Tango in Bournemouth (6-8 April)

This was the Easter weekend and Begonia and I travelled with Graham and Maggie to the Carrington Hotel where the event was held.  The hotel was good, without being luxury, and we certainly enjoyed the food.  There is an excellent ballroom.  Teaching was done by Sandra and Santiago Monticelli, part of Vincent and Flavia's team for Midnight Tango.  Lovely people, great teachers and a fantastic performance of a series of dances at the Saturday night milonga.  (http://www.cvmonticelli.blogspot.com/)
We all had a ball! We enjoyed the workshops, the milongas, and Begonia and I had a private lesson which gave me a lot to work on!  In the free time Graham and Maggie toured Bournemouth in the open top bus and Begonia and I paddled in the sea!
The event was organised by Alfredo and Marisol at http://www.bailarintangoclub.com/. Watch their web site for future events.

Tango in Edinburgh (30 March, 2 April)

Edinburgh is special for tango and it was special also to visit Kay.  The weekend was made easy for us as Mike and Julia ferried us around, starting with a curry on my arrival on Friday.
There were 2 tango events, the first a party for a couple who are at the University with Kay and who were getting engaged.  Kay and I danced tango for ages and since there were quite a lot of non-tango people there we had some folk dances and swing and a lot of improvisation to whatever music was playing. Kay is maybe twice the age of the average student and I am treble that average! It didn't matter and Kay is very much part of the group and I was accepted completely so it was a fun evening.
On Sunday there was a tea dance which was lovely. I have been once before and to many other tango events in Edinburgh so there were a lot of faces I recognised.  I danced with lots of people and won an Easter Egg in the draw at the end of the dance. (or was that a thankyou as I had obviously travelled farther than anyone else to be there!). The sandwiches and especially the cakes were delicious.

Tango in Hemsby (March 9-11)

This is a Jive Addiction event (http://www.jiveaddiction.com/) and is amazing value. 3 night accomodation, 8 meals, half tango, half jive.  The chalets are basic but clean and warm with instant hot water and a heated towel rail.
Sharon and I danced 90% of the time together, in the 3 nights of milonga to the music provided by Smokie. This was great fun as we could experiment and practice and develop an understanding and a real connection.
The teaching is done by Amir Giles and he does a great job in getting maybe a 100 in the basic class to dance some tango and get an appreciation of what the dance is about, in just one hour.  He taught 3 classes and we learnt a nice step in that final class.  Maybe the tango purists would find some faults but how do you handle that many people and get results.
I was there for the tango but did some jive, and since Sharon was there to see me, I have to confess to enjoying it!

Tango in Hereford (3,4 March)

The Spring Ball is a lovely event!  Jenny Frances and Ricardo Oria (http://www.rumbosdetango.com/), from Edinburgh, are the visiting teachers and I don't think there are any better.  Excellent workshops from them and a wonderful peformance during the Saturday night milonga.
The Green Dragon in Hereford is somewhat past its glory days, but the Ballroom is just what is required. It is good to stay over (at a reduced rate for tangueros) and enjoy the cooked breakfast on  Sunday morning before launching into more workshops.
I have been a few times now and meet old friends and always make new ones. This event goes in my diary as soon as I get the dates from the web site:
http://www.herefordtango.co.uk/