Corrientes is Celebrating its 10th Birthday!

Dear Friends and Members,

This year 2010, Corrientes is celebrating its 10th birthday. Our special 10th Anniversary Programme will start on Dec 11 at 9 pm.

9-10 pm Valse class with Mina and Giraldo

10-11.15pm General social dancing

11-15-12.15pm Tango Siempre “This is the best live music for tango dancing I have heard in the U.K!” – Steve Morrall, Tango UK

Tango Siempre regularly perform live music for milongas and have an extensive repertoire of traditional tango music for social dancing. The band features Julian Rowlands on bandoneon, Ros Stephen on violin, Jonathan Taylor on piano and Richard Pryce on double bass, plus the outstanding Argentinean singer Guillermo Rozenthuler.

12.20-12.35. Walter Delgado Fashion Show. This talented Argentine costume designer is a on world tour and will present his latest collection here at Corrientes. “The breathtaking costumes, designed by Walter Delgado, are glamorous, sexy and modern.” Australian Stage.

Social dancing until 1.45 am complete with Birthday cake, raffle and small surprises.

Entrance fee £12

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A bit of History….

Corrientes is celebrating its 10th birthday.

This year 2010, Corrientes is celebrating its 10th birthday. In 1998 Mina and Giraldo had been running tango classes and a práctica at Ruby’s Club, a small club located in a basement on Carnaby Street, when it burnt down due to an accidental fire. Tango classes at Ruby’s started with Los Del Rio, Eduardo and Alison del Rio, until 1998 when they asked Mina and Giraldo to continue with their work. Los del Rio had been successfully running El Cafetín Porteño in Brixton every Sunday, a place where tango grew. Other tango venues consisted of El Once Club del Tango with Paul and Michiko on Saturdays, Zero Hour at The Dome with Biljana and David starting on Wednesdays, and Tango The Argentino Way at The Welsh Centre with Danny and Diana on Fridays. Christine Denniston also had classes running at different places in London. Our Chilean friend, the late Miguel Gonzalez was also part of the scene.  Together with Eduardo del Rio, the pair made exciting expeditions across London to dance tango wherever possible. At that time, the late Carlos Gavito was based in Scotland before he went to be a star in the Broadway show Forever Tango, where he catapulted to fame.  He had been Mina and Giraldo’s tango teacher for many years and had started a Saturday afternoon class in Waterloo at the Fallen Archies. This is a view of how tango in London was being shaped when Corrientes appeared in London. As mentioned earlier, Corrientes was born after a fire.  Ruby’s Club closed in 2000 and the club found a new home near London Bridge with a group of community workers from Italy, Il Covo. The community venue was covered in graffiti.  To make the venue more inviting and with a feeling of tango, Mina and Giraldo printed and framed images of tango and hanged them where the graffiti would allow. Giraldo created his own lighting equipment and Sofia y Oscar became Mina and Giraldo’s pillar of support. The place was somewhat scary and rough, but tango has always had the quality to grow in the most unexpected places. The adventure lasted only one year as the owners of the building had changed their plans for the venue.  The tango nights, the Italian café and other small projects were no longer appreciated. Once again, Corrientes was on the move. A few heads got together to search for solutions, including Corrientes’ long time collaborator KG.   After a few phone calls and recommendations, Mina and Giraldo established Corrientes at The Mary Ward House on Tavistock Place off Russell Square, when it was in the hands of Social Change.  Those were golden years.  From 2002 to 2005 Corrientes established a tango night that saw artists such as Miguel and Osvaldo Zotto, Lorena Ermocida, the cast of Tango Por Dos and Tango Pasion, Los Ocampo, and Kelly y Facundo.  Masters such as Mingo Pugliese, Raul Bravo, Carlos Gavito, Natalia y Gabriel, Roberto Reis, Milena Plebs, and Pablo Veron were amongst many others that were part of the unforgettable nights at Corrientes in the Mary Ward Hall. In July 2005 Corrientes suffered two blows.  The terrible and sad 7/7 attacks occurred near Tavistock Place and all the buildings around Russell Square were closed for investigations for weeks to come. The second blow was the sale of the building to a church owner who changed the Mary Ward Hall forever; this fascinating Grade I listed building built in 1898 had its doors open for social dance since the 1930s, with glorious philanthropic aspirations from many intellectuals in London. The sale of the building meant a radical change as it became a business for upmarket private functions. In 2006 Corrientes was on the move once more.  Corrientes at Mary Ward Hall was an era that Mina and Giraldo still remember with great nostalgia. However, never giving up, they found another home.  Today, Corrientes is located just off the up-beat Camden Town market, at Haverstock School in Chalk Farm. The venue is very different to the historical Mary Ward Hall, but it holds the most amazing dance floor a dancer could dream of. Corrientes Social Club is still promoting traditional Argentine tango by presenting dancers, teachers, music, tango duets, trios and quartets. The guests of honour for 2010 are Carlitos and Rosa Perez, masters who command great respect in Bs As and who have taught tango to over three generations of dancers that today are crowned as world champions in Argentina’s World Tango Championships. Corrientes is tango history in the making and has been the place to dance, learn and promote tango artists for the last 10 years.  Despite the fire, two evictions, bombs, etc., the tango community in London and nearby cities/towns have been there every night that Corrientes had has its doors open.  Keen tango dancers are filling its floor and providing the solid ground base where Corrientes stands today.

We hope to celebrate with you all this Saturday….

Corrientes Team