Yes, ‘Septonathon’ is back! – our Tango weekend event in September.

We’ve juggled dates and pulled some strings, and have the Old Windsor Memorial Hall all to ourselves for the weekend of 8th & 9th September.  So there’ll be the usual milongas in the afternoons and evenings, attracting lots of dancers from far away as well as our local friends (well, hopefully).

Plus, amazingly, I’ve also started to get the DJ team together, with just one more to confirm they can come.

And also I’ve checked out the prices of rooms that weekend at the Travelodge. Currently the price is £101 for 3 nights, which is an amazing bargain.

This is all going too well; should I be nervous?

Now that 2017 is over, we’re looking back and taking stock of a momentous year for our Tango.

Early in 2017 we were told that we must stop using the venue in Eton that had become the ‘home’ of our lessons and events for over a decade.   It was shattering news, and extremely shocking for hundreds of dancers.

Hundreds of phone calls followed, and days spent visiting venues and agonising over the future.  Then we heard that a brand new floor was going to be laid at Old Windsor and suddenly everything fell into place. We had a great venue, close to Eton, with good facilities

The change of venue to Old Windsor caused few problems. In fact, we’ve had a lots of people come and tell us that they prefer the new venue; the floor is gorgeous, it is a more airy space, it’s easy to reach, and has loads of free car parking.

So now we’re looking forward to 2018!

The Tango world in our area has been strong and varied for many years now, and I’d like to think that we’ve been part of that story. Many good milongas help to sustain the community, and make it attractive to dancers from other areas too.

Cooperation is a big part of this. We try to support the other events going on locally; it’s great to get to meet up with other dancers and connect with the local dance community. So we know what’s going on and share our enthusiasm and support.

And we always make sure we avoid running events that clash with other Tango events locally i.e. not on the same day, and not within an hour’s drive.

Let’s face it, it’s just plain good old common sense all round, isn’t it?

Yes, I understand that nobody has the right to ‘own’ a date for an event. But to give events the best chance of attracting a good crowd, then it seems logical to not force dancers to choose between competing milongas. If there’s a choice of events, then obviously each of those organisers will attract will have a reduced number of dancers.

And obliging dancers to choose between events is divisive; it doesn’t encourage a cohesive local community.

You’d think that was obvious, but not everyone seems to think so. Over the years since we started running milongas several people have established local milongas that clash with our existing events, and the consequences have been predictable.

Despite that, it’s still happening *sigh*