Tango night on the Gold Coast

Al Pacino did it to a turn in "Scent of a Woman." Morticia and Gomez do it with a macabre twist in Broadway's "The Addams Family."

It seems anyone can learn to tango with the right teacher and a willing partner. And there are few places on Long Island more appropriate than the Vanderbilt's Gold Coast mansion to dip into the romance of this more than 100-year-old social dance phenomenon originally from Argentina.

TANGO WITH A MASTER

Nelson Avila, an Argentine tango star who lives in Floral Park on the Nassau/Queens border with his wife and dancing partner, Madalyn Klein, has performed tango shows around the world. He's returning to the Vanderbilt for another spin after a near-capacity session in July, where the audience cannot only see him take to the floor with Klein, but learn the basics of the tango and get some practice, too.

In the early '80s, Avila starred in "Tango Argentino" on Broadway. In 2004, he returned to Broadway in a revival of "Forever Tango," another dance show. Klein, who was a student of Avila's, grew up in Jamaica, Queens, and taught at Denton Avenue Elementary School in New Hyde Park until retiring three years ago.

Avila has had famous pupils, including Robert Duvall, and one of his former students was Al Pacino's tango choreographer in "Scent of a Woman."

DANCING AROUND THE PAST

The Vanderbilt Eagle's Nest is a 24-room Spanish Revival mansion built over a period of 24 years beginning in 1910. That puts it in the middle of an early 20th-century tango craze.

In 1914, the dance team Vernon and Irene Castle started a "tremendous dance craze" with the tango, Klein says. A European version of tango became popular among the high society folks who would have danced at Eagle's Nest in the 1920s and earlier. However, Avila dances and teaches the classic Argentine version, she says.

PICNIC WITH A VIEW

"The Spanish-style architecture of the period is such a beautiful setting for this dance," said Vanderbilt executive director Carol Ghiorsi-Hart.

You can picnic on the museum grounds at tables overlooking the Long Island Sound and Northport Harbor. Dahlias are in bloom in the gardens, as are water lilies in the T-shaped pools.

The dance floor itself will be set up in the mansion's cobblestone courtyard. The Maurizio Najt Tango Trio will play Argentine tangos such as "Por Una Cabeza" (By the Head of a Horse).

"With the setting sun, you feel like you're in another place and time," Ghiorsi-Hart added.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN TANGO?

Anyone attending can get up to take a tango lesson, then try out what they've learned in the courtyard.

Avila and Klein will teach "fundamental" tango lessons and will also perform. Avila says it isn't difficult to learn your first step.

"If you know how to walk, you can dance tango," Avila says. From then on, it's complicated. The dance is harder for women, he says, because "the lady must follow, follow, follow."

Furthermore, Avila says, you can't just dance tango. "You need to feel it. Tango dance is body conversation."

Tango in the Courtyard: A Milonga

WHEN | WHERE 6:30-10:30 p.m. Saturday, Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, 180 Little Neck Rd., Centerport

INFO 631-854-5579, vanderbiltmuseum.org

ADMISSION $25