Over the last few dance lessons my coach and I have been practising the Argentine Tango and it is starting to feel really good. We have a nice piece of music to do it to and I just enjoy it. Even getting over the twizzle, even though I still cannot do it on my own.

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I may never be able to do the Argentine on ice, but on roller skates, it was one of my favorites. I especially liked the cross strokes, and do love tango music.

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Yes! The "Arge" is one of my favourite dances!!

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My favorite Gold dance!!! Also was the first one I tried, and passed it on the first try (unlike the westminster or viennese...lets NOT go there...).
It is by no means an easy dance but definitely the most fun.

What's your second favorite? I would say it is a tie between the Blues and the Paso Doble.

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No.

It's one of my favorites. The steps are fun (I even -oddball that I am- like the twizzle) and I enjoy tangos (very very badly want to learn Romantica). I was almost (but not entirely) disappointed to pass Arg in the States this summer because it meant I'd stop working on it partnered and move on to other less enjoyable dances like the West (one of these days, I've promised myself, I'll stop complaining about the Westminster... just not yet).

I think my second favorite dances at this point would be a toss-up between Ravensburger and Chacha Congelado (but that's not really fair to say since I haven't seriously trained either of them: I just goof off and do them for fun).

The Paso is the only dance I still remember in its entirety from my roller dance days some 30 odd years ago. I loved the cross strokes in it too, and the slides (don't know what they're called on ice).

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Oh I do like the Blues (the Bruise) as well. That could possibly be my second favourite. Maybe that is the next one I should do with my coach. I already know it but it is just sometimes we spend time really concentrating on a dance. However I am not doing them for any test, just for fun. However even though I cannot do the twizzle on my own from the Argy I can do the Blues choctaw (chocolate toe!).

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One of my coaches got a surprise from her boyfriend the other day. He's taking her to Argentina to dance the Argentine Tango!!!!

HOW COOL IS THAT!!!

I think she should hit him up for trips to:

Holland for the Dutch Waltz
Vienna for the Viennese Waltz
Spain for the Canasta Tango

etc, etc, etc.

So where in America should one go for the American Waltz??

Lake Placid, of course.

or Colorado Springs? World Arena?

--jsl (who enjoys the European Waltz but is getting tired of paying money for the judges to enjoy it... obviously they haven't gotten tired of watching me skate it yet)

LOL... maybe that's why I passed it! We have the same three or four judges at like all of our test sessions, they probably just got sick of watching me do it. The day I passed it, it really wasn't that good, and I honestly didn't think what I did would pass.

Serpentine, I could have written your post! I like the Argentine; I can do the twizzle pretty well by itself, just not in the dance- although it's getting better! I'm only on my Silver anyway so I have awhile to work on it I guess. And I love the Quick! But I hate those stupid waltzes. My coach taught me the West last spring but I promptly forgot it because I didn't like it and hence didn't practice it. My second favorite would have to be Blues, but I do like the Paso too.

What I really want to learn is the Golden Waltz. That's the problem with skating at a major dance rink; I watch the elites and think their dances look like so much more fun than mine! But then I can remember back in the day when I trained at a rink where the best dancer was on her European and thinking that looked like fun, well, it was fun for two days after I learned it myself. Something tells me if I were really on the Golden it wouldn't be as much fun.

Actually tonight at my lesson my coach and I did the Blues. It was such fun and we had a good piece of music (most important). I was really getting my 3-turns happening quite well and the LBO after the choctaw was feeling great. And we ran throught the Arge a couple of times. I love it when dances feel good. Had to remember to extend on those back cross chasses. Problem with my coach is she is shorter than me (but still dances the male parts) so before we get the swing we change hold to Kilian hold just so it is easier for her to do the choctaw.

The Golden Waltz would be interesting but you definately need a partner for that one. I have seen it done so much in competitions but have never tried it.

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Hi, everybody - I'm back! And just back from a dance course in Bavaria, so this thread is most apt. I meant to send a message or two while I was there, but do you know, I couldn't remember the name of the forum! Duh! Here at home I just click on it.....

Anyway, the Arge! No, I can't do it yet, but I learnt the steps while on holiday, and had fun trying various sections of it. We learnt some good exercises for the twizzle and the man's counter - you do "drapes", you know, where you bend one knee and lean your weight on it while swirling round with the other leg straight (and on the ice), then stand up and immediately do a two-footed counter turn.... fun!

We also worked on the Blues - again, I am not able for it, but enjoy playing with the steps, the Foxtrot (which I am able for, mostly, these days), and then I went to the "baby-class" for the last few days, as they were dances I happened to want to learn properly: the Hickory Hoedown, the Festival Cha-cha and the Festival Quickstep. Especially the last two, which are sometimes competed in the Recreational League in this country.

And lots of exercises and hints and tips to improve one's general skating. I really think that this year, perhaps for the first time, Robert and I have really been able to benefit from the course; I hope to post that my coach is complimentary about us - but that's not very likely!

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