Will Scotland emerge from Covid-19 as a nation of polyglots, dancers, musicians and yoga masters or will we slump back to our old pre-pandemic couch potato habits?
Certainly, there is plenty of options for those with a desire to put this enforced downtime to positive use and a diverse range of online hobbies, pastimes and new skills can offer up something for even the hardest to please.
With summer holidays confined to wishful thinking, some may welcome the chance to import an invigorating injection of South American style in to their living rooms, and Scotland’s leading Argentine tango tutors, Jenny and Ricardo Oria, can do just that.
Read our latest idea for keeping fit at home in our Culture section. Here’s Ricardo and Jenny of Oria Tango explaining how they teach online – even if you are home alone https://t.co/DjSFn8azOW pic.twitter.com/zsPbkNYLI4
— Edinburgh Reporter (@EdinReporter) May 20, 2020
With their popular weekly dance classes at Dance Base in the Grassmarket and St Paul’s Church in Pilrig put on hold, the dashing couple are helping dancers to practice their tango embrace and steps with a series of online courses.
The classes are suitable for all levels, including newcomers who may want to dip in to the world of tango before starting classes post-lockdown, and they can be taken by individuals or couples.
Jenny and Ricardo have been dancing together since 2002 and appear regularly at tango festivals throughout the UK and Europe. Jenny said: “We really miss our teaching classes but we have not been sitting around with our feet up. After a lot of late nights and early mornings, we are excited to present our online tango offering and we are adding to it every day.
“These on-line tutorials focus on techniques for both roles, solo techniques, core steps and variations, and are designed for all different levels. We have done everything as a subscription service, so people can pay per month and can cancel whenever they want.”
Ricardo is from Buenos Aires, he started dancing tango while at secondary school and it quickly became a passion. He spent his teenage years listening to tango music, and studying with tango maestros and was invited to teach in London in 2001 before moving to Edinburgh, where he met Jenny.
Jenny started dancing tango while she was a student at Edinburgh University and it quickly took over her life. She has spent a lot of time in Buenos Aires studying and dancing with many great maestros and has been dancing and teaching with Ricardo for 18 years.
Ricardo said: “We dance and teach tango salon, the tango that I grew up with in Buenos Aires – tango for the dance floor. Argentine Tango is music, dance and song. It is a culture and we will welcome you into it and help you to navigate this wonderful world.
“We want to support all of our students as best we can during this crisis. We are offering online classes, interactive sessions and a community space to keep everyone’s tango going and to help us all stay connected.”
To find out more about online tango classes, including a seven day free trial, visit https://www.oriatango.com/
Stephen Rafferty is a former crime correspondent at The Scotsman and was a staff reporter for the Daily Record and Edinburgh Evening News. He has freelanced for many of the Scottish and UK national newspaper titles. Got a story? Get in touch - stephen@theedinburghreporter.co.uk
