I believe it started with an offer. Wednesday nights at Empire Dance were opening up and the owner, Reba, asked  if Adam would be interested to try and start a new milonga. All the previous organizers weren't able to get something to stick. Everyone said that Wednesdays were impossible in NYC. And it was true, at first.

Ciko asked Adam if she could be part of it even though she was a full time architect in those days. Adam said yes... There started the partnership.

The name came from the idea that we would run it as a cafe, inspired by a milonga Adam had been to in Berlin. However, that milonga was in the middle of the afternoon, no one wanted to drink espresso at 10pm on a Wednesday night in New York City, so we dropped the cafe idea but kept the name.  

Our goal for Tango Cafe was for it to be casual and welcoming to everyone. We wanted to create a space where people could feel as though they were in our home.

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For the first year or so, the milonga was small, REALLY small. But we kept it going. At some point Ciko suggested, 'How about we play alternative music?' Adam didn't need much convincing so we took the leap.
In 2007 we became the first weekly alternative event in New York City and in the World!
Slowly it started to fill up. 
At the end of 2007 while on a trip to Berlin we were informed that Empire Dance was closing, immediately, but they found a new home for us at You Should Be Dancing..!! We met with the owners, Tammy and Charlie, and it felt good. We moved Tango Cafe in January of 2008. 

We continued as the only weekly alternative milonga in NYC for the first two years but the alternative fad was changing. The studio had multiple rooms and someone suggested we try opening a traditional room as well. That decision helped grow the event. We maintained our alternative following and we started to grow a traditional following as well. 

We maintained a great weekly event for years, often having guest DJ's, amazing performers, and always friends passing through town on their way here or there, to spend a fun evening dancing with us. 
This all changed in the spring of 2020, as it did for everyone.

We changed gears fast. Adam had been recording a podcast and Ciko suggested we do a weekly podcast in place of our milonga on Wednesdays. Adam discovered that he could make it a call in show and so it began,

Tango Cafe Takeout.  

For 63 weeks Ciko and Adam hosted Tango Cafe Takeout and every week invited a guest dancer and musician to chat and share their story and their music. People were able to call in and ask questions, share their stories, chat and drink and be with each other for a couple of hours during a time of isolation. We were able to bring people together from across the world. 

In May 2021 we reopened in person and moved into a temporary space. We also hosted a few pop-up events in Manhattan and Brooklyn during that time.
You Should Be Dancing..!! officially reopened in March of 2022 in our new home. We fell in love with the new space immediately and are so grateful for all the hard work and attention to detail that the owners, Tammy and Charlie, focused on. Our new home has allowed us to not only host great DJs and performances by local and visiting dancers, but it has also opened a new door for us, to be able to host Live Music performances. 

We want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has been here to support us throughout the years and to all the new people who have become a part of our family as well. You will always have a home at Tango Cafe.

See you Wednesday!



 

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