Community
8 August, 2023
Get into the vibes of Tropical Tango Festival
WITH a set of tango workshops and milongas headlined by internationally acclaimed tango dancers, the inaugural Tropical Tango Festival Cairns, from August 18-20, will offer dancing aficionados a unique experience that will transport them to the vibrant streets of Buenos Aires.
The festival will feature seven workshops and three milongas, the social dance gatherings at the heart of tango culture, led by local tango dancer and instructor Liesl Bourke and New York’s renowned tango teacher Ney Melo across three venues, the Edge Hill School performing arts building, the Cairns Latin Dance Club, and the Ramada Hotel ballroom this August.
Leading up to the festival, a set of free private and group lessons at the Aeroglen Hall will be available for dancers of all levels to ensure a memorable and inclusive experience at the festival.
Festival organiser, director of local dance school Made to Move, and Freshwater resident, Liesl Bourke, said the event aims to introduce tango to all Cairns’ residents.
“Cairns has a really vibrant and growing tango community, so we wanted to do something that would put the word out that this community exists,” Ms Bourke said.
“We would love to have everybody in Cairns dancing tango, that’s our mission, get more people dancing.”
Ms Bourke said that everyone was encouraged to join. However, she recommended taking the free lessons available now as the festival was aimed at people with a basic knowledge of tango.
“From August 18-20 we’ve got classes and workshops all day and what we call milongas in the evening, that’s the social dancing, that’ll be at Edge Hill School, where we can dance the evening away,” she said.
“Before that we’re running a series of classes to introduce the community to tango. We run classes at the Aeroglen Hall on Tuesdays and Fridays to get ready to attend the festival.”
