Dancing With The Slugs

Mornings are spent puzzling over differential equations and other brain twisters, but come afternoon, math and science majors at UC Santa Cruz grab a partner and dance to the rhythmic beat of the tango.

Established in 2007 by science majors Brett Griswold and Jennifer Small, Tangroupe is an Argentine Tango Society run by UCSC students who have a passion for the steamy dance.

Today, several styles of tango exist, but the Argentine style is believed to be the first, originating in Buenos Aires at the end of the 19^th century.

Tangroupe is a combination of a social dance club, performance group and competition team.

On the social front, members of Tangroupe come down from the City on a Hill to the to join in on tango practicas (informal practice sessions) taught by John and Nancy Lingemann, well-known dancers and instructors of tango in Santa Cruz.

Indeed, tango is alive and well in Santa Cruz, evidenced by the existence of the Santa Cruz Tango Community and other tango get-togethers.

Tangroupe’s performances are mostly on the UCSC campus, but the competition team, approximately 25 dancers, travels to such places as Stanford, UC Berkeley as well as other universities.

And the team is racking up the prizes for its sultry dancing skills. For two years straight, in 2008 and 2009, it won top honors in the Formation Dance category at the Berkeley Ballroom Classic. In 2009, it received third-place honors for the same category at the Stanford Ballroom Classic.

On Saturday, Tangroupe members will don their dancing shoes, pull their partners close and vy for another win at the Berkeley Ballroom Classic.