tango our passion..

So much has been going on I haven't been able to sit down and blog for weeks! I can't stop thinking about tango yet sometimes the actual writing down all the points that filter through my head can seem like a monumental task..there is just so much to say- as tango has to be the subject I talk most about, conversations at parties always seem to come round to tango, even studying the enneagram with a local group (The Enneagram-understanding the 9 personality types ) inevitably appears to subdivide people into tango types or non-tango types! A fascinating debate, perhaps do a workshop sometime on that too..?
Where to start though? Tango Malvern the young tango club in Worcestershire, carries on quietly growing and developing...we near the end of our what would we call it, term perhaps? We need a few weeks to regenerate and refresh ourselves and while a lot of our tangueros are away on their family holidays, doing their gardens, attending Harley Davidson rallies, dressage events, weddings, or whatever....we will be busy refining all our plans and details for our first ever Tango Fiesta in Great Malvern, scheduled for the weekend of August Bank holiday.
But what a wonderful few weeks we've been having here in the heart of the England, or the "New Three Counties Tango society?" perhaps? Another point to discuss?
Last weekend we hosted an impromptu tango event with Aisha and Victor, the charmingly passionate couple from Buenos Aires, at a wonderful venue nearby to Malvern, an "ecoCafe"in a beautiful converted barn, complete with tapas and a bar. The atmosphere was similar to a private party. The numbers seemed about right, almost perfect balance, and even my first shot at "Tango dj" got the thumbs-up, which I was extremely grateful for, thank you! We were delighted to the positive response about Asha and Victor's teaching during the workshops we arranged, they were clear and direct, while reminding both men and women of their vital roles to ensure the essence of tango is not forgotten. We had some laughs which illuminated the serious looks of concentration, "Ladies! choose your favourite chest! and " Men! choose your favourite cleavage!" summed it all up...only someone with such a charming accent as Aisha could say such a thing perhaps, yet really it is so appropriate, so refreshingly non-PC, alarmingly sexist perhaps, so perfectly Tango! We love tango.






Tango Malvern web site is http://www.tangomalvern.com

Take a chance with tango...

Is anyone sure about anything at the moment. when there is so much uncertainty in the world? Yet it appears there are a lot of tango festivals going on across Europe. Maybe last year I would have gone along too, so alluring the idea of dancing tango in foreign climes, yet I feel curtailed now by the exchange rates and rising unemployment all around, that even in the pursuit of true art, I feel uneasy about it. Of course it all depends on your personal situation, and if you are able to go then do so, and enjoy. Definitely! Yet tango has survived great depressions before, surely because in many ways you don't have to spend a lot of money doing it and it's in difficult times that we really need it. The average class cost is really amazing value, around here it is anything from £4 for a one hour class to perhaps £6 -£8 for a whole evening including a practica session. Therapeutic in so many ways, learning tango is a whole lot better than many other more expensive activities, while you lose yourself in the music, move in perfect harmony while in the embrace of another warm kindred spirit, exchange a few words perhaps, there is undoubtedly a power in the dance. To not dance tango now is unthinkable, and would actually be of no benefit at all, as stress levels would rise, while we'd miss so much about the whole tango scene. What would we do with our special tango gear, the CD collection? The flirty little dresses you'd never wear to anywhere other than a milonga? The connection we all strive for in tango is what makes it so compelling to do, and what changes our life for the better really. Dilemmas occur when trying to organize tango events. We need to cover our costs obviously but feel its essential to keep the costs down as much as possible to encourage people to keep dancing regularly. In two weeks time we will welcome a couple on tour from Buenos Aires to lead our regular Monday night class in Malvern. Aisha and Victor will be in London before travelling up to our quaint old Spa town of Great Malvern. A truly glamourous couple yet when they appear we will charge the same £6 for the evening as we do on all the other Mondays..it seems the right thing to do. And to enable us to really get to grips with tango, we are now in the process of arranging the first "Tango fiesta" in the Malvern hills...August Bank holiday weekend, and of course we'll work on keeping the costs down, but not our standards or style! It could be a marvelous escape from the big wide world, Cocoon yourself in tango...or maybe we should stop defending the dance but simply remember "its better to have loved and lost rather than to have never loved at all..."






Tango Malvern web site is http://www.tangomalvern.com