 7:30-11 pm 321 Warren Street, Hudson NY, 12534 For details, call Ellen Chrystal at (845) 656-8518 or email echrystal@gmail.com