It's an astonishing building. Built in the early 20th century when the Beaux-Arts style was fashionable in Argentina, it was, at the time, the largest public building in Buenos Aires. Its conversion to an arts centre in the early 21st century maintains many of its original architectural features and makes excellent use of the space.
When we were there, all the events were free because the Culture Ministry operates on the principle that the arts belong to everyone. We particularly enjoyed Saturday afternoons at the CCK, when there was an open tango class followed by a live band, an exhibition and dancing. Most of the dancing was tango, but there was always a break for folklore dancing in which people danced the chacerera twenty or thirty times and then moved on to the one with the handkerchiefs.
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| Chacerera (probably on about its tenth time round) |
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| Hankies out. We may come back to the chacerera later |
I could get tango lessons but P would resist!
ReplyDeleteLessons at the CCK are free and friendly. There are some people who are quite new to tango who turn up, but it's probably not the ideal place for complete beginners. Lessons are in Spanish.
ReplyDeleteA lot of English people decide to take tango lessons in Buenos Aires. For experienced dancers, this can be a wonderful chance to do something different, but it has always seemed to me to be a strange thing for beginners to do. There is a lot going on in Buenos Aires. Why miss out on it so as to do tango lessons you could have done before you went? If you arrive with the basics in place, you will have a lot more fun and be able to join in in places like the CCK.
There are people teaching all over the world. I can only make personal recommendations for London, Berlin and Reykjavik, but you will probably find someone wherever you are. Ask around (you can ask me here) to find good teachers. In London by now there are just so many (even I have run the odd class) and some are notably better than others.