So.. you want to learn tango? 
I’ve been dancing 2-5 hours a week since last September, and I’ve found a handful of great teachers and practicas that I like. Finding a great teacher is so important for one’s development and enjoyment of tango. If you are a beginner who is just starting to get into the dance, and you want to know how to find the right tango teacher, here are my suggestions of what to keep in mind:
1. Argentine tango is a different animal than ballroom tango. They are two separate dances – different music, different techniques, different steps (I am partial to Argentine tango, although I love watching both types of dance). If you want to learn Argentine tango, don’t go to a ballroom dance teacher! My personal preference is for teachers that teach Argentine tango exclusively.
2. Google – many big cities have websites with long lists of tango instructor and classes. (See New York, Los Angeles, Austin, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, D.C.). This might be your first stop. Make a short list of classes that work with your schedule and check out at least 3-4 teachers when you first start.
3. Ask around. Once you begin going to classes and practicas, you can ask the other students there who they study with and which teachers they like – some teachers are wonderful at teach big, complicated, flashy dance moves, but other teachers are master technicians. If you are starting out, I’d recommend the technicians. The big flashy moves will come later if you have good fundamentals. I found my favorite teacher by asking a student about his experience.
4. Try it out. I’d suggest going to each teacher at least twice to get a feel of their teaching style, and just as importantly, the type of students they have in their class. It’s important to feel comfortable with the instructor and your fellow students, especially when you’ll be dancing in such close proximity.
5. Costs: It doesn’t have to cost much for you to get started in tango. Classes will cost $10-$20 each, and usually runs from 1 hour to 1.5 hours. Most classes are pay-as-you-go, some instructors offer discounts for buying classes in bulk. Tango shoes cost $150+, but you can hold off on getting the shoes until you are certain you want to stick to the dance. In the meantime, heels with stable straps for the ladies and leather shoes with slick soles for the men should suffice. Otherwise, all you need for your first class are breath mints / gum and a smile!
image source: flickriver.com
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I'm actually looking to get into Salsa. BF and I wanted to learn together, but just that: we wanted to learn together. Private lessons are so much more expensive than regular classes (where you rotate partners). I am taking a pole-dancing class…does that even count as a form of dance?
I think you can still take group classes – just let the instructors you know prefer to stay together and not rotate. This also depends class-to-class – I've taken some classes where a fair number of couples stayed together (also works for you if there are more women than men in the class), but in other classes everyone rotated and it would seem strange if you're the only non-rotating couple.
IMHO, you'll probably adapt to different styles faster and become a more responsive follow if you rotate… and I know if I just dance with CB we'll start arguing about who's doing what right or wrong.
Community Colleges offer various dancing classes as well and they are quite cheap!
CC's are a great idea… but when I priced the classes CCs aren't much, if any, cheaper than group classes outside of CCs. I think CCs are also going through a lot of budget cuts in CA so many of these "extras" were either cut or charged market-rate to bring in some cash flow for the school.