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JonD
27th-October-2005, 06:12 PM
I got a PM asking me to summarise my experience of Tango holidays for those of you who are getting addicted. I'm no expert, either on the dance or the opportunities to learn it, and I'm sure there are forumites who with more ability and experience of AT than me. However, I am lucky enough to have danced AT in Buenos Aires, the south of France, Barcelona and Nijmegen during the past year or so - oh and in Devon as well. So, here goes.

Tango Mango in Devon. Ruth Zimmerman, who runs Tango Oblivion (http://www.tangoindevon.co.uk) here in Devon developed the concept of the "Tango Mango" - see website for details. It's essentially six days where you can drop into a hall (currenly a primary school between Totnes & Paignton with a great floor) and dance Tango between 10am and 11.30pm each day. There are loads of teachers - I think there were 6 there last night - and dancers seem to come from all over the world. Each evening there is a "drop-in large group lesson" and a "bookable small group lesson" plus you can have private lessons. Totnes is a wonderfully "alternative" community and everyone is really friendly. Food appears each lunchtime and evening despite there apparently being no organisation. People just bring things and some cook - there's no obligation to contribute and no charge to consume - but, magically there are always enough good things to eat. If you ask you are almost guaranteed to find someone to put you up for the week or a few nights - even if it's just a space to put up your camp bed. If you want to immerse yourself in AT for 6 days without breaking the bank this is a good way to do it.

Tangonetta - Barcelona. www.tangoneta.com (http://www.tangoneta.com/). The lovely Gisela organises this one. The website refers to the event just gone but I think she is organising one for next September. This is four days of workshops with milongas in the evening based in Barceloneta - the district of Barcelona down by the marina and the beach. I went in 2004 when the workshops were "Tango & Drama" (with a drama teacher), "Tango & Contact" (with contact dancers), "Tango & Tai Chi" (with Jordi - a remarkable Tai Chi Master) and finally "Tango & Tango" to pull it all together. It's great fun, truly challenging, gets you thinking "outside the box" and you can swim in the Med between workshops!

Tango Valley - near Albi in the Midi-Pyrenees, France. http://www.tangovalley.com This is paradise! I've been twice and I'm definitely going again next year. A Dutch couple found this lovely house on the side of a wooded valley above a tributary of the River Tarn and decided to run Tango holidays. Accommodation is either in the house, in little huts in the woods (Julie and I stay in these cabanes - basic but comfortable) or in your own tent. When you arrive on the Sunday you dump your mobile phone, money, credit cards, keys etc., pick up your dance shoes and think about nothing other than AT for the next 6 days.

The dancefloor walls roll up so you can look out over the valley during the day, there is a grapevine growing inside the dancefloor roof, the swimming place at the river is just bliss (some people go nude but there's no pressure to do so), the food is great, the wine is cheap (€5 for the expensive stuff) - actually, the whole place is just brilliant. The teachers are amongst the best in Europe (I'd rate Oliver & Marisa as the best I've ever had) and there are a maximum of 12 couples so you really do learn lots. A total of 10 x 2 hour workshops over the 6 days, practice as much as you like and dance all night. This is where I learnt to dance AT after drinking 2 bottles of wine - although I'm not sure it was really dancing!

People come from all over Europe but English is the common language. Friends we've made there have invited Julie & to stay and dance in countries from Norway to Italy. You need to book with a partner - same sex is OK as long as one leads and one follows. Fly to Toulouse and train to Albi - Vincent will pick you up at the station.

Buenos Aires. We went to BsAs in April and spent 3 1/2 weeks there. It's great. The City is pretty bog-standard, a mad collection of old and new and very poor in some parts. People dance AT in the same way as they dance MJ here - so don't be afraid of being a beginner. Of course, there are some tremendous dancers who are amazing to watch but there are loads of folk just out for the night who aren't that skilled. We found that there is a bit of a split between "tourist milongas" and "local milongas" - our favourite was Viejo Correo which is a local one. There are hordes of teachers, not all of whom are good. The Argentine currency collapsed some years ago with the result that the average salary is about 500 pesos a month. At an exchange rate of £1 = AR$5.5 you can see that charging a tourist £20 for a 2 hour private lesson is good business - hence "everyone is a professor".

We made sure of good teaching by staying at http://www.mansiondandiroyal.com/ in San Telmo, which is a Tango Academy owned by Hector Villalba. Hector is an utterly charming Tango Maestro who has businesses in the USA (he gave Julie and I a 20 minute private lesson as he was passing on his way to the airport). I think the Dandi is his hobby. It's art-decco gone mad, very comfortable (about 4* standard), the staff are wonderful and it has two dance floors. The regular teachers are great and they get some of the Tango legends teaching there - it's where we had a class with Gavito and you'll see the names Zotto and Copes on the web site. It doesn't get much better than that. Quite a lot of the guests are on world tours and not really serious about AT - the staff were really enthusiastic about Julie & I wanting to learn and practice. The Manager is a demon dancer and used to make us coffee, watch and offer advice when we were working on our own. The Dandi package includes airport transfers by taxi, free entry and taxi travel to/from a milonga or Tango show every night plus a 2 hour group tango class every night. Cost was £39 per night each - though you can probably negotiate that down if you speak nicely to Leandro and forego the entry to milongas, tango shows, trip to an estancia that they throw in.

Alternatively you can share a room in a Tango Hostel - complete with cockroaches (a friend of ours was in one when we were there) for about £10 per night or rent a private flat. Entry to a milonga is about AR$5 and taxi fares are typically AR$5 each way (£1 for a 20 minute ride isn't bad value). We ate out every night for about £10 each - thats 3 courses and wine. A couple of times we tried to get the bill over £20 each: we failed miserably and couldn't dance because we were so full & drunk. One waiter actually stopped writing as I was ordering and said "no - that's too much". Steak and chips for lunch will cost you about £1.75. The steaks are better than any other beef you've ever tasted. If you are a vegetarian think twice before going and don't go if you are vegan. We coped OK with practically no Spanish but it would have been helpful.

Dance shoes are about £30 a pair. I got three pairs of dance shoes and a pair of street shoes. Ladies, you must go to Comme il Faut - Julie says it's dance shoe heaven.

We booked flights with Aerolineas Argentinas. I'd fly from your regional airport to Madrid and pick up the Aerolineas flight there. Budget on about £400 for Madrid - BsAs - Madrid.

My total spend was about £1800 including gifts for my mum, shoes, a leather cowboy hat (when will I ever wear that?) and sundry other bits and bobs. We didn't stint ourselves at all on the grounds that it was a "once in a life time" thing. We're going back next October!

Wow, it has been a good year! And I haven't mentioned bringing in the New Year at El Corte (http://www.elcorte.com)'s 2 day Tango party in Nijmegen - we're doing the same this year. Their International Weeks are supposed to be superb although we've only been to the New Year thrash. I'm told that Eric Jeurissen, who runs El Corte, is the best European teacher of AT but I've never been to a class with him. He's touring the UK in December.

Another Tango Tome from JonD!

Clive Long
28th-October-2005, 09:09 AM
Fabulous post.

:worthy:

I want to do all of them.


Clive

Lynn
28th-October-2005, 10:23 AM
Fabulous post. :yeah: I sent a link to the post to a friend who is keen to do an AT hol next year.

JonD
28th-October-2005, 12:36 PM
I sent a link to the post to a friend who is keen to do an AT hol next year.
Tell your friend to feel free to PM me if they want more details. I've listed the places I've been to but I've seen some other interesting ones on the web. I remember one that promised a combination of AT and gastonomic delights in a castle in Tuscany but I can't find the web site - sounds like heaven!

Talking of castles, there's some ramshackle place in Wales that does lots of dance events including AT - Julie went to one weekend and came back doing Swedish Polskas or something! I'll ask her where it is.

David Bailey
22nd-March-2007, 09:24 AM
I've got a friend who's booked for a Tango holiday in Granada in April:
Dance Holidays (http://www.danceholidays.com/Holidays.asp?HolidayId=844)

Has anyone been on these? Any tips / recommendations?

She's not done any AT before, so it's definitely in at the deep end for her.

Also, I'm planning on going to the next Tango Tangk in April - anyone else going?

JonD
22nd-March-2007, 09:53 AM
I've got a friend who's booked for a Tango holiday in Granada in April
I've never been on one of those - I always thought they looked rather expensive but that one seems reasonable. I'm sure she'll have a great time!


Also, I'm planning on going to the next Tango Tangk in April - anyone else going?
Julie and I are going to book it on Monday. It'll be good to see you there!

DianaS
24th-March-2007, 05:03 PM
::: TangoextravaganzaUK.com :::: (http://www.tangoextravaganzauk.com/php/home.php?proyecto=1&clave=10)

Any one booking for this My tango teachers going and encouraging us all to drop EVERY THING!

WELCOME !
We are pleased to welcome you to this event where for the first time experienced local and international tango dancers, teachers and artists from different disciplines are reunited at this unique event.
The festival will offer you tango classes, special workshops, Milongas, master classes, live music, forums, lectures and expositions including …Some of them for free!
We also want to contribute to the cultural diversity in the UK, offering the very best from artists and volunteers involved in the organization of this event .

ADVANTAGES

· International tango arts festival for the first time
· TAXI DANCERS AND ASSISTANTS for the milongas and classes. Ladies, you never will be disappointed!

Lory
24th-March-2007, 05:21 PM
::: TangoextravaganzaUK.com :::: (http://www.tangoextravaganzauk.com/php/home.php?proyecto=1&clave=10)


Nice little video clip on that link Diana :cheers:

DianaS
25th-March-2007, 12:28 PM
Also, I'm planning on going to the next Tango Tangk in April - anyone else going?

whats that????
and CAN I COME??!!:cheers:

Lynn
25th-March-2007, 01:06 PM
whats that????
and CAN I COME??!!:cheers:From recollection (I tried to book for this last April) you need to book with a male dancer - I basically was told it was unlikely I would be able to book by myself - although they could in theory put me on a waiting list in case men booked by themselves.

I understand the thinking behind it as it means that there aren't lots of extra ladies.

I'm not trying to put you off and you may already have a tango dance partner you can bring along, just to give you advance warning so you aren't disappointed. (I've given up trying to book AT weekends now.)

DianaS
25th-March-2007, 02:43 PM
From recollection (I tried to book for this last April) you need to book with a male dancer - I basically was told it was unlikely I would be able to book by myself - although they could in theory put me on a waiting list in case men booked by themselves.

I understand the thinking behind it as it means that there aren't lots of extra ladies.

I'm not trying to put you off and you may already have a tango dance partner you can bring along, just to give you advance warning so you aren't disappointed. (I've given up trying to book AT weekends now.)

Okay so we need to advertise.
Wording to read:-
Either
"Two women need two men for a weekend of sumptuous dancing"
or
"Two sumptuous women need two men for a weekend of dancing"
Edit as appropriate

PMs of offers to go to Lynne or me!
Either that or we can go as a Bi couple!

Lynn
25th-March-2007, 02:55 PM
Okay so we need to advertise.
Wording to read:-
Either
"Two women need two men for a weekend of sumptuous dancing"
or
"Two sumptuous women need two men for a weekend of dancing"
Edit as appropriate

PMs of offers to go to Lynne or me!
Either that or we can go as a Bi couple!:D

Good idea as it is a numbers issue, rather than having to have a fixed partner for the weekend (though it is helpful to have someone to practice things with). Frustratingly I've now got a practice partner for Ceroc but he doesn't do AT - which are the events I need to have a partner to book for!

I defintely think we should select an event (not necessarily this one - maybe a later Tangk to give us time to get organised) and organise a LTFG with even nos to all book together. These events are so much nicer (and less scary) when you're there with a few familiar faces.

spindr
25th-March-2007, 03:50 PM
"Two sumptuous women need two men for a weekend of dancing"
Edit as appropriate

Attractive cooks, with beer, seek partners :)

SpinDr

DianaS
25th-March-2007, 04:07 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by DianaS
"Two sumptuous women need two men for a weekend of dancing"
Edit as appropriate

Quote:
Originally Posted by Editted_as_appropriate
Attractive cooks, with beer, seek partners

SpinDr

Attractive cooks, with beer, seek partners for a weekend of rigourous discpline, with partner swapping and other extra curriculum activities. Novices welcome as full training will be provided. Will more experienced partners please provide full details of their experience repertoire and preferences (height weight etc) a:flower: