Taking Time to Tango

Starting at 5:30 every morning, Mr. Rudowski spends half an hour running in Hung Hom, where he lives, carrying a three-pound weight in each hand. During his lunch break on the weekdays, he tries to squeeze in an hour at the gym. There, he’ll spend about 35 minutes on a stationary bike, 15 minutes in a dry sauna and 10 minutes in a steam room. Mr. Rudowski says this combination helps his body get rid of toxins and stimulates blood flow. “I rarely get ill as a result of this regimen,” he says. He says the workouts also help with endurance, which he needs for the milongas—they can last more than four hours.

Mr. Rudowski’s tango practice is spread over the course of a week. On Tuesday evenings, he rehearses with TangoTang for about three hours at the Helena May, a historic building on Garden Road in Central. The practices start with a category_ided session in which a couple demonstrates new steps. Dancers spend the rest of the time incorporating the movements into their routine. Friday and Saturday evenings, Mr. Rudowski attends milongas at a dance studio in Causeway Bay. They start around 9:30 and last until 2 a.m., and he says he is rarely idle, dancing the entire time.

Mr. Rudowski calls tango a cultural experience and a “metaphysical exercise”—emphasizing the emotional and spiritual connection to one’s dance partner. “It’s about the love of the dance, love of the music, love of the tradition,” he says. But he says there are physical benefits, too, with exercise not just for the legs but for the core, which help balance and shift one’s body weight. It also improves the posture, he says.

Shall We Dance? Tango Dance

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