Hi All,

Following on from Keith’s fun and useful but short 3 week stint, on Monday we start our main winter season with our “regular” winter teachers, Aldo Romero and Ana Lia Carrizo. More details below.

As stated previously, with our venue problems, there will be no Milonga this month – but for those keen to dance, the SalsaBelfast Milonga on Saturday 6th February will be a full blown affair, for the whole night rather than just a couple of hours – more details in the Non-BATS section below.

In this week’s newsletter, below:

1. Weekly Monday classes with teacher Aldo Romero and Nora Gomez.
2. Weekly Practica on Thursdays.
3. YouTube clips
4. Non-BATS events

Feel free to forward this on to anyone else who you think might be interested. In fact, it’s only by keeping the numbers up that we can afford to bring professional teachers to you, so please have a good hard think if there are any family, friends, or colleagues who you could persuade along. If you want removed from this circulation, just let me know.

Thanks,


Alan
Honorary Secretary
Belfast Argentine Tango Society
http://www.tangoinbelfast.org



1. Weekly Monday classes with teacher Aldo Romero and Nora Gomez.
Those of you who were taking our classes last winter will know Aldo and Ana Lia well. Ana Lia will be joining Aldo in a few week’s time, but until then, he will be partnered by the equally proficient Nora. Aldo will be with us through the winter and promises fun and informative classes. For more information, check their website: http://www.aldoyanalia.com.ar

The classes will be the usual format:

Beginners 7.00 – 8.30pm
Practice 8.30 – 8.45pm
Improvers 8.45 – 10.15pm
Practice 10.15– 10.30pm

Cost - £7 for one class, £10 for both (Student/Concession: £5/£8 – please show ID).

Usual venue details: the main upstairs hall of City Church, 12-24 University Avenue (on the left as you head down the Avenue away from Botanic - there's a large white church, then City Church is a red brick building a few doors further, opposite the Spar). The hall is above the “Common Grounds" café, but enter through the double doors round the corner – ring the bell if closed. Here's a link to a map:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en ... 2,0.017381


2. Weekly Practica on Thursdays.
Our weekly Practica is the ideal environment to help you progress. What is a Practica? It’s an informal event somewhere between a class and a formal Milonga. There is no structured tuition, but dancing with others and discovering for yourselves how steps work (or how they don’t) really adds to the tuition we get in class. Plus, you can always ask others for advice, as unlike in class or at a Milonga, there’s nothing to say you can’t stop mid-flow on the dance floor to debate a point.

Whether you have only just begun, or are an Improver, being taught in class will only take you so far – each week you really need to practice the techniques taught on the Monday, otherwise you will forget them before they get over-written by the following Monday’s class!

A Practica is also a good opportunity for the Beginner and Improver classes to mix – which will benefit both (and add to the social dimension too).

The venue for the Thursday Practica is called “The West” (although the name is not on the front of the building) on the Falls Road. It has a good floor, with plenty of seating/socialising area in the bar. There is a dedicated car park behind it (but walk round to the front door on the main road to get in – in the front door and just round to the right).

The attached link to Google maps shows it (and the car park behind it), but if you drive up the Donegal Road (from the Broadway roundabout at the Park Centre on the Westlink) towards the Falls Road, then turn right onto the Falls Road (city bound) then it is about 200 yards on the right, between La Salle Park and La Salle Drive. If you turn into La Salle Drive, the car park can be accessed from it.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... 6&t=h&z=19

You can drop in/out of the Practica anytime, there’s no fixed “start”, but we’ll be there from 8pm-10pm+ on Thursdays. Price £2.


3. YouTube clip
Here’s some clips of the Galway “Invasion Tango Festival” last October, that have just come onto YouTube – quite a few of our group went along. For those that didn’t, you’ll remember Marion and Enrique (and Daniel) from our Midsummer’s Day workshops/event last year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OE3rM-l0to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l41f3I0EEs


4. Non-BATS events
A. Full night Tango Milonga at SalsaBelfast Windsor Tennis Club–Saturday 6th Feb
There are plans to devote the downstairs room to a whole evening of a Milonga, at the next SalsaBelfast event, on Saturday 6th February. More details will be available nearer the time here:
http://salsabelfast.com/groups/summary.php?g=1


B. Nikos’ classes
QUB Lifelong Learning Institute on Tuesdays
Tango Salón (Tango Argentino) for Beginners, Starting on Tuesday 19/1/2010
Venue: LT2, Medical Biology Centre, Time: 18:00-20:00 (10 weeks)
A complete class in tango salón for beginners aiming to develop the basic elements of communication, elegance and seduction between leader – follower and to study in detail the fundamental aspects of caminadas, syncopation, ochos, giros, sacadas & barridas among others. Upon completion students will be able to demonstrate dancing to tango music smoothly and interpret it with basic routines.
Info: openlearning.education@qub.ac.uk http://www.qub.ac.uk/edu tel: 028 9097 3323/3539

QUB PEC on Tuesdays
Beginners Tango Salón, Starting on Tuesday 2/2/2010
Venue: Physical Education Centre, Time: 20:15-21:45 (9 weeks)
Info: Queen's University Belfast, Physical Education Centre, Bookings: 02890 681126

Crescent Art Center on Fridays
Beginners and Improvers Tango classes, Starting on Friday 22/1/2010
Venue: City Church, Belfast (9 weeks)
Time: 19:30 - 20:45 Beginners 20:45 - 22:00 Improvers
Info: info@crescentarts.org http://www.crescentarts.org tel: 028 9024 2338


C. Cork Tango Festival 12th-14st March 2010
The details of this event are just out and can be found at http://www.corktango.com


D. Edinburgh International Tango Festival 28th-31st May 2010
I have flyers available in class, or go here: http://www.eitf.org.uk