Life · Argentine Tango
Eleven years, four countries, one milonga of my own
I joined every dance society at Warwick in 2014 to learn to dance. Argentine tango is the one that refused to let go, and it has followed me to every city I have lived in since.
💃 How it started
I joined every dance society, and one of them kept me
When I arrived at Warwick University in 2014 I decided I wanted to learn to dance. Not any dance in particular, just dancing as a skill. So I did what any sensible person would do: I joined every dance society I could find.
Salsa, ballroom, contemporary, belly dance, you name it. But it was Argentine tango that stuck. There is something about tango that gets hold of you: the music, the connection, the constant pursuit of something that always feels slightly just out of reach. I was quickly hooked, and before long I had become President of the Warwick Argentine Tango Society.
In 2017 I competed at the UK Tango Championships in both the salon and escenario categories. Competitive tango is a different beast from social dancing: a panel of judges, a set format, and the pressure of performing something that is normally built on spontaneity. It was nerve-wracking and brilliant in equal measure.
Tango Club UW, Madison
Three beginners' series a year, one per semester plus a summer series, alongside a weekly intermediate class, two practicas, a performance group and our own milonga: Milonga Mimosa.
Follow the club ↗📍 Where I have taught
Every city teaches you something different
- 2014–17
Warwick Argentine Tango Society President
It started at Warwick, teaching as part of the university society. What began as classes for fellow students turned into running the society as President, organising socials, and building a community of dancers from scratch.
- 2017–18
Shanghai
After graduating I moved to Shanghai and ran my own tango classes at the Coderbunker co-working space. Teaching a Latin American dance, in English and Mandarin, to an international crowd in China, was an education in itself.
- 2018–20
Oxford Tango Academy Assistant instructor
Back in the UK I became assistant instructor for Oxford Tango Academy. I helped take students on a trip to Buenos Aires, the mecca of tango, sat on the organising committee for the 8th Oxford Tango Festival in 2019, and established weekly classes in St Albans.
- 2022–23
Northern Tango Academy, York
When I moved to York for my PhD I got involved with the Northern Tango Academy, teaching and helping keep the local tango scene alive in the north of England. I partnered with Julian Vilardo to teach in York and occasionally in other cities, including Milonga Corrientes in London.
- 2025–
Tango Club UW, Madison Main instructor
Three beginners' series a year, a weekly intermediate class, two practicas, and Milonga Mimosa 🍹.