Tango y Nada Mas

We started Tango y Nada Mas to bring our experience of more than 30 years of dancing and teaching Argentine Tango to the UK through classes and performances which focus on improvised ‘Tango Salon’.

What is Tango Salon? It is the Tango that has always been danced in the salons of Buenos Aires. Tango originally grew as a social, improvised dance, a dance for everyone with Music as the uniting factor. For us, this is the beauty of Tango. Not the steps, or the choreography, but learning thorough basic technique through which your own Tango can flourish. No two dances will ever be the same, the beauty is in the moment. The moment you are connected with the Music and your partner and what happens through improvisation in these dances can create sublime moments, moments which keep you searching for the next.

We like to remain close to the social element in our tango, and that is why our method of teaching Argentine tango focuses on the embrace, the walk – which is the basis for everything else -, and the music without which we wouldn’t be dancing. We share our experience of dancing in the Milongas* so that those who learn with us, can also enjoy dancing in the Milongas. This is important as there many traditional ‘codigos’ (rules/etiquette) in a Milonga developed over time to ensure everyone can enjoy the experience.

Remaining true to this style of Argentine Tango, we offer Argentine Tango classes in London and elsewhere in the UK.

Why are we called ‘Tango y Nada Mas’?

“Un Tango y Nada Mas” is an iconic tango made famous by Carlos di Sarli. It was recorded in 1945 and is translated as ‘A Tango and Nothing More’. It’s about someone who has lost everything, his friends, his love, due to his ambition in life and all that’s left is a tango, one more tango and nothing more.

Tango is always there, it waits for you and sometimes it’s all you have left. These lyrics follow a familiar theme in tango. They follow human life. All of our loves joys, addictions and failures.

Tango has poets and the lyrics resonate with all of us. We chose this name, not only to reflect the place tango can occupy in our lives, but also if you take away the ‘Un’ we have tango and nothing more, which refers to and reflects our love of tango, the dance, the music, the culture but also its what we teach – tango and nothing more. Tango for social dancing, tango to fall in love with and to stay with you for life.

We stay true to this title and the culture of tango. We do not teach choreography or tango for stage (which has its place and we respect it) but our hearts are in the social dance and what this brings to our lives.

Click here for the lyrics in both Spanish and English and some audio clips of the versions available: https://poesiadegotan.com/2022/05/23/un-tango-y-nada-mas-1945/

We look forward to meeting you and sharing our Tango with you!

Luis Rodriguez & Elizabeth Knock