Proudly announcing our 5th Loving Collaborative Retreat, to boost your health & Inspiration with Dance Therapy, Tango, Moving Live Music, Sauna Medicine, Organic food & Beautiful Nature

Jan 264 min read

We are proud to present our 5th TLC retreat For this year, 22nd - 26th of May 2025, in Coed Hills Wales.

As per useual we are going way "beyond Tango", as so many of our students & guests have put it. So how & why do we go "Way beyond Tango", firstly, we understand than there is way more to learning to dance than teaching steps, we lovingly [& with 15 years of experience] tend to what comes up as we are learning, & our ancient folkloric wisdom to empower us. Using every tool available to us for our health, our food & how we eat it, self-investigation through dance, music, expression, sauna and nature.

Reserve Here

At this retreat, we will nurture what you need to be able to express your inner dancer from a beautiful place within you, the real & present you, cultivating a kind inner voice that will recharge your playfulness, empowering the resilience needed to live life with curiosity for creativity, dance and expressing yourself as an artist & social sentient being

All those who have attended our previous workshops and retreats have felt that what we do goes "way beyond Tango". Together what we create, is a profound sense of unity, safety, and support to express ourselves creatively.. to quote a guest "the experience of what a healthy family is", please see testimonials below as the words of others describe so much better than I can do the retreat justice :)

The reason people have felt that what we do goes beyond Tango is because we understand that there is more to Tango than steps. Simply learning new dance moves can bring up a spectrum of inner voices. Walking into a room full of strangers can feel like a whole world to be prepared for.

We each hold many internal and external journeys to work through to get to our unadulterated joy of dancing with another, whether it is Tango, Swing, Contact, or simply having an authentic conversation. When we want to do something that requires another (it takes two to Tango, excuse the pun), we require much more than just instructions on steps. We need to know how to tend to what comes up with kindness & compassion for ourselves and others, tend to our health, and be motivated by our own hearts and not anything external.

So this retreat is about nurturing what you need to be able to express your inner dancer from a beautiful place within you, the real you, not the 'disappointed self-critical perfectionist' version of you, but the playful, present real you. There is no point to dancing if it is hit or miss whether you genuinly enjoy a dance, or end up in whirlwinds of self-depricating behaviours.

RECHARGE YOUR BODY

To do this, we start with our health, because without our health, we cannot move freely. Our body is a temple, and during this retreat, we will nurture your temple to the highest degree possible, with beautifully and artistically prepared organic farm-to-table food; the medicine of sauna; nurturing pampering with natural products you can make for yourself at home; therapeutic massage; and, of course, inspiring you to move, which, in my opinion, is the ultimate worship of your temple. :)

INCREDIBLE LIVE MUSIC VIBES

Drew playing "We Are the Living Revolution"

To inspire you to move, we use various beautiful art forms to unearth your inner dancer and shed what no longer serves you.

We believe art, music, dance, poetry, and any artform are more than decoration; they are the language of the soul. They are meant to deeply move you so you can feel what you are meant to feel fully. It is from this place that you heal and learn to move from your soul, to be present, to be you.

The music we offer doesn't just sound pretty; we have over six deeply talented musicians who tell stories of love, life, birth, death, revolution, and everything in between. This music doesn't just sing about these things but has been created by life experiences, for life experiences.

One of the musicians is Drew, my partner, who, with his beautiful voice, managed to soothe a man through 'the worst pain known to humanity,' a TN episode. Not even doses of morphine could touch the sides of his agony, but Drew's calm, soothing voice somehow helped him sleep and make it through one of the worst nights of his life.

TANGO AS DANCE CULTURE WISDOM & MEDITATION:

Our dance practice is Tango:, but not the aesthetically-obsessed patriarchal version; rather, it is the grassroots community medicine, the reason Unesco protect Tango as human heritage. We studied and practise dance therapy & folklore, so we focus on the wisdom Tango evolved to bring people of all ages, creeds, and abilities together - this folkloric artform, like most, is about togetherness. Through Tango we learn how to:

Move in meditation together;
We learn how to get strangers to invite each other to dance, respectfully;
We learn how to honour boundaries;
Respect and support families and elders;
And how to hold a space that is safe, diverse and welcoming for all.

By combining health, time, soulful music & folklore, we give you tools to help you honour your precious & unique life, your body and your loved ones; and gain resilience to the inevitable challenges life tests us with; empowered & rechared with creativity & a culture of togetherness, with a support network that lasts long after the retreat, that is available to you if you want it.