You started learning Argentine Tango some time ago. You learned basics to move around (walk, ocho, giro) and some figures.
You finally decide to go to a milonga outside of your studio, like out of town event or a festival. There are many new people/strangers.
Here is a (bad) scenario that may happen, when you are under-prepared.
Let's say you are a follow. He asks you a dance. You accept. He takes you to the floor. He is a stranger, and you don't get his lead at all. "Is this an ocho? The giro is too fast. Are you waiting for me to do an embellishment?" While you stumble all the time and had to lean on to him too many times, the tanda is over. He escorts you back to your seat.
Unfortunately, there are many leads who saw your wobbly dance and apparent lack of skills. They thought you are difficult to dance with. And they choose not to dance with you, as they are there for their fun (meanie selfish bastards).
You sit out a lot of time of the party. You feel disappointed and rejected. "Heck, Tango is not for me. This is enough."
The world loses another future Tanguera.
Beginner stage is a hard place to be in. While you can have a partner in your class, in an event it is not always the case.
Social Tango dancing is like sparring in boxing. You don't try to spar when you don't know how to throw punches. You have a good match (dance) when your skills are close. Good evenly-matched Tango is not possible, when one of the couple lacks skills and technique.
And, there is a level of skills you have to have to freely enjoy social Tango dancing. Tango skills are like riding bicycle. Once you can ride it, you know you are riding it.
But before that, you cannot and you keep falling, which is your beginner stage. To ride bicycle, you as a child used third wheel, parent's help, etc. But above all, you tried repeatedly until you get it. That was how you developed muscle memory for riding bicycle.
For your Tango beginner stage to be over and you can dance, you need the same thing. Repeated drills and muscle memory. And that should be done with solo practice.
Guess this has been too long for an intro.
Here is a solo practice method to take command of your Tango dance muscles faster and get out of beginner/veteran beginner stage, with an example of a basic move, back ocho.
Use a mirror for instant feedback.
(1) You do back ocho by yourself in front of mirror. If you lose your balance, that means you would be leaning/pulling your partner, which is not good. Be able to do your back ocho by yourself.
(2) Change size of your motion. Think step 1 (your default) version was size M. Practice size S and size L. You have 3 varieties in your back ocho. Notice how you pivot and stretch changes.
(3) Change your speed. Think step 1 (your default) version was speed R (regular). Do this in F (fast) or S (slow). You have 3 varieties in the speed of your back ocho. Fast is good for Vals, Slow is good for Piazzolla.
(4) You have 3 sizes (SML) x 3 speeds (Slow, Regular, Fast)=9 different back ochos. You have a lot to practice already. But once you get it, you have your dance muscle memory to use for different songs and different partners.
If you do these drills, you'll have a good command on your body and your Tango dance. Great thing about having muscle memory is that you don't have to think. Your body does it. You know you are not a beginner, once you get these. You may even have enough room for launching embellishments and add nuances (foot play etc).
You can try other basic moves (forward walk, backward walk, giro, etc). A giveaway that you signal as a beginner is non-basic moves, such as shuffling instead of doing giro. Ballroom tango frame is another giveaway. Having muscle memories for basic steps is important.
Last (x2) is for F and L (both Follow and Lead). You switch your role (like, "lead back ocho" as step1) and practice the 3x3 versions. These are more like aiming at professional-kind of work, but they work.
You cannot measure love. But you can measure skills. You claim to love Tango? You can show your love for Tango with your skills. The other way around? Not so much.
If someone plays Chopin's Etude or Bach's Goldberg variations effortlessly, she must be a pianist. I'd assume a lot of work went in, regardless of her actual practice history.
She claims to be a pianist and has a difficulty in Fur Elise? Trust her not so much.
Kids who want to ride bicycle just keep trying, even if they keep falling, and they get it.
These drills are meant to help who want to "get" Tango faster. Got out of your beginner/veteran beginner stage and have more fun (or don't get sitting out) in events.