Networking and Argentine Tango
The Argentine tango is a classic partner dance that is renowned all over the globe because of its dynamic style and passionate vibe.
Learning how to dance the tango can lead to different benefits, such as improving physical coordination and boosting personal confidence. Surprisingly, on top of its physical and mental benefits, tango has social benefits as well.
Aside from improving romantic relationships, it also has a strong potential for networking. Interactions among dance students and teachers during tango classes can serve as an informal interview among possible future colleagues and business partners.
Keep reading to find out if you can network through tango, whether you are an attorney, psychologist, university professor, IT specialist, or another type of professional. Discover who dances the tango and why these people are attracted to the partner dance. Learn how to build connections through tango beyond the dance. Consider if you should hide or display your interest in tango in your LinkedIn profile. Last but not least, explore the various ways that you can continue to develop your tango skills and knowledge.
Can You Network Through Tango?
Yes, it is possible for you to network through the Argentine tango, whether you are an amateur or professional dancer. These are the ways that the tango dance can provide opportunities for networking:
1. Meet New People
If you and your partner sign up for tango beginner lessons, you will gain the chance to get to know new people who are based in your local area.
Obviously, you will become acquainted with people in the tango dance community since your dance instructors are experts in the field.
However, beyond the dance world, you can also meet newbies such as yourself who belong to different industries by profession. Just like you, tango may be their hobby, but they also have their own job or business which they focus on.
That’s why your casual conversations with each other may be considered an informal interview among potential colleagues.
2. Strengthen Old Connections
Aside from establishing fresh connections, you can bolster your existing ones as well. You can invite your co-workers or business partners to join you in tango classes to strengthen your ties through a new shared interest.
Participating in tango lessons together will allow you to spend time together outside of the confines of your office, so you can deepen your professional and personal friendships.
3. Liven up Interactions
Tango can make your interactions with your new and old acquaintances more interesting. Its essence as a partner dance involves the chasing-and-resisting dynamics between two dancers. The partners react and respond to the motions of their partner in such a way that they can put their own spin on the dance and even prolong it.
The improvisational nature of the tango can bring out the individual personalities of each dancer. Cornell University describes how “the push and pull between music played live and an improvising dancer can be mesmerizing, as both player and dancer respond to each other’s cues.” As a result,
it could raise an interest among you and your tango dance classmates to collaborate with each other in the future outside of the dance studio.
Who Dances the Tango?
People from various industries, backgrounds, and walks of life have shown an interest in learning how to dance the tango. We have listed down examples of professionals who may be interested in enrolling in tango beginner classes:
IT specialists
Web developers
Software developers
Lawyers
Psychologists
Healthcare professionals
Business owners
CEOs
University professors
Scientists
Researchers
Managers
Architects
Engineers
Massage therapists
Martial artists
Yoga enthusiasts
In spite of the differences in their work specializations, many professionals are attracted to tango as a new hobby which can relieve their work-related stress and help them grow in different ways.
Why Are People Attracted to Tango?
There are various reasons why people are attracted to the Argentine tango even if they have no aspirations to become a professional dancer. Here are some of the benefits of tango which make it popular among professionals from a wide range of industries, including yourself:
1. It Improves Your Physical Fitness
Tango may serve as a form of enjoyable exercise for people of all ages. Performing the tango on a regular basis is beneficial to your health.
This physical activity can improve your fitness level over time as you develop your physical coordination, increase your body’s flexibility, and potentially lose weight. It involves all parts of your body from head to toe, especially your core muscles.
The National News expounds on how you and your dance partner can modify tango as an exercise based on your current physical condition and unique fitness needs:
“Tango can be as calm and relaxing or as intense as you decide. As you are the creator of your dance, you choose how intensively you wish to engage your body. It’s not easy, though. Not only do you have to master your own body, you have to be aware of your partner’s body, too, and know how to communicate without words.”
2. It Boosts Your Self-confidence
Tango can help you to build your confidence as you perfect your poise with the help of tango lessons.
You can also learn how to carry yourself in a more self-assured way as you master the graceful motions of the Argentine tango. On top of this, you can gain a sense of accomplishment by learning a new skill if you’ve never danced before or by mastering a new dance style if you already have previous experience with other dance genres.
3. It Enhances Your Personal Relationships
Tango may motivate couples to rekindle the sparks in their romantic relationship.
If you and your partner enroll in the beginners dance lessons together, the passionate aura of the tango may inspire you to become more intimate with each other outside the dance studio. This dance can inject fresh excitement into the routine you and your partner have established over the years.
Plus, the playful dynamics of the partner dance will strengthen your non-verbal communication with each other, as you become more attuned to the body cues of one another. Of course, you can create new memories together as you learn the tango as a couple.
In our previous blog post, we explain how tango and our relationships mirror each other:
“The Argentine Tango is similar to our relationships because the two partners require constant and clear communication throughout.”
“To properly execute the steps and movements of the Argentine Tango, we must learn how to connect with our partners through verbal and non-verbal cues when dancing. We must also learn how to be sensitive to their needs and adjust the dance, our proposals of the lead, and our responses to it, accordingly.”
4. It Increases Your Networking Opportunities
Tango provides countless opportunities for networking on a professional level, whether you are looking for a new job or employer, searching for candidates to hire for your company, or finding potential partners for your business in the future.
An academic paper published by the Interdisciplinary Research Institute describes how tango networking works:
“Tango Argentino networks constitute social groups which enforce a compromise of individual behavior with social interaction rules based on a general consensus among its aficionados… Its networks are characterized by their group orientation and openness: despite the fact that tango is a social dance for couples, the communities’ spirit is group oriented… An ideal dancing event is one in which each partner had several other dancing partners. Moreover, tango communities are eager to integrate new members.”
Can You Build Personal Connections Beyond the Tango Dance?
Yes. It is possible for you to build and fortify your professional and personal connections beyond the tango dance.
The close physical proximity and the non-verbal communication that tango requires will literally draw you closer to your dance partners.
However, you do need to make an effort to extend your rapport beyond the tango stage.
Here are some tips that can help you transform and deepen your tango connections with your fellow dancers:
1. Make a Plan
While your actual interactions with your tango classmates and instructors should be impromptu and natural, you can form an overall plan to strategize what networking goals you wish to achieve and how you can achieve them during dance classes.
2. Be Aware of Your Strengths and Weaknesses
List down your strengths to find out which skills, knowledge, and connections you can contribute to the tango community. Be realistic about your weaknesses as well, so you can be aware of how other people in your tango social circle can possibly assist you in the future.
3. Engage With Other People
Take the opportunity to actively interact with people in suitable ways during appropriate times. Aspire Leadership suggests that “once you have permission to approach, it’s time to grasp the chance to get closer and engage.”
Be friendly yet professional as you greet, converse, and dance with your fellow tango dancers. Get to know other people better without overstepping your boundaries.
Share interesting, relevant information about yourself while encouraging others to do the same.
4. Give Importance to Other People
Treat all your tango friends and acquaintances with respect and consideration.
Show them through your courteous treatment that you value them all equally, regardless if they are considered as key leaders in a corporation or if they have a rank-and-file position in a company.
You may not immediately realize that a CEO or business owner is already conducting an informal interview while you are having a conversation. You may also be surprised at how seemingly ordinary employees may have vital connections or skills that they can share with you.
5. Discover Opportunities To Help Others
Networking is a two-way street. Don’t just think about what other people can do for you, but also what you can do for them.
Other individuals will be more inclined to work with you in the future if they know that you are genuinely on the lookout for their well-being. Forbes recommends that you proactively inquire how you may be of assistance to your tango classmates and instructors:
“Before any conversation comes to a close, be sure to ask, “How can I help you?” Because it’s done so rarely, you may encounter a surprised look, but it will most likely be accompanied by an appreciative smile. While the person may not have an answer for you that night, they may have an idea later. Always close by saying something like, “If you need anything, please reach out to me or connect via LinkedIn” and present your business card.”
Should You Display or Hide Your Interest in Tango on LinkedIn?
Unless you are a tango dance teacher or competitive dancer, it is highly likely that tango is not directly related to your regular job or business. That’s why you may be wondering whether you should discreetly hide or proudly display your interest in Argentine tango in your LinkedIn profile.
We recommend that you exhibit your enthusiasm for tango on LinkedIn, no matter what your profession is.
Being open about your tango skills and knowledge will clearly show other people in the LinkedIn community that you are a versatile, well-rounded individual, especially since you have other interests outside of your work specialization. Even more importantly, doing so will signal others that you are an integral part of the tango community.
Tango Forge expounds on how tango unites people through partnership: “Developing these disciplined, solitary skills is a kind of warriorhood itself. As is getting through life. I have always believed that partnership would be the reward. Tango offers us the experience of unity through our disciplined bodies.”
Transform Tango Classes Into Networking Opportunities
The Argentine tango is a glamorous partner dance that can enhance the social aspect of your professional life, whether you are an amateur dancer or an expert one.
Your interactions with your dance classmates and instructors can serve as an informal interview that could lead to better business and employment opportunities in the future.
Enroll in Ultimate Tango classes now to maximize the social networking potential of tango.