The Joy of Tango
Argentine tango in Colchester
Walk into any milonga in the world and belong
Classes, workshops and milongas in Colchester. No partner, no experience, no pressure.
Is this you?
You have been meaning to learn tango for years
You think you would love it. Then three things get in the way. You are worried you will look foolish. You have not got anyone to come with. You suspect everyone else already knows what they are doing.
Half the people in the room arrived on their own, and nobody looks foolish in the first class — we are all beginners together. The only thing I ask is that you come willing to try.
How it works
One
Come to a class
Wednesday evening or Sunday lunchtime. Two hours, ten pounds, no partner needed.
Two
Add a workshop when you are ready
Two hours on one idea, usually with a visiting teacher. Twenty pounds, open level.
Three
Dance at a milonga
A tango social. Ours is at The Passage House. Once you have danced there, you can dance anywhere.
Classes
Two classes a week, both open to beginners
Wednesday evening
Mixed level. Beginners start alongside people who have been coming for years, and I teach to both. We change partners throughout, so nobody sits out and nobody needs to bring anyone.
Sunday lunchtime
The same mixed-level class at a gentler hour, for people whose week is already full.
Both are drop-in and both are in central Colchester. Neither needs a partner.
Dates change. Everything that is on — workshop dates, milonga nights, any break in the classes — is posted on our Facebook page, and you can have it by email instead if you prefer. Join the list.
Workshops
Two hours on one idea, taught properly
A workshop takes a single subject — sacadas, barridas, musicality, floorcraft — and looks at it closely enough that it changes how you dance. Classes suit everyone. Workshops suit people who have done a few classes and want to understand something properly.
Open level, with adaptations either way. No partner needed. Twenty pounds.
I bring in teachers whose work I rate, including Ulises Delle Ville, Nicolas Godoy, Miles Tangos and Carlos Quilici. When they are in Colchester, my students get them.
Dates change. Everything that is on is posted on our Facebook page, and emailed to the list.
Milongas
Where you actually use it
A milonga is an Argentine tango social. People dance in short sets of three or four tangos with a different partner each time, and sit and talk in between. You do not need a partner to walk in.
Ours is at The Passage House, 2 Bank Passage, Colchester CO1 1HZ — a good floor, a warm room, food and drink from the café, and traditional music played in tandas with cortinas. Five pounds on the door. Beginners welcome; if you do not dance yet, come to the introduction beforehand and I will get you started.
Dates change. Everything that is on is posted on our Facebook page, and emailed to the list.
Your teacher
Miriam Gita
I have been dancing Argentine tango for fifteen years and teaching it in England for eight. I am a professional member of the UK Argentine Tango Association.
What I teach is the embrace — the conversation between two people, led through the core. It is the part that makes tango feel the way it looks when it is done well, and it is what we work on from the first class. Not routines to memorise, but technique you can use with a partner you have never met.
Questions
Things people ask first
Do I need to bring a partner?
No. We rotate, so everyone dances with everyone, and plenty of people arrive alone.
What should I wear?
Anything you can move in. Smooth-soled shoes are ideal, but trainers are fine to start. No need to buy dance shoes before you know you will keep going.
I have never danced anything. Will I be the worst one there?
You will be one of several beginners, and I teach the class so that both ends of the room have something to work on.
Am I too old?
My classes run from people in their twenties to people in their seventies.
How much does it cost?
Ten pounds for a class, twenty for a workshop, five for a milonga. No membership, no contract.
Do I have to book?
For classes it helps but it is not compulsory. Workshops need booking, because numbers are limited. Text or call 07706 746750.
Find us
Come and dance
Central Colchester, Essex. Street parking nearby, and car parks at Butt Road, St Mary’s and Priory Street.
Text or call 07706 746750
Email thejoyoftango@gmail.com