Get 10X more out of classes and workshops by choosing your Tango teachers wisely..!
Last week we took a peek into the world of luxury and I told you how I learned to get pasted my cringing reaction over a 250$ for a private class and tried to figure out how investing in a great Tango teacher makes perfect sense.

Then I asked if you have bought/done something that might be considered a luxury but you still allowed it to yourself.
All the answers were great by the way. I LOVED every single one of them!

I will only share few here with you:

“I know someone in Montreal that travels regularly to Toronto to take classes (…). My first reaction was that this person was a little extreme, traveling 6 hours in and 6 hours out, on a regular basis, just to take classes… On the other hand as a tango student you have to go for the material you want for yourself and in the end it’s not money wasted. It’s money you’ve invested in yourself.” —Louis

“a $1700 air filter, can actually breathe properly around the place” —Jeremy

“(…)On the class you get the seeds of valuable information and axioms from which you can derive work and knowledge for your tango for months to come.

If the Tango teacher is actually that good and you can afford it, this is not tango hell, but tango heaven.” —Matevž

“(…)I had to pick flights that would get me there at very specific times so I could get back to teach my lessons on time. So overall, the lesson was definitely over the $400 mark. So glad I did that. When it’s worth it, it’s worth it!

(…)I did a $10k training for developing my dance career. That seemed like a crazy expense to a lot of my friends, but I made $3k of it back during the actual 5 day training and easily made the rest back soon afterwards.(…)
I think investment/value in total is the important aspect I think about. Some things might be worth the money but not the time or vice versa. These were all worth both the money and the time by a long shot.”–Andrew

“There have been many times that traveled to Athens from my home town for one milonga. When you love something, you pay with no second thoughts (…)” —Minas

What do you notice about these comments?

This is what I notice:

“You pay with no second thoughts”

“worth both the money and the time by a long shot”

“when it’s worth it, it’s worth it”

“it’s not money wasted. It is money you’ve invested in yourself”

You see, when we actually experience luxuries, we see how amazing it feels! We realize that luxury it is not just for some snobbish, arrogant, high-end, out-of-this world person..
And if it is about something you really love, you don’t even consider it a luxury…you just allow it to yourself, preferring to cut on things you don’t really like..!

But I also noticed that nobody–No, wait!I am lying! There was actually ONE person–said that their luxury was, paying for grad school.

OOooh! Yes! Right…You remembered that one now, didn’t you? haha

Why though isn’t it, the first thing that comes to mind?
It is simple, it is something you know you are going to pay for, and you think of it as a necessity, a matter almost of survival, NOT a luxury, even if you can’t really afford it, you will find a way.
SO LET’S SEE HOW YOU CAN MANAGE YOUR TANGO CHOICES TO FULLY BENEFIT FROM THEM AND NEVER REGRET THEM!
TANGO LUXURY RULE #1: FUNCTIONAL
Like paying for grad school, or for a great air filter, you will hopefully reach a PIVOTAL point in your Tango path.
A point where you will need to make the leap to the next level. A level where every extension counts, every breath makes a difference. A level where you can dance with anyone, from any part of the world, representing any Tango style, with any level of experience and still feel and look amazing instead of frustrated.
To get there you will need to shift your perspective from simply learning to Tango to actually understanding and dancing Tango.
When Veron asked me what I wanted to work on I told him: “I want to become a more active follower”
Why? Because I NEEDED to extend myself to a different level. To lengthen once again my Tango path by broadening my understanding and knowledge. Not only for myself but for my students as well!

ALL high end professionals train and retrain, not only because they love what they do, not because they want to be the BEST but because they need to change, they need to evolve, they need to feel they are getting better and better.
Inspired by them, we need to shift our perspective from being JUST a student to becoming a dancer.
Will that happen in your first year of learning Tango? NO!
But does it mean that only professionals go through it? Absolutely not!
And when you get there, you will need the right teacher.

TANGO LUXURY RULE #2: ECONOMICAL
It was funny, because in one of your messages someone was trying to economically explain to me how each Tango teacher charges, depending on the market and plus how the currency makes a huge difference and this and that and the other…
Thank you truly! But do you honestly think that, that when I was reaching into my wallet, getting the cash and placing them into his hands, I cared about all that?
I DID NOT!
I had stopped making excuses for myself, I knew I NEEDED a class like that and by the end of the class I knew it was the BEST choice at the BEST time. Why?
Because, that class opened a path of further improvement for me. Until this time–ONE year later–I am still going back to that class during my daily practice routine, revisiting specific elements. Plus, I got more privates for myself sharing the knowledge he shared with me.
So economically, it makes sense…Instead of doing multiple cheaper privates, you do ONE expensive private that will shake your Tango world!

You can go by life buying cheaper clothes, cheaper shoes, cheaper watches, cheaper EVERYTHING, everything disposable…BUT the question is when you get the chance to shift your perspective to getting-and-keeping-forever WHAT WILL YOU DO?

TANGO LUXURY RULE #3: THE RIGHT PERSON
Thankfully, we do NOT choose people only based on price–maybe in the past, but not anymore…haha
Most of the times it has to do with finding the RIGHT person!

Where were we in our story..?
Oh, yes…
I said: “I want to be a more active follower” and
He said: “Ok!”

I have to admit I panicked there a bit…so I added, just to be on the safe side:
“I am not talking about technique…”

He  looked up from his iPod and without missing a beat he said: “I know!”
Me thinking: “THIS IS IT! This is going to be an amazing class!”
The Right Person at the Right Time!
The Best Tango Teacher for YOU!
Get 10X more out of your classes and workshops by choosing the right Tango teacher for you.
No more time to be wasted!
Choose the BEST Tango teacher for you, make every minute of every class count, following the guide below:

Find the BEST Tango teacher for YOU! (Full guide PDF)

-Chrisa

Photo credit: denise carbonell via Foter.com / CC BY