Tangooooo!

Tonight I went to Tango Club for the first time. It was their last meeting of the year. Ironic.
Anywho, before tonight, I had only ever danced in the American style of tango. Tango club dances Argentinian style.
The American style is strict, with a set posture, and a seldom-changing basic step. The step turns for promenade and a few flourishes of the feet, but is mostly the same. Also, the girl must never look at the guy; her head is turned to the left and tipped back away from him as though she is turning up her nose to his attempts to woo her. In fact, the drama of the dance comes from the tension between the guy and the girl.
Argentine tango is much more free-flowing. The strict posture and steps are not as important, but being tuned in to your partner is! This dance is very unpredictable, and it is up to the guy to lead the girl into whatever step he chooses, while it is up to the girl to follow him well. There is no "basic step," so to speak, because the dance is supposed to feel very natural. The posture is much more relaxed, and close! The drama of this dance definitely comes from the passion between the man and the woman.
Both styles are breathtakingly beautiful. The posture and tone of American tango is delightful, while the footwork in the Argentine tango is fantastic. When you're with a strong lead, even the more intricate footwork seems simple, and there's so much you can do!
Basically, I'm falling more and more in love with tango every time I encounter it! I think I've finally found a dance that I think is beautiful AND I can do well, after years of struggling through ballet classes.
This afternoon I was so stressed out, and tango club seemed like just one more thing on my list of things to do (don't worry, Mom, I had to go to make up a class, I was NOT just wasting time haha). But now I'm so glad that I went, because afterward I was happy again. The exercise and the concentration on something totally new cleared my mind completely. It's like hitting the reset button in a most enjoyable way.
Next semester, the Tango club can count me in as a regular member! Also there are, apparently, Tango Nights every Wednesday at Peters Pub! Who knew? I'm pretty pumped. Why, oh why did I wait until the week before finals to get involved?