Sabine’s Bio
Sabine Ibes has been dancing her whole life; She started focusing on Argentine Tango in 2003. In order to do so, she has been to Buenos Aires and followed many workshops by masters of Argentine Tango.
In 2005, she performed with Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Minneapolis, in “Maria de Buenos Aires”. She continues her education by traveling around the world and in the USA.
At this time she is teaching at the University of Minnesota and at the Social Dance Studio in Minneapolis. Sabine believes that while we are on the social dance floor the object is to have fun with the dance, and that you can have fun in exploring the opportunities of movement with a partner and look darn good doing so at the same time!
The Classes that she teaches are well balanced, inventive and fun. She is very keen on the fact that the student has to feel comfortable while dancing. A relaxed body and mind will create a comfortable connection, so the partner feels a sense of being safe. Sabine is an enthusiast of Nuevo (new) Tango , organic moves within tango while reflecting on the more traditional roots of Argentine Tango. This means that she focuses on a fusion of close and open embrace tango.
A Bit More About Tango and I
I have always liked dancing; As a young girl I did not shy away from dancing in front of the mirror, yes, with a hairbrush, to ABBA’s dancing queen. I started with Jazz ballet. This was in the days that FAME was a big hit series and dancing to popular music was the thing to do. I added Classical ballet to my repertoire soon after.
When I turned 16, I took lessons in Ballroom dancing at Vermeulen, Nijmegen, Netherlands. I was officially hooked to dancing.
But life, as it usually does, took a different turn; I fell in love and packed my bags and moved to the United States. I had three lovely daughters. After my youngest came into my life I thought I had it all! But there was a small void, it did not take me very long to figure out that it was dancing that I needed in my life to fill that extra spot in my heart and soul.
Argentine Tango kind of fell into my lap, I remember my first lesson well. We started with walking. “walking?” I thought,” this will not be the dance for me, I know how to walk “. But, I stayed with the class, did some exercises , some sequences and in the end I got to dance with my teacher (Daniel Larson and Gretchen Larson). The music was D’Arienzo and he took me around the whole dance floor. I did not need to know any steps, just listened to the music and let my teacher lead me. I was floored by the way that made me feel. I have not looked back since! (turns out I did not know how to walk at all)
I started exploring tango, first to become a good follower. In my naive mind I thought it was about looking good on the dance floor and so I embellished every chance I got. That did not get me very far! I took everything any teacher told me at heart, that also did not work for me; it meant changing my dance style after every teaching style . I was so confused! (and so were my leaders!) My frustration became even bigger when I went to Milonga’s and was told by leaders: connect more, more resistance, less resistance, your feet are in the way, your knees are knocking my knees, odd posture etc. etc.
And still, I loved this dance, I waited for the moment on the dance floor where it all did connect and my heart would smile. I went on taking lessons, by traveling to Buenos Aires, Europe and in the United States. I found answers to most of my questions. I learned to be patient and giving on the dance floor. I opened my eyes to what music can do for a connection between myself and my partner. I was taught, by putting all of the advice given to me by all of my teachers, to dance the tango.
It was around this time my husband John decided to give this “Argentine Tango Stuff” a go. Wow, what a deal! I even got to practice ( a little ) at home!
Needless to say, I found myself in this dance. It is a part of my life; Tango and I.
Advice
One of the best pieces of advice:
Only follow the good leaders, simply dance with the rest of them. (Rebecca Shulman who in turn received this from Erik Jorrissen) This was an AHA moment for me. All this time I worked so hard in milongas to follow everybody. And sometimes just having a difficult time on the floor. Okay , sometimes it was a struggle and horrible!
When I say good leaders, I am really not that picky. A good leader does not mean that he has been dancing his whole life! It simply means that (s)he is a generous leader with some sense of musicality. He is kind in his embrace and knows that he is dancing with another human being. There are many beginner leaders that I enjoy being with and following them is just a breeze.
This is true for followers and leaders alike. Too many followers just dance with any leader. The Follower gives the leader no chance to explore the floor with her. She simply never really follows!
It is a give and a take on the dance floor. Trust is a big issue! When you find “THE” partner, you forget about how you look on the floor. You just dance and enjoy. This is only possible if you give back, if you trust one and other you can experience the “floating” feeling. And ultimately, to me , that is what this is about. Floating over the dance floor, being one with the music, and partner.
Order in Tango Class
Tango is danced from the heart, from the soul of the music and spirit of the dance partner. BUT, when you first step in to a Argentine Tango class, or a any dance class for that matter, you first have to feel comfortable moving differently with your body. Stepping to the beat and doing this together with a partner. Let alone, moving in close tango embrace, is a whole different story.
Where to start? Basic foundations, the “stuff” that is danced most on the social dance floor. Etiquette too, belongs to basic foundation. This is why I and Eric Li have developed an 8 week beginner series. Where we let you discover how tango movement works within easy to understand perimeters. When you are done with this 8 week session, you are ready to move on to the second level with confidence. We have many students who repeat these 8 week series. Sometimes even more than once, while they also take other classes.
Please take a look at the curriculum for more info. There is a link to a pdf file for you to download and add your own notes.
