dancetango @ Vino Latino's

UPDATE 10-July-2011: This milonga has been CANCELLED until further notice due to the venue being refurbished.

Where and When: Every Tuesday at Vino Latino's Wine Bar, downstairs at the Langham Court Hotel, Langham Street, just north of Oxford Circus. [Update 27-Jul-08: added picture.]

The Class: I skipped the class but I've taken it before. Nikki does good basic stuff with a focus on technique. Her teaching style is noisy-but-sound.

What I thought of the DJing: Nice, mildly unusual. A lot of candombe on this particular evening, which I like although not many people know how to dance to it. Roughly four-track sets, no cortinas.

Layout, Atmosphere, Floorcraft: A small, curious underground room with a bar at one side. Two-thirds of the floor is wooden and the other third tiled. They are partly divided by a huge, awkward square pillar to the left of centre, which makes it very tricky to form a sensible line of dance. The bar is not seperate, so you can trip over people socialising and trying to get served. It's also very easy for a couple, or even one person, to block the passage around the pillar. It wasn't crowded, though, so it was manageable and floorcraft was not a major problem. There is a long room off to the side where you can hide your bag, and hang your coat up, and even change your shoes if you prefer not to do that at the side of the dance floor. Plenty of comfortable chairs, pleasant and friendly atmosphere, although too many people concentrating at the bar can start to intrude on the dancing.

Hospitality and Refreshments: Fine. Bar with all kinds of drinks, reasonably priced for the location. The loos were working, supplied, and reasonably clean except for a far-too-small bin, and the taps worked properly.

Website: http://www.dancetango.co.uk/ has recently been prettied up and includes where, when, how much, and contact email, all very easy to find, unless perhaps you turn off images.

Getting in: £8 class and milonga, £4 milonga only.

Getting there and Getting Home: From Oxford Circus, walk up Great Portland or Great Titchfield Street until you reach Langham street. The Langham Court Hotel is the building brilliantly clad in black-and-white tiles, as though it were dressed up for the races in 1901. Go in by the central entrance, and straight down the stairs in front of you. Five minutes from Oxford Circus, and closes at 23:00, so getting home is not a problem.

How it went: Quite a few good dancers turned up for a short stint, and one or two recent beginners were having a pleasant time. I did OK. [Edit: Going more often lately, I've had consistently really nice evenings here, with good dancing, and nice chats with others when sitting. Recently I chatted to a lady from Philadelphia - wearing Tara shoes - who was in London for a few days on business. She had come to Vino Latino's alone, and had a nice time and good dancing.]