Argentine tango comes to Community Arts Center Jan. 31
Published 5:57 pm Thursday, January 24, 2019
COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER
Press release
The Community Arts Center will debut a new class on Thursdays, beginning Jan. 31: Argentine Tango dance class.
Executive Director Niki Kinkade says the class is the latest iteration of the Arts Center’s longstanding Thursday evening ballroom dance series.
“In the past, we have focused on classic ballroom steps,” Kinkade says. “Students have learned waltz, fox-trot, swing, and more. This time, we decided to try something a little different.”
Dance instructor Elizabeth Haigh says, “Argentine tango is all about simple yet sensual walking, ideal for working on balance, non-verbal communication, and musical expression.” She says the class is geared for new dancers, “and anyone who wants to get moving in a new and beautiful style.”
The six-week class costs $60 per person and participants are encouraged to sign up with a partner. As the old expressions goes, it takes two to tango. As a partner dance, there are specific leader and follower roles, which makes it important to balance the number of students in each of those roles.
Haigh says that the class will focus heavily on musicality and fun, with lots of room to play and improvise. Students will learn basic walking and leading steps, then move on to more complex sequences.
Haigh holds a bachelor’s of arts in both in music and dance, and a master’s in music, which have led her to study and perform around the U.S. and Europe, both as a dancer and musician. She fell in love with Argentine tango over 10 years ago and has since attended practicas and milongas wherever she lives and travels, from Los Angeles to Florence, Italy. She currently works as a dance instructor and church musician while pursuing collaborative projects in the arts.
IF YOU GO
Argentine tango class will be 6-7 p.m. Thursdays, Jan. 31-March 7. The cost is $60 per person.
COMING UP AT CAC
• Clay Castle Workshop, 5-6 p.m. Mondays through Feb. 11; for ages 8+ (adults welcome); cost is $35
• Cotillion Class, 6:30-8 p.m. Fridays in February, and March 15, 22; for sixth- to eighth-graders; instructed by Whitney Thomas; cost is $100
• Painting 101 for Adults, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays in February; instructed by Sarah Wiltsee; cost is $90
• Clay Postcard Workshop, 5-6:30 p.m. Feb. 6 and 20; for ages 7+ (adults welcome); cost is $35
• Starry Night Studio: Together in the Trees, 7-9 p.m. Feb. 6; instructed by Jennifer Ahnquist; cost is $28
• Yoga + Art Workshop, 2:30-4:30 p.m. Feb. 10; instructed by Marybeth McKinley; cost is $25
• President’s Day Art Camp, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 18; for kindergartners through fifth-graders; cost is $40