Tango is known as the dance of love and passion. But it can also be one heck of a fun workout.

Laughter, sweat and high heels routinely fill Brett and Jenny Griswold’s small Chinatown dance studio, Paradise Tango. The couple, who have danced in international competitions, are strong believers in the physical and mental benefits of tango, and not only because of the numerous studies that say so, but because they’ve seen it firsthand.

"We have a ton of students who do it for different reasons," said Jenny Griswold, 34. "We have older couples who do it because they want to be active but don’t necessarily want to do superworkout things, (and) because it’s low-impact. It’s also emotionally good. Couples in L.A. where we taught used it for part of their marriage counseling because it was a connection issue. Because you need to trust your partner."

Susan Sims, 53, of Alewa Heights started dancing with the Griswolds when they taught a class through the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s outreach program two summers ago. She’s been dancing ever since.

"It just seemed to capture my spirit and nurture my spirit on a lot of levels," said Sims, a certified nurse midwife. "For one, I’m getting older, so it seems to help me age a little more gracefully."

While she likes to hike and occasionally gets out in a kayak with her husband, Sims credits tango for a 10-pound weight loss and an improvement in posture and balance.

The proof is in her shoes.

"I started out with flat shoes and I went up a little bit and now I’ve graduated to these," she said, pointing down to her hot pink tango shoes with 3-inch green heels.

"It’s also relaxing," added Sims, who has high blood pressure. "It helps to release some stress."

As the saying goes, it takes two to tango. But because each partner has a different responsibility, the fitness rewards are different, too.

The more physically demanding role is that of the leader, which is usually the man in a male-female pairing.

"The fitness for the leaders is to be carrying the woman around, which can be tiring," Griswold said. "If you ask the guys, they’re sweating because they are physically moving the woman from side to side."

For women in the follower role, their new-found fitness has more to do with posture and balance through core muscle work. With each step, twist and spin, dancers must maintain their form.

And because tango requires women to be on their toes a lot — especially in those high heels — dancers’ feet and ankles are strengthened, Griswold said.

But at its heart, tango is about trust, and sometimes the Griswolds blindfold the "following" partners to emphasize the relationship. In fact, dance instructors are planning to start classes with the National Federation for the Blind of Hawaii this month.

"You trust your leader so much that you don’t need to see," she said. "You have to listen, you have to balance. You don’t have to see."

Griswold said men in particular seem hesitant to learn tango. They feel it’s difficult and unmasculine.

"But tango is the manliest dance, hands down, because you’re in control as a leader," she said.

"You have full rights to help a woman look beautiful on the dance floor and you don’t have to memorize anything. You can come up with whatever the heck you want."

As for the ladies, "you don’t have to memorize anything, you just go along for the ride."

The Griswolds, who live in Honolulu, have taught Argentine tango for eight years. They moved from Pasadena, Calif., to Hawaii in 2012 when Jenny became an assistant professor in the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Department of Meteo­rology. Brett Griswold, 27, works as a personal trainer at 24 Hour Fitness.

Age is no barrier to taking up the tango — the Griswolds have taught aspiring dancers from 16 to 75 — and neither is illness, nor disability. Due to the concentration and social interaction required, studies have found that tango can help those with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, stress, anxiety and depression.

When they lived in Pasadena, the Griswolds worked with students who had muscular dystrophy, and once worked with a woman with Parkinson’s.

"It helped her control her tremors because she really needed to focus," said Jenny Griswold.

Even though it looks difficult, she said not to be afraid of tango. "I would say if they can walk down the street, in a straight line, that’s what tango is. If you watch in the beginning, you’re always switching your feet — right, left, right, left. If you can do that, we can make you do everything else.

"It’s only fancy walking."

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