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Opinion

OUR TANGO TRIP OF A LIFETIME

May 4, 2010 11:16
2 min read

My sister Karen and I have just returned from the trip of a lifetime. We finally managed to get to Buenos Aires on our first shared holiday in 30 years after having had to postpone three times.

The first delays were caused by the sad death of our parents earlier this year. Then, as we were finally about to leave, the BBC asked us to take part in a documentary about Tango Teas at the Waldorf. This was such an exciting opportunity to showcase the wonderful bi-monthly event we have re-introduced to the famous Palm Court that we readily agreed to the request. The show will be aired May 27 on The One Show. The producers concentrated on the Tango element of the Tea Dances which turned out to be extremely apposite bearing in mind that we were about to go to the home of Tango.

We had been recommended to a dance couple who were to be our teachers: Diego and Cecilia. Our first lesson was at a small studio in the heart of Palermo, a very chic and newly renovated area of Buenos Aires. Diego and Cecilia conduct the lesson together – he dances with us and she observes and provides valuable commentary to correct our posture and footwork. From time to time Cecilia takes over in order to practice with us and perfect our technique. This arrangement works very well as although the teacher can feel whether we are following his lead, the addition of another expert pair of eyes means that every aspect of the dance is covered.

We grew to love our teachers. Diego and Cecilia are beautiful dancers and arranged for us to watch them perform at the Tango Show at the famous Carlos Gardel restaurant. They are resident performers in the show, which is absolutely breathtaking. It was a particular pleasure for us to have them come over to our table at the end of the show and to know that they were our teachers.