Latin lockdown lessons from Scotland’s leading tango professionals

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.

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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.

Tango tutors Jenny and Ricardo Oria – PIC by www.pennmann.co.uk

“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/

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