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Strictly tango dancing

Argentinian spirit comes to sadler's wells. Top it off with a malbec

Do the older members of your family have a knack for bad taste? My father went to Argentina with his wife a few years ago. Back home, he developed a photo of the two of them dancing tango together. But let me explain: they weren’t actually dancing, to be honest. They’d merely stuck their heads through one of those painted placards where your face becomes part of the picture. Hence my saying “they were dancing tango”. A rather dull, touristy souvenir.

Whenever I think of the tango, sadly I think about that photo, an unfortunate association! What’s more, tango performed badly is terribly tacky. It’s a diffi cult subject too; to talk about tango you need to be a specialist, and not just any old specialist either. If you're not, you run the risk of coming across (like the photo) a little kitsch.

But we’re not talking about any old Argentinian music here; we’re talking authentic tango, the real deal. This kind of dance is incredible, and highly seductive. Dance company Tango Por Dos, which is directed by Miguel Angel Zotto, one of Argentina's most respected choreographers, will spend almost a month in the capital performing their show Buenos Aires Tango. They won over London audiences in 2006 and now, commemorating their 20th anniversary under Zotto, the company are once more returning to spice up the cold winter nights.

Throw away that naff souvenir and come and get a taste of the real thing! JD

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