Your post brought to light the reality of having a hobby–money must be spent. Even if your hobby is to run, how much are the special running shoes?

In the scheme of things, tango–or any dance–is really not that costly. Compare it with skiing, for example.

In the beginning more money must be spent on learning; this is not the time to be frugal. You need to learn great technique that will serve you all of your dancing days, and for that you need private lessons with the best teachers. Once you can self-correct and know about the correct posture along with connection, elegance, and improvisation–you can branch out with group classes to have fun and meet people. In the meantime, you can practice at home walking, walking, walking, and ochos against the wall, always to music. Listen to the great tango orchestras at every opportunity and never practice without the music.

You only need one pair of tango shoes while you are learning.

After you have a basic secure technique, yes, you should go to milongas.

And then, save your money to come down here to Buenos Aires to really know what tango is. After you've bought your airfare, life is somewhat cheaper here than Europe or the States. The best milongas are a short taxi ride away and cost $5 usd.

And here Comme Il Faut shoes are half or less the price of what you have to pay to resellers in other countries. Also, there are many many tango shoe stores with great and sexy designs where you can buy gorgeous shoes for much less than CIF.

So I think if you consider your return on the investment–and the fact that tango is something you can enjoy your whole life–you will find that it's an economical hobby indeed–as well as great for your health!

Good luck! Have fun!

I may start taking three a week, so my 20 pack of classes will not quite give me 2 months of classes … my budget will need a re-working to factor in the classes (my bulk classes end up costing around $12/class, instead of $16). More expensive than a gym, but a heck of a lot more fun!

That said, good luck and enjoy!

Here’s my basic monthly tango budget and, yes, it’s typed out in Microsoft Excel:
- 2 private lessons @ $40 each (I split them with my partner)
- 2 group lessons @ $20 each
- 2 milongas a month free with group lessons

More or less, I spend about $120/month or $1440/year on tango. That doesn’t include festivals and last-minute seminars that catch my attention (damn them all!).

You’re on the right track, though. Tango is incredibly rewarding and compliments your current goals, so don’t be too frugal with it. Wonderful post! Thank you,

Pete | The Coolest Tango Shoe Contest Ever