Friday 18 December 2015

Come to the ball Cinderella, your dreams just may come true ..

I am incredibly excited about everything this weekend - yes, maybe  it’s nearly Christmas (panic, shopping? cooking etc?) but first, we have our annual festive party milonga, the rather sophisticated sounding “Tango & Canapés“ at the equally swish Feathers Hotel in Ledbury, an enchanting country market town in Herefordshire. Just over the hill from Tango Malvern’s birthplace  2009) + regular meeting place, (Malvern,)  the Feathers has presented itself as the perfect location for a truly romantic idyllic Christmas tango party.  Of course, we love to dress up for the occasion, this year we’ve simply suggested “elegant tango de salon,” inspired, to be honest, after watching the live screening of the Tango World Championships in Buenos Aires, August this year, especially as two of UK’s (and recently at Tango Malvern) most respected dancers and teachers, Dante Culcoy and Miriam Orcutt were finalists there!  Not only did their performances inspire us to want to dance elegantly like them, but the dresses and suits the dancers wore, were magnificent, to say the least!  Don’t worry, we won’t be judging your personal dress style -  sadly, I never quite managed to get to Buenos Aires to shop for a “cinderella-dress” in time, but nonetheless, we do hope you will enjoy expressing how you love to dress for a real tango ball ! 

Over the last few months, I have met on a few occasions, and danced with, an utterly charming man Hector Espinosa who is a brilliant photographer in his own right, but also dances with great passion and sensitivity and has been hugely appreciated by numerous people in the tango world for his iconic images of tango. I am delighted that Hector will be joining us this Saturday 19th December for “Tango & Canapés” at the Feathers, which I know will come as good news for the ladies..but also, he will be discreetly holding his camera during the evening and hopefully catching some of those precious, wonderful moments .. these pictures will not be uploaded onto social media until they are approved of by the subjects and then hopefully, a donation could be made to the very worthwhile charity that Hector supports .. Hector Espinosa, who's fundraising for @CasaAlianzaUK on @JustGiving.  you can donate now http://www.justgiving.com/Hector-Espinosa

This way, I hope you will agree, we can all enjoy Christmas, our beloved tango, and help  a worthy charity as well.. we are extremely grateful to Hector for his participation in this idea, too..xx

Friday 27 November 2015

It's nearly Christmas !! Dance Tango at The Feathers Hotel, Ledbury.

A wonderful evening is planned for Saturday 19th December - at the perfect festive hotel in Ledbury, the splendid historic coaching inn Feathers Hotel. Ledbury is easy to get to,  either by main road, M5/ M50 or train, if travelling from the north, south, east or west.  Once again we have managed to arrange an intimate soirée for the discerning tanguero, complete with the Feathers' delicate handmade canapés served around 9pm. There are romantic open fires and cosy bars where you can relax with some good wine.  Dress - elegant tango de salon. Indulge in the golden age of glamorous dressing!
This year we are just thrilled to have a very special Dj Paul Strudwick  http://magicroundabout.eu/ providing virtually non-stop guaranteed-dancing-tango music from 7.30 - midnight. Paul is a lovely sensitive man who will select some of the most beautiful music available .. prepare to dance for hours ..

Anyone coming to Ledbury before the event starts at 7.30pm should try to arrive in time to enjoy at least a good look around the town.. still time to Christmas shop !! There are numerous independent wonderful shops in Ledbury, offering boutiques, jewellery, delicatessens, interiors, homewares, the Velvet Bean Chocolate shop (not to be missed !)  an excellent wine merchant Hay Wines, Organic shops, an Apothecary, Hair & Beauty salons, and of course, plenty of cafes, Tea shops, bars, restaurants for  lunch, tea, or early supper.  It really is worth spending some time around Ledbury...make the most of it!


Tuesday 29 September 2015

The Argentines in Malvern !! Two glorious weeks of the best tango teaching !

Argentine Tango in Malvern from the best authentic teachers !! Only at Tango Malvern 

We care about our dancers at Tango Malvern and have over the last 6 years brought in some of the very best teachers of tango in UK and from abroad ..

This week Wednesday 30th September  at Colwall Village Hall we can’t wait for our trusted and well-loved Pablo Rodriguez to teach us after his summer break .. we will be welcoming our beginners from 7.30pm and later the improvers/intermediates from 9pm. 

Pablo has acted as our mentor for the last 5 + years and we really appreciate his authenticity, passion  and generous teaching skills when he visits our group in Malvern! 

check Pablo out also at his Tango classes / Milongas in London : http://www.tangothelight.com

….

Next week for the first time ever in Malvern and also, at last (!) we have a huge treat for our dancers -
the young and glamourous  dancing/teaching couple Dante & Miriam.

Dante Culcay(Argentina) & Miriam Orcott(Canada) recently qualified as finalists in the highly prestigious world championships of Tango de Salon in Buenos Aires. They also have an extensive shared history of performing and teaching all round the world in festivals and events. 
see more about them at http://www.oxfordtangoacademy.com

Together they bring a rich foundation of tango knowledge, with emphasis on correct body awareness and technique plus tremendous natural beauty and elegance in their own dance. Pure joy to watch and hugely inspiring for us all . They also run the Oxford Tango Academy and the Annual Oxford Tango Festival. We are excited to make this connection with such world class dancers yet who live in the UK! Their first workshop is on Wednesday 7th October at Malvern - please book in advance for the classes as space is limited ! phone or  email claire@tangomalvern.com or message me on Twitter or Facebook  tel : 07785 359528


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Tuesday 2 June 2015

Social media / photography during social events /milongas


Social Tango to most of us is something we experience as personal, and even somewhat private. The more we dance the more intense the connection with our partners, ourselves and the music can be. Sometimes, the clicking of phones and cameras on the dance floor can be intrusive and even if it goes unnoticed whilst dancing, the aftermath  of the Facebook exposure later on can shatter the dream we had been enjoying during the actual event. How cruel those “snaps” can sometimes be .. when what we felt at the actual time may have been blissful and sublime? Tango photography is a serious art just as all photography really is.. you only have to look at some of the famous photographers exhibitions and work to acknowledge that certain lighting and effect have a huge impact on an image created.  Please don’t think of me as a “kill-joy” or tango snob perhaps .. I embrace the art of tango wholeheartedly and passionately and love enjoying a good sociable milonga with friends and a glass of wine (or champagne ideally) but lately, I have noticed the effects of the iPhone, iPad etc., at the milonga!   Of course, I realise that the snaps are taken mostly from a generous and a light-heated perspective, friends observing others in their glamorous clothes and shoes, dancing with lots of different partners, “having fun” and what’s wrong with that ?  It’s taken me a few months to get my thoughts fully together and to write these few lines about this tricky subject and I hope the majority of readers will understand my position.  The milonga can be a wonderful sanctuary from the outside working world - we dance to express our joys and sorrows, we dress in perhaps a more creative way than we do otherwise, we embrace sometimes strangers as if they are lovers for just 4 minutes.  The moment is precious, the event can be magical in its entirety. Sometimes the venue is a plain old village hall, yet during a tango  we could be transported to an exotic location anywhere else in the universe. Yet - afterwards how often has your dream been shattered?  That’s sad, that’s not I how I remember last night, the place, the ambiance, the tango I danced ..

So for this next occasion on  Sunday 14th June, when we will be treated to the exemplary musicianship of the live quartet  Tango Siempre, as well as the sensitive and complimentary recorded music by traditional tango DJ Paul Strudwick (www.magicroundabout.eu) in our lovely airy Colwall Village Hall, at the foot of the majestic Malvern Hills, I will request that all phones are on silent, put away in bags and pockets - with no photography taken within the milonga at all. If you want photos of your friends please take them outside of the milonga, having your picnic, wherever, so that when we wake up the next day we can reflect on our dreams of the previous night  without disillusionment. 

Emi Cloke "artist for the day" Sunday 14th June

At our next special milonga, Sunday 14th June with the famed Tango Siempre live tango band,  we are very excited that we have,  for the first time, local artist Emi Cloke, in attendance for the event ! I first met lovely vivacious Emi at a magnificent concert on 23rd May with the Worcestershire Symphony Orchestra (WSO)  at the St Martin’s Church Worcester. Having only just heard that Saturday morning of the concert on Radio 3, and then mainly, I must admit, because I was attracted to a promised work by Piazzolla - my shameless addiction - “Oblivion” and also, unusually of course, being performed on a saxophone (!) by the world-acclaimed Rob Buckland!  I have a life-long passion for the saxophone. Life is wonderful the way if we just follow our hearts and instincts we can be led somewhere even more surprising. The whole evening was hugely enjoyable, including hearing the whole of the Planets suite  by Holst , a first for me, and meeting Emi who was there as the WSO’s “artist in residence.”  Emi paints and draws what she feels when listening the music and whilst being there during the performance, expressing another perspective of the music though visual art !   I was totally struck by her creative and colourful work and as the days went by after the concert, I thought about how fascinating  it could be to develop a similar project within tango.  So, happily, we have arranged with Emi to join us on Sunday 14th June at the Colwall village hall, complete with her artists materials - she will take up a suitable vantage post in the hall from where she can draw & paint tango-inspired pictures ! Emi will also have some her current work with her, cards for sale, and I hope you will enjoy this additional artistic angle she will bring to us! 

follow Emi Cloke

@Emi78WR2 on Twitter to see some of her work !

Friday 22 May 2015

Misa a Buenos Aires

Spring has arrived without doubt, with one of the most breathtaking bluebell displays on and around the Malvern hills ever. There is a lot to love, to be proud of and to celebrate in Malvern. We owe so much to the natural beauty of the area which has inspired numerous artists, musicians and writers for centuries. Today we continue along this road of practising and developing the arts in an even wider sense.
The Malvern Festival Chorus has presented our Argentine Tango group with an unprecedented opportunity to dance our beautiful tango, the non-show, "non-Strictly" version, the tango of the people, as part of their wonderful concert on 13th June in Great Malvern Priory.  We look forward to working with the chorus and their orchestra Tango Siempre, in furthering the development and appreciation of the hugely rich tango music and culture originating from Argentina over a hundred years ago.

Tuesday 17 March 2015

Springtime is here in beautiful Malvern.. the birds are singing, daffodils just opening out and the sky is blue above our famous hills..
We've got lots of exciting tango blossoming too..
Sophie Martinez from Seville is on her way for a delicious weekend with us .. there'll be her brilliant special workshops for women's technique in tango (just for the girls!!) and the same opportunity for the guys .. + loads more to brighten and lighten your tango experience.
We are really excited about holding this event at an old coaching inn The Talbot of Knightwick, a friendly country pub famous for its local produce and excellent food and beers, wines, cider etc., to match. The Saturday night "Milonga pour Sophie et les amis" should be an absolute party to rival any in Buenos Aires, yet charmingly here, in sleepy idyllic Worcestershire!
We believe in enjoying our tango, and Sophie will help us.