Tango is more than just a dance. To the tango fanatic, it is a religion, a drug and a way of life. There is something about the arcane rituals, the sense of belonging and the intense emotions of tango that attracts dreamers, the lonely, the curious, the restless, and those with nowhere else to go.

From an unlikely beginning in a dance studio in New Zealand, Kapka Kassabova quickly became hooked on the tango; her new-found passion took her to New York, Berlin, Paris, Edinburgh and, of course, Buenos Aires. Along the way Kapka had fleeting moments of ecstasy but more often experienced the aching feet, heartbreak and jealousy that go with being a true tanguero. The story of the tango is also the story of Argentina. Twelve Minutes of Love examines the dance’s mixed Latin, European and African roots, its journey from the slums of Buenos Aires to the dance halls of almost every town across the globe where she meets and befriends some unforgettable people. The world of tango is rife with schisms and here Kapka is our guide to the esoteric but all too human conflicts that rage throughout every tango community.

With warmth, wit and a keen eye for the absurd, Kapka takes us behind the scenes of a global subculture and puts her own emotions, motives and 10-year long obsession with the tango under the microscope. More than a dance odyssey, this is a generation-defining story about what it’s like to be at once a cosmopolitan and a lost soul in the 21st century.

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www.twelveminutesoflove.com

BTS Von Wong Photography – Tango from Pakdi Decnud on Vimeo.

Alexander Richarson & Sandra Naccache www.alexsandradance.com

Some of the final shots here

So the next time someone asks you to do a pre-fashion show tango performance take one look at what they expect you to dance down and say no.

OK for someone not entirely enamoured with performance style tango what am I doing getting involved with something whose official title is Lords and Ladies of the Dance?

There are a number of good reasons. Firstly it’s for charity. All proceeds are in aid of Cancer Care in the mid-west. Secondly it is great exposure for argentine tango in the city and finally, and the bit I relish the most, I get to teach someone one-on-one from scratch.

Originally the organisers didn’t want me to perform preferring instead one of my students. But seeing as I haven’t taught my students to be performers they all said no. That also got me out of the possible bind of having to teach someone to lead. So in the end I will be both dancing and performing.

Twice.

Yes, I’ve been assigned not one, but two dancers. I shall be dancing a tango with one and a milonga with the other and I have until the end of October to teach them.

Wish me luck.

An ode to Sarah Palin from Joseph O’Connors radio column on RTÉ Radio One (mp3 4.5MB)