“Our venture into the world of traditional Argentine Tango has provided us with a social, musical and dance experience like no other. The unpressured and supportive style of the Tango Essence classes provides a relaxed learning environment that embodies the traditional style of dance with emphasis on enjoyment and social interaction.
Guidance on balance, posture, musicality and coordination, together with the opportunity to dance with partners of differing backgrounds, abilities and ages helps to develop levels of empathy, understanding and courtesy that we so often find missing in our everyday lives.
Tango Essence have given us a life enhancing experience; nothing too fancy, just the Essence of Tango.
Life is too short not to give it a try!”

“Dancing tango is the most fantastic stress reliever. Whatever else is going on, when I dance, I can only think about what I am doing and it always makes me feel happy. ”

“If you have ever thought about trying dancing and especially tango, I really want to encourage you to give it a go. Boyd and Rebecca’s classes are fun, relaxed and well explained. They break down steps carefully so you can see what is going on and give individual attention so you get the feel of the steps too.
I hadn’t heard much tango music before I started and Philippa plays a lovely variety of tangos, valses and milongas and explains the difference.
There is a warm and welcoming group of people in the classes and you learn with supportive friends. Also every month or so we meet up to have a tea dance with chocolate cake. It’s the dream team of friends, tango, tea and cake!
We have visiting teachers from Argentina, UK and Paris who add a different perspective to things.
We have such a good time and we all remember what it’s like to take your first steps, so there’s no pressure. Just come along, move at your own pace and enjoy!”

“I really like Tango Essence. They focus on teaching the fundamentals of Argentine Tango. This means that Tango Essence Dancers have a great foundation on which to build their love of Tango Dance. The Tango Essence Milongas are very good. Philippa is a wonderful DJ and her music is always of the very best. The cake is so good that I have to restrain myself and only have three pieces. You can be assured of a warm welcome, great music and yummy cake. And then there are the extra special teachers.... Wow.”

“I had danced Salsa, Batchata, Kizomba and Ceroc for many years but felt something was missing in the experience. I found the missing part of the jigsaw, as it were, in dancing ArgentineTango. I found the element of community that I couldn’t find in other experiences.
Thanks Paul, Philippa, Rebecca and Boyd for your patience, perseverance and resolve in founding and developing opportunities for learning traditional tango in Swansea!”

“I am definitely not a ‘natural’ dancer, but the patience and encouragement which Paul and Philippa keep offering me seem inexhaustible and allow me to explore and improve many aspects of myself, not least my ability to move to music and deeply connect with different dance partners. I find that during the class all other worries and concerns that occupy me during the week just seem to disappear for a little while – for a few hours there is only ‘Tango’. And it is such a great bunch of people coming to this class, a real mixture, and yet everyone somehow fits in and contributes to the group. I would unreservedly recommend it to anyone, including those who think they can’t dance – you might surprise yourself!”

“Our first encounter with Argentinian Tango was at a live performance in the Taliesin Theatre. It was nothing like the flashy showy stuff with kicks like on ‘strictly’. It was beautiful. The traditional live music was wonderful. The couple who were dancing had a wonderful fluidity and connection with each other. We were really moved and at the end of the performance we were given a card….’Come and learn Argentinian Tango in Swansea’ What a lovely idea. The card was put somewhere when we got home. Months later our youngest child left home to start university. For the first time in 20 years it was just the two of us. We looked at each other (possibly slightly nervously! ) and thought we really needed to do something new together. We found the tango card and went to our first lesson. Oh joy! We were hooked from the start. We have barely missed a lesson since and what we have learned, from teachers we have come to realise we are very fortunate to have, we have learned together as a couple, and together with a wonderful group of new friends. We love to dance, we know we have a long way to go and are looking forward to that journey. We’ve started to dance further afield from time to time and have come to realise that we are privileged in the teachers we have. They really focus on the fundamentals of a good connection , musicality and ‘the walk’. You don’t find that everywhere! Our only regret is that we didn’t start sooner.””

“I’d been wanting to learn tango for years – but the first year of learning was quite tough for me! I have good musicality skills but couldn’t use them properly until I had a firm foundation in basic tango movement and structure. Now I can really express my musicality – the thing I love and enjoy most about tango is the heart-to-heart connection with another person, and sharing that connection through the music. Tango is a great joy in my life and my social circle is now the best it’s ever been!”

“I’d always liked the idea of dancing tango, and then I just turned up at a drop-in class run by Paul and Philippa……and I was hooked! It was great fun with a lovely bunch of friendly people. I soon realised that there are many different styles of dancing tango and for me, traditional salon-style tango as we do in this class is an art form which i absolutely love! As with any skill there are essential fundamentals which build a foundation, giving me the opportunity to experience the delight of this improvised tango which i can enjoy at milongas anywhere in the world. Having 6 months of Alexander technique lessons with Philippa has also helped our dancing enormously”

“I was first drawn to tango because of the music which I’d heard at a friend’s house. I had little idea of what the dancing involved as I’d only ever seen bits of film of stage tango, so was really intrigued to go to my first milonga and watch all the different ways people had of expressing the music. So I thought, I’ve got to give this a go, it looks so lovely to be absorbed in the music and the embrace. I never thought there’d be so much to it, it’s not the easiest, but it’s interesting and really fun to learn. I really enjoy the friendliness of the class and the way the teachers help you learn at your own pace without pressure. I know I could never get bored with tango, there is always more to discover.”