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It is Sunday - close and muggy. The August bank holiday has almost come and gone in a shower of rain and an overcast sky. No balmy late summer stroll; tonight is Milonga de los Domingos at The North Terrace, Claremont Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne. Martin and June are to be our hosts, and we are told by Osher that we shall enjoy wall-to-wall 'Golden Age' tango.
The little Smart car hums tonight with expectation. We cross the eighty five year old Tyne Bridge from Gateshead, and head out to the north of Newcastle on the A167. Claremont Road comes up quickly and there on the left is The North Terrace. This being Sunday, parking is not a problem, although visitors are advised to find an on-street space shortly before the venue.
Named after the small road to which it abuts, The North Terrace is an imposing public house with an 'events room' on the first floor looking out towards Exhibition Park and Town Moor.
We enter via the patio from Claremont Road. After the strong evening sunshine, the bar is dark. Our eyes take time to adjust to the gloom, focusing on two beautiful tangueras sipping Vodka, fresh back yesterday from dancing in Buenos Aires. With sparkling water from the bar, and our dance shoe bags tapping against the stairs, we ascend to the studio. Here is the sound of Edgardo Donato; and there on the pista are two lone dancers. As ever, we are early.
Our hosts greet us with a hug. We glance around at pretty red-draped tables, each bearing a cream summer rose and chocolates. Within moments, we change into our Darcos and Comme il Fauts and the salon fills with tangueros. We notice that here, tonight, are some of the best dancers in the region.
Milonga de los Domingos is a traditional milonga, with tango music from the 1920's to early 1950's, and where dances are procured by the traditional cabeceo. Whilst the evening is warm and close, there is something cooling about this gentle milonga. The mood is unhurried. Tangueros wait, then dance. The pace of the pista is leisurely, respectful and calm. Milonguero style, with close embrace is ubiquitous.
Martin's playlist is truly a catalogue of the Golden Age of tango. But for scale of venue, we could be at Club Gricel, Buenos Aires. Most of the favourite songs, and some traditional tangos new to us, bathe the evening with a suffused glow. Our invitations to dance are with skilled tangueros, who take time and show patience. Between tandas, with a fan in one hand, the tangueras sit and chat. Following our host's example, the tangueros ensure that everyone dances.
10.30 pm arrives too soon. The last tanda of Carlos Di Sarli seeds into the cortina, and the evening is over for another week. Dancers embrace and exchange notes. This is definitely a milonga for the discerning tanguero, showing that Milonga de los Domingos can pitch the North of England against any milonga anywhere.
