Summary:
I'm an intermediate tango dancer who, after a year of solid study and six months of slacking off, have figured out that I am way more committed to tango if I have a partner who is equally committed.
I'm dedicated but easy going. I learn both kinesthetically and verbally and prefer a mix of the two. I am a bit more focused on dynamic or open embraces than strict salon style, but I love all tango. Ultimately, I'm looking for someone who can make a consistent commitment to weekly practice, but I'm very happy to start small and explore compatibility.
More details about me:
I've had a year or so of consistent lessons, including three sets of tango classes at the Century Ballroom, nine workshops at Portland Valentango 2005, six workshops at Seattle TangoMagic 2005, fifteen privately organized group lessons, a half dozen other workshops here and there, a similar number of private lessons, and lots of practicas. For the last few months, since my first tango partner and I stopped dancing, I haven't been practicing consistently.
I'm 5'11" tall and I weigh 175 lbs. I wear my hair close cropped and I have a beard that I'm been playing around with for a while. I dress mostly in standard west coast black. You can find a few pictures of me here on the site.
I'm very open minded when it comes to tango, both in terms of my musical taste and my taste in dance styles. I can listen to tango all day long at work and, with little or no provocation, it plays in my head when I walk down the street. As a man, I have of course fallen into leading, as a rule. But I have always learned a lot from the times I have followed. Because of the teachers I've had, I lean toward open or more dynamic embraces, but I have so much to learn in any style that this hardly matters. Whatever feels right for the music, the dance floor, and my partner is what is important.
I'm a dedicated, but easy going learner. I'm assertive and prefer learning with people who are assertive right back. I benefit just as much from kinesthetic exploration and repetition as I do from cognitive or verbal deconstruction. I prefer a mix of learning styles. I like to study intensely and then take time to let the studies sink in. Sometimes, I just like to play and see what happens.
More details about what I'm looking for:
Although I don't want to jump into it, ultimately I'm looking for someone I can count on for a year or more as a reliable dance partner. For me, that has included: an hour or so of practice a week (excluding travel and holidays), a couple of tango festivals a year (Portland in particular, starting with ValenTango 2006, if possible), ongoing lessons or workshops, and the occasional private lesson.
I want a partner who can learn both physically and verbally and who likes to take things apart and put them back together again. Given the commitment required, I'm looking for a partner for whom tango is a solid priority, though it probably shouldn't be the most important thing in your life. We'll be most compatible in a middle ground. Finally, since I don't want to bore my partner and I don't want to be a teacher most of the time, I need an intermediate level dancer as a partner. I'm familiar with the disconnect that can emerge between leaders and followers in terms of their perceived skill level, but I think that can be worked through.
I'm interested in aesthetic compatibility on the dance floor. I would prefer a dance partner who was between 5'4" and 5'9" tall, whose proportions are not too dissimilar from mine, and who (at least in their own opinion) dresses well.
Finally, except for festivals, I do the majority of my tango on Capitol Hill in Seattle. In order to maintain the level of commitment that interests me, I want to continue to do that, although there are certainly other venues to which I will also go regularly.