Tangoland

At this address you will find Zaal 100, a podium for jazz, spoken word and experimental music; also Restaurant 100 that serves only vegetarian (often vegan) food at very low prices and, of relevance to this review, Studio 100. The latter is a high-​ceilinged room with climbing frames along one wall and was the gym in the school that this building once was. I know, it doesn’t sound very attractive. But read on.
Every Wednesday evening, Studio 100 becomes Tangoland. This is one of only two places in Amsterdam where you can come for a drop-​in lesson. No commitment, no planning, just one and a half hours of of tango instruction. As I mentioned in another review, I wil try and avoid rating subjective qualities such as the quality of teaching, but one thing that helps make the lessons here so worthwhile is the small size of the class. Instead of having 13 couple competing for the attention of the teachers, here five couples will do just that on a busy evening. On a quite evening you will get evenb more attention. Last week, no one else turned up so my partner and I had a private lesson. That is nice!
Some points worth noting: there is only one lesson/​workshop per week, so levels are mixed. The teachers do adjust to each pair’s ability and the more experienced dancers will be given more challenging exercises to work on. The lesson is not suited to beginners. If you have a good basis of tango, then you can come here. After the lesson/​workshop, there is free dancing («milonga» or «salon» in the vernacular). Because of the low attendance figures, this will probably feel more intimidating than other salons, where you can hide in the background until you’re ready to take the floor. The way how everyone is huddled around one table that makes it seem like the rest of the world is locked out. But nothing could be further from the truth — the regulars here are open to newcomers and welcome them with open arms. Or a close embrace ;-)
Did I mention that this might be the best dance floor in Amsterdam? And that it is free to come and dance after the lesson? (The lesson ends around 22:00.) If you have an allergy to 14-​week long courses or just want some extra instruction, you might want to pop along here some Wednesday.