Taxi Dancers - TangoVida

A Taxi Dancer is a person you hire to dance with you at Milongas, Practicas, group classes, or to practice with you in a dance studio or even your place (if you have enough room).

The term Taxi Dancer comes from the time when Tango was very popular in Buenos Aires, many taxi drivers also danced Tango, and moonlighted on the side to get paid to dance with women at milongas.

While taxi dancers are stereotypically men, there is a growing popularity of female taxi dancers. This is a good background article about the history of taxi dancers: Taxi Dancers Gain Popularity in the Tango Clubs of Buenos Aires

Why Hire a Taxi Dancer?

By hiring a Taxi Dancer you are helping a professional Tango dancer make a living in a challenging economic environment in Argentina. Being a professional dancer is an economic struggle for many dancers and they usually have multiple jobs to survive and become better dancers.
Dancing with a Taxi Dancer is an important strategy to get more consistent practice hours with a skilled dancer who gives you feedback. I recommend a two-hour focused practice for every hour of class as the ideal way to turn those learnings into skills.
As a beginner/intermediate level dancer, it’s often difficult to get dances at a Milonga, which can be a high pressure environment, especially for leaders. Taxi dancers can help you develop the confidence and skills to adapt and thrive in these places.
You can also hire a taxi dancer as a group to go to a milonga and dance with each of you, this is a great option too.

Typical rates for a Taxi Dancer range from US $10 – $50 per hour (minimum of 2-3 hours). You can also hire one Taxi Dancer for you and your friends.

Note: You’ll have to pay for their entrance fees, drinks, and studio fees as applicable.

Differences Between a Taxi Dancer and a Tango Teacher

There’s no formal distinction between a teacher and a taxi dancer. But the former can provide a more effective lesson plan, personalized to your needs and goals.

Just think of a taxi dancer as your TA or teaching assistant. But note that many teachers also moonlight as a Taxi Dancer to earn additional income.

Our Advice For Practicing With Taxi Dancers

Practice with someone who is better than or at least as good as you. It’s a great way to burn your hard-earned lessons into your muscle memory.
There is no shortage of good middle-level to advanced-level male and female taxi dancers available to help you practice. However, it’s hard to find ones that will match your height, skill level, and style. (Don’t worry, we have a list to help you with that).
If you go to a Milonga or Practica with a Taxi Dancer, don’t only dance with him/her. Dance with other people as well. Just try to use your taxi dancer for tandas when you’re not dancing with someone else.
You can ask your taxi dancer to introduce you to other people at the event.
Sometimes you just need your taxi dancer to “show you off” with 1-2 tandas, then you’ll get other dancers asking you to dance with them.

Rules for hiring Taxi Dancers

Be polite and respectful.
Pay for their entrance fee, drinks, and studio fees as applicable.
Be patient, it takes time to get used to each other.
A poor match is a poor match, but do recognize there are many ways to dance Tango.
Communicate your goals and expectations so they can help you better.
They may have a maximum number of hours that they will work in one night, and they may have guidelines on taking breaks. This is especially important if you’re hiring a taxi dancer for your group – physically they’ll need breaks or to work only a set number of hours. Ask them what their preferences are.

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