Review: Ardingly Tango Festival 2012: Introduction

4th June 2012

Introduction | Workshop Notes: Part One | Workshop Notes: Part Two | Dancing and Conclusion

Introduction

This was a combined 4-day festival, over the extra-long Jubilee weekend, combining:

  • Live music from Sexteto Milonguero and Otros Aires
  • 30 (!) workshops from a variety of teachers
  • A "Tango Boot Camp" (intensive tango learning sessions)
  • Multiple milongas, cream teas, massages and other good things

The festival was held in Ardingly, near Haywards Heath (basically between London and Brighton).

I'll do a set of separate reviews for this - for the classes, the music, and the dancing. This is just the introduction... :)

Getting there

The event is held as Ardingly College, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 6SQ (map)

It's about an hour and a quarter from North London - most of which time involves navigating around London. Compared to the 5-hour schleps to get to the average Devon Tango weekender, it's a welcome relief to have somewhere close.

The venue

The venue itself is a boarding school, set in lovely grounds; it's a lovely set of big buildings. There's plenty of parking on site, also - 400 spaces, so more than enough.

Accommodation there is basic - some single rooms, some doubles, some dormitories. But compared to the "sleep on the floor" level of accommodation at (say) Tango Mango, it's luxury. There are also plenty of B&Bs / hotels in the area, I stayed in one of those as I like my creature comforts.

The Classes

The class schedule includes 30 workshops over four days..

I attended 8 (!) workshps, over the course of Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday:

  • Tango Bootcamp - ochos
  • Combinations for Close Embrace in Tight Spaces

On Sunday:

  • Leaders Technique + Styling
  • Tango Music and Musicality

On Monday:

  • Two Bodies, Four Legs, One Heart
  • Ritmica Compleja

On Tuesday:

  • The Art of Embrace
  • Milonga Traspie with Zen practice

I'll review the individual classes later.

The teachers

The teachers are:

I attended classes by almost all of them over the weekend.

~ David Bailey, 4th June 2012