Dance Al Fresco

Dance Al Fresco

Dance Al Fresco is a series of summer outdoor charity dance events that raise money for tree planting in London's Regent's Park.

Since performing with ‘Graffiti Dance Company’ at Northwestern University, Kele has had a passion for dancing outdoors. Inspired by New York’s ‘Midsummer Night Swing’ (dance events at Lincoln Center) and tango dancing in Central Park, Kele sought a location in London suitable for an elegant, outdoor ‘milonga’.

At the same time, Kele had been looking for a way in which to be active in the world of environmental awareness and fundraising.

On a stroll through London’s Regent's Park on a sunny Sunday in May 1998, Kele discovered the beautiful Avenue Gardens, with a wide pedestrian boulevard suitable for dancing, and lush, grassy verges under shade trees for picnic-ing. While visiting the park manager’s office to enquire about setting up a milonga in the Avenue Gardens, Kele saw a poster for The Prince of Wales’ Royal Parks Tree Appeal, founded after the hurricane of 1987 had damaged thousands of trees in London’s Royal Parks (including Regent’s Park). Two ideas merged into one, and Tango Al Fresco was born. That summer saw the first outdoor Tango party, with hundreds of tangueros trading in their darkened tango clubs for the sunlight of an afternoon milonga that raised funds for The Tree Appeal.

Since that first event there have been 21 Tango Al Fresco events over nine summers. Besides the thousands of tangueros and tangueras from all over the UK who have danced in Regent’s Park, there have been demonstrations by Tango world champions, many of London’s professional tango dancers as well as Strictly Come Dancing’s Vincent Simone & Flavia Cacace. For the first few years Kele DJ-ed the events, but now London’s Tony Walker and Nikki Preddy provide the afternoon’s music. Even Tango orchestras Los Mareados and Tango Volcano have played at Al Fresco for the appreciative dancers.

In 2005, the acquisition of a proper dance floor meant that ballroom dancing could be added to Al Fresco, so the once Sundays-only event became a weekend dance marathon. The Broadwalk Ballroom now takes place on summer Saturdays, an outdoor ballroom and Latin dance extravaganza. Jacky Logan of Jacky’s Jukebox is The Broadwalk Ballroom’s resident DJ, and dancers from all over the southeast, including university dancers from Oxford, Cambridge, University of London, Bath and Imperial, make their way to Regent's Park for the events. Guest performers have included Strictly Come Dancing stars Ian Waite & Camilla Dallerup (with a special guest appearance by Denise Lewis), as well as Strictly’s Andrew Cuerden & Hanna Haarala, and Strictly Dance Fever's Lindy Hop specialists Paul and Natasha.

While the dancing takes place through the afternoon, an Al Fresco event is really an all-day activity. Kele and her team of wonderful volunteers arrive at the park early in the morning to lay the 8m x 16m dance floor, set up the sound marquee, eat a few croissants and cheesy twists, and otherwise prepare for the arrival of the light-footed thundering herds, many of whom arrive early to secure their favourite picnic spot. At 1pm Kele teaches a class for beginners, then at 2pm the social dancing begins. Guest demonstrations take place around 4:30pm, and the dancing concludes at 6pm. Many dancers continue to picnic through the early evening, while Kele and her volunteers pack away the floor and marquee until the next event.

Sometimes dancing outdoors in London is a matter of braving the elements. More than one Dance Al Fresco has taken place under showery skies, with dancers tango-ing under umbreallas, beginner class taught under the canopy of the trees, and occasional pauses in the dancing for rain water to be squeegeed off the dance floor. But the sun shines on Al Fresco more often than the rain falls, and occasionally the dancers break out the suntan lotion in between Foxtrots and Cha Cha Chas. Dancers of the UK are a hardy bunch, and, with apologies to the US postal service, “neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, stays these dancers from the elegant completion of their abiding passion.”

In 2004 the Tree Appeal was wound down, and a new charitable arm of the Royal Parks came into existence. Al Fresco now donates its funds to The Royal Parks Foundation, and since 1998 Al Fresco has donated over £30,000 for tree planting in Regent’s Park.

In 1999 Kele organised a Tango Al Fresco event in Malta at the elegant Phoenicia Hotel to benefit the island’s Gaia Foundation.

2010 marks Al Fresco's 10th anniversary.