In January 2006  a small group of friends got together to give their first Tango lessons.

The scene was Windsor Arts Centre (since renamed as ‘The Firestation’) and on a cold Sunday evening we were a bundle of nerves and excitement.

We knew that a big crowd of people had signed up for the lessons, but we had no idea just what was about to start. We had spent endless hours talking about the lessons; what to teach, and how to do it.  We had all endured disappointing Tango lessons, and with naive arrogance we were sure that we could do a better job. 

3 hours later, I recall driving home with a huge smile on my face; the whole evening had been a fabulous success, and a new local Tango community had been born. There had been a buzz of excitement all evening, and there was a sense of being in at the start of something good.

Now, 13 years later, the local Tango scene is very strong. Our milongas are popular, and dancers who have learned with us are now enjoying Tango all of the UK and abroad. New friendships have been made, and some romances too.

It makes me wonder what the teenage years of ‘Thames Valley Tango’ will bring!

And it’s an especially happy one for us after such a great Etonathon event last week.

We were honestly gobsmacked that so many dancers came along, especially on the Saturday night. dancers visited from all across the UK.

And a special mention for Sam, who called in for one night on his way from Canada to a Tango event in Amsterdam, and then changed his plans to stay at Etonathon for the whole 4 days!

But what made it especially great for me was the excellent music selection by our guest DJs Michael, Jalal, Diego, Kirsty, Claudia, Fabienne and Clive. They all did a fabulous job, and I can’t recall such a strong team at one of our events.

It’s going to be a hard act to follow at Easter!