Tango in Edinburgh- the Edinburgh International Tango Festival - 1-5 June

EITF is a feast of tango. Milongas every night (Friday through Monday), workshops and, maybe best of all, the Tango Cafe. Music playing from 12.30 to 6 or 7 for informal dancing amd much talking with old and new friends. Kay is good enough to let me stay with her but this year her back was so bad that she did not dance at all!
The line up of teachers is amazing. Jennie and Ricardo, the resident Edinburgh teachers, are simply the best teachers I have come across. The guests this year were Bruno Tombari/Mariangeles Caamano and Corina Herrera/Octavio Fernandez. Their demonstration dances were superb and very different from the many great performances I have seen. The speed of movement was incredible. Sexteto Milonguero provided live music for the ball and played wonderfully to the audience. They gave an extended encore with milongas getting faster and faster and creating more and more excitement! Sharon and I resorted to a fast jive which got some good comments from people the next day.

Rant 1: couples who think they can dance in a crowded milonga as they would if the floor was just for them alone. Extravagant boleos with a foot reaching above waist height, when there is no need for the foot to ever leave the floor. Rondos sweeping out an area that they should not be claiming as their own. They probably come off the floor saying that it was not crowded, which it was not for them, as they had carved out a large space.

Rant 2: men who dance with their left elbow straight out from the shoulder. Such an attitude would bring a red card on a football pitch but is condoned as a style! Why, it is anti-social.
Despite the rants, thank you Edinburgh!