FRENCH JOURNEY - PROGRAMME 1

TOULOUSE - TANGO

Toulouse is only 100 km away from the Spanish border - and its heart beats to the latin rhythms - salsa, samba, mambo, cha cha cha and, above all, the Toulouse tango.  Harold and Alexandra are tango teachers. They owe their inspiration to one of the city's heroes - singer Carlos Gardel. Born in Toulouse, he was famous in Argentina in the 20s and 30s. In the 80s the city organised several tango festivals in honour of the singer. Tango came back into fashion.

Wendy:  Tango is coming back into fashion - do you think it will last?

Harold:  It's not a marketing creation, it's a return to our roots - a swing of the pendulum.  For almost 30 years we've been dominated by solo dances.  Now people are rebelling and going back to dances you can do as a couple, in a relaxed and social atmosphere.

Wendy:  What's the key thing about dancing tango?

Harold:  Everyone has a role to respect.  The boy must be able to lead a girl whether he knows her or not.  You should be able to dance with any partner.  As long as the woman lets herself be completely led and surrenders with confidence to her partner. You'll see, it's delightful.

Delightful indeed. Harold has invited Wendy to one of his tango classes.

Wendy:  How do you find tango?

Dance student:    Inspiring!

Wendy:  Really! But isn't it difficult?   I find it a bit difficult.

Dance student:   It's quite difficult, actually.  Especially at the beginning.  It's demanding.

Wendy:  So shall we dance?

Dance student:  Come on, let's go.

Harold:  We'll start the lesson gently, just doing the basic step  1..2..3..4..5...Let's go with the music.

Wendy:  How long have you been dancing, Bernard?

Bernard:  Argentinian tango, three years.

Wendy:  And what do you like most about Argentinian tango?

Bernard:  Well, there are two tangos.  There's traditional tango that we dance - a bit folksy, you take little steps.  And a new tango, more spectacular.  It's tango with passion, the tango of Pablo Veron which uses more space, more movement, a lot more gesture.

Tango also seems to be an ideal way of meeting new people.

Wendy:  What's your name?

Joël:  Joël

Wendy:  Joël, hello, I'm Wendy

Joël:  Pleased to meet you, Wendy

Wendy:  What do you like about tango, Joël.

Joël:  The variety of movements.  The huge range of movements and the freedom to improvise.

Wendy:  And do you find it complicated? Or easy?

Joël:  Yes, it's complicated... ..but very enjoyable.

A single Toulouse night has been enough for Wendy to get the tango fever. Direction Little Devil, one of tango's livelier routines. Here the local tangueros jump to the dance floor for pleasure and - who knows to find their twin soul...

Copyright BBC 2000.