My latest following lesson was with Diego. He normally comes to my apartment, but as he had wall-to-wall bookings, I had to cycle to his studio in deepest south London, fending off dragons, rogues and vagabonds as I went. It was worth it.
We danced a song, and I entirely failed to follow a cross. Twice. Or maybe more, who knows. He did, however, have good news for me …
Continue reading I can now follow in a 1930s milonga, while a 2024 one is looking surprisingly feasibleThe Feast is always a delight, but I’d originally thought it might need to serve as something of an antidote to the previous weekend’s London Tango Marathon. Amazingly – and despite floorcraft crimes deserving of 20 years to life – I had an absolutely dream time there, so I had two magical weekends, rather than one.
The trip got off to an interesting start with the train. The journey had everything: drama, pathos, comedy …
Continue reading Feasting upon delicious tandas and school dinners in sunny DevonOne of the resident teachers at the summer Feast was Mabel Rivero. I’d caught a glimpse of a private she was giving at Tango by the Sea late last year, coincidentally to another man learning to follow, and it looked amazing! So as soon as I saw she was teaching here too, I signed up for a private on the Sunday afternoon.
Fernando does have a photo from my lesson, which I’ll substitute when the poor man has a chance to catch up with messages, but for now Mabel is the super-smiley one in the centre as we waited for the train home …
Continue reading A truly incredible following lesson with Mabel RiveroArguably the biggest problem in tango is the imbalance between leaders and followers. That’s clearly an issue for followers, but it’s also less than ideal for leaders.
A solution attempted by most festival/marathon/encuentro organisers is to have an event be role-balanced – but it appears that the theory and the reality may differ somewhat …
Continue reading Do role-balanced events need some rebalancing?Milonga tandas and I have had occasional short flings, but there’s never been much indication that we’re relationship material (not that I can claim any expertise on that topic!).
I actually began writing this as a section of the marathon, marathon post, but Scotty told me the WordPress engine cannae take it, so I had to split it off into its own post …
Continue reading Dancing milonga – a slow, upward spiral that has returned to playfulnessWhen I wrote that festivals are my future, I’d contrasted those with London tango; but this time I was combining the two. Make a cup of tea before reading: this is a long one.
To be honest, I had very low expectations. Not of this specific event, but of any London tango festival. As it turned out, only one of my expectations was met (you can guess which one, can’t you?) …
Continue reading The London Tango Marathon: An event full of surprises!Technically where my tango began was in my living-room, since my introduction to the dance was with Mariano in privates at home – followed by some group classes at Tango Garden. It was also at Tango Garden where I technically first danced in a milonga, after all of five lessons!
But it was at Tango Space where I found my first tango home, made a great many tango friends, discovered several amazing teachers, and where I first danced in a milonga with fellow beginners …
Continue reading A nostalgic return to Tango Space at the Shield: Where it all began
ben lovejoy 