Argentine tango can keep partners in step with romance
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

ELEGANT EMBRACE-Dance instructor Orlando Paiva Jr. and his partner, Laura Tate, perform the torrid tango at La Tangueria in Whittier. The Argentine tango is one of the more intimate and dramatic styles of social dance.

Courtship between men and women has changed dramatically over the decades. But when a man and a woman engage in romantic dance, time falls away.

One of the most intimate forms of social dancing is the Argentine tango. In close embrace, two move as one across the dance floor. Agoura Hills resident Jennifer Wickwire and her husband, Rob, a teacher at Simi Valley High School, have been married for 13 years and started taking lessons with Argentine tango dancer and instructor Orlando Paiva Jr. in April.

The activity has helped the couple connect in a unique way, she said.

"We tried other dance styles but tango really stuck with my husband," said Jennifer Wickwire, a facilities manager for Teradyne.

In tango the male partner truly leads, and "tango is a complex dance without being complicated," she said. "It's a sensual dance, but it's not sexual."

In Paiva's tango classes, the pair found an opportunity to learn to dance in a unique way. Wickwire said her husband enjoys the tango because it has a mathematical basis. Rob is a math teacher and tennis coach at SVHS.

"It's hard for my husband, who has natural athletic abilities, to teach his body to do something different, but Paiva makes it easy because he drills the basics," she said.

Through a strong foundation, Paiva builds a dance vocabulary with his students so they're eventually able to improvise, Wickwire said.

Tango isn't just for couples-it's for anybody who has the desire to dance.

"People of all ages can learn the dance," Paiva said.

Simi Valley resident Elena Smith, one of Paiva's students, hasn't convinced her boyfriend to join her in this activity yet though she's "working on it," she said, adding "you don't have to have a partner to go to the classes."

While she's been dancing for a long time, Smith said she still takes classes because Paiva's style is unique and true to its origins.

"I found my dance," Smith said. "It's very elegant and more social than ballroom dancing. You can bring your own style into it ... You don't have to be a dancer to learn tango with Paiva."

The Argentine tango movement in Los Angeles can largely be attributed to Paiva's father, Orlando Paiva Sr., who is from Rosario, Argentina. The elder Paiva emigrated to the United States in the early '70s with his wife, Rosa, and sons Oscar and the younger Paiva.

The elder Paiva's distinctive salon style of Argentine tango is known worldwide, and he has been honored in Argentina and other countries.

The younger Paiva shares his father's passion for the true tango style and he now shares his expertise with his students.

"I grew up with the music, and I became interested in learning the dance that my father has been doing for so long," he said.

Like his father, the younger Paiva exhibits impeccable footwork, and he brings sweetness and sensitivity to the dance, Smith said.

When the Paiva family moved back to Argentina, where the elder Paiva continues to teach along with his older son, Oscar, the younger Paiva continued the tradition and began traveling to the states in 2000. He teaches and performs in Europe as well.

Paiva said he looks forward to sharing the Argentinian tradition with local dancers.

"I think the elegance of the dance and the embrace is what initially attracts people. Afterward they find the life of the tango community opens up a new social resource to people," Paiva said.

He is teaching a six-week series of Argentine tango lessons this month at the Agoura Dance Center in Agoura Hills.