Many people in the area are being bitten by the Argentine Tango bug.

A wide circle of people of varied ages come together once a week for a social event and learning experience at Firehouse Tango in Maywood(www.firehousetango.com).

Firehouse Tango had its start eight years ago inParamus Firehouse Company Four, hence the name Firehouse Tango. Founder and function organizer, Susanne Dallon, explained that the group, which now attracts about 80 people per week from areas as far as New York and Pennsylvania, outgrew the firehouse and began meeting at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Grove Avenue in Maywood.

Dallon claims that everyone is welcome at any age, whether coming as couples or as singles.

"We've made marriages and relationships, but we've never made it to be a place (specifically) for singles," said Dallon.

The Firehouse Tango website makes the claim that it is the "friendliest milonga" — milonga being the term both for the tango venue and event, and it seemed to be the consensus among students that Dallon herself was responsible for encouraging a warm and friendly atmosphere. Regulars at Firehouse Tango very much enjoyed each other's company.

Dallon also claims that Firehouse Tango is the "best buy in town." For $15 on a Thursday night, a person can enjoy a beginner's lesson, and if bold enough, an intermediate lesson in Argentine Tango, followed by a dinner and a free dance. The beginner's lesson begins at 7 p.m., the intermediate lesson at 8 p.m. and the milonga or free dancing, from 9 to 11 p.m.

The classes are taught by Fran Chesleigh of Dance Manhattan, who demonstrated steps for students with his partner, Pat Altnan. During lessons, couples sometimes choose to stay together, but singles swap dancing partners throughout the night. On the evening of Sept. 29, the amount of men and women were slightly uneven, leaving one single man without a partner, but Altnan remedied that situation by dancing with him herself, in between demonstrating steps with Chesleigh.

The tango has its origins in Argentina, but Americans have not always and do not always dance tango in the authentic Argentine style which is more improvisational in nature than the American style.

Chesleigh explained the history and the differences in style, saying that American dance teachers had a version of it which centered on teaching steps rather than improvisation.

"It wasn't until the early 1960s that we saw Argentine Tango in this country, but it was considered too idiosyncratic, too difficult and not of interest to American teachers," said Chesleigh. "In 1986, 'Tango Argentina,' the show, came to the U.S. and opened on Broadway. People became interested in the original dance. In the early '90s, social dancers came from Argentina to America to teach."

In the beginner's lesson, Chesleigh had students practice basic moves such as weight changes with the feet and side, front and back steps. Students would build one basic step upon another, practicing alternating between them. As the dance is improvisational, men were taught to lead by giving subtle clues to their partners and women were taught to interpret these clues and anticipate the next step.

Many of the students who took part in the beginners' class continued right through with the intermediate lesson. The intermediate lesson built on the basic steps with a few more complicated things such as a cross step for women and various interferences for the men with the women's cross step such as inserting his foot between her feet to prevent the cross or a fancier move where the foot swung behind to interfere with her feet.

On Sept. 27, Tsiporrah Sartan enjoyed a birthday dance, a tradition at Firehouse Tango. She began dancing with one partner and several others cut in to dance with her in celebration of her birthday. Students said it was common to have a birthday dance for someone nearly every week. Sartan also brought in a birthday cake for all to enjoy after the dinner.

One student, Simon Kreymerman, who starting taking the classes at the outset of summer, said he had also taken swing lessons and was motivated to learn Argentine Tango in order to try something more improvisational.

Another student, Stephen Maisch, described what he felt was the experience of most of the students,

"Most people (here) have been bitten by the tango bug."

Bobbie Michelle made a similar observation.

"It gets into your blood."

E-mail: clarks@northjersey.com