About Us
In November 2025, the UK Argentine Tango Association proudly became a registered charity, recognised for its work in growing and representing tango across the nation.
Our mission is to share the art, culture, and heritage of Argentine Tango, inspiring more people to experience its joy and connection.
Who we are & what we do
The UK Argentine Tango Association was granted charity status in November 2025 and is now registered and regulated by the Charity Commission (England and Wales) and authorised to operate throughout the UK. The Commission recognises the work done since the association first came together in December 2020, formed by a group of UK based tango teachers, dancers and organisers. UKATA was formed to represent all those involved in Argentine tango nationally and to bring new people into tango.
The legal entity is now a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and its charitable purpose is:
to advance the education of the public in the art, culture and heritage of Argentine tango by:
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educating the public about the history and performance of Argentine tango;
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promoting best practice in Argentine tango instruction and performance; and
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promoting public participation in Argentine tango.
Our Structure
The trustees carry the legal responsibility for governing the charity and directing how it is managed and run. The opening trustees are shown below and the charity will be advertising for additional trustees during 2026.
David Thomas
In professional life David was the Head of the National Crime Agency’s Financial Intelligence, representing the UK’s anti-money laundering strategy with UK businesses and overseas partners.
He brings his strategic and operational experience to UKATA together with a strong sense of ‘doing the right thing’.
Prior to UKATA he volunteered as the good governance advisor for the trustees of a homelessness and food poverty charity.
His particular interest in Argentine tango is the study of its social history, and his ambition is to see Argentine tango as mainstream cultural activity in the UK.
Andy Scott
Andy is a Chartered Accountant, and formerly the Head of Finance for a £4m annual income charity. He is now the trustee overseeing the financial management of the UKATA charity.
As a tango dancer, DJ, musician and sound technician, he is committed to the sustainability and development of Argentine tango within the UK and is encouraged that this is a shared value by all, professionals and amateurs alike, who are already in the tango world.
He is looking forward to furthering UKATA’s aims of cultivating an increased awareness and appreciation of Argentine Tango by the wider public.
Koby Kulater
Koby’s professional career for over 30 years has been as an IT and Business Services governance consultant.
He now brings his specialist skills to UKATA in relation to data protection, governance, compliance, digital strategy, and policy development.
Socially, he has been immersed in the world of Argentine tango for over 20 years and is excited to help UKATA bring more people to tango through increased awareness and participation.
Outside of work and tango, Koby enjoys reading science fiction, listening to music, and tending to his four chickens in the garden.
Tony Glover
After leaving HM Forces, Tony Glover went into the direct marketing industry, becoming a specialist in print and on-line business. Gaining experience in Europe and North America he set up the Europe, Middle East & Africa operation for a leading American software company where, as Managing Director, he guided the company to go public on NASDAQ.
Tony’s involvement with Argentine tango began some 15 years ago and he has been teaching tango for the last 12.
Tony was a founding member of UKATA, serving as the Association secretary until taking up the role of trustee on formation of its charitable status.
Trustees
Working Groups and Volunteers
Alongside the Trustees there are a number of working groups led and operated by enthusiastic volunteers who are driven to share with the public the many benefits of Argentine tango.
UKATA welcomes your involvement and contributions, please get in touch here to find out more.
Current members of the working groups include:
Lorraine Kemp
Lorraine started her career in accounts, and then whilst raising a family became a teaching assistant for many years.
Lorraine then followed her life-long passion for literature and qualified as a Chartered Librarian, working in public and educational libraries.
Her interest in Argentine tango started over fifteen years ago and has developed into a major part of her life, as a dancer, organiser and teacher.
She is looking forward to helping the aims of UKATA in raising awareness of Argentine tango and its many benefits, along with increasing participation in this beautiful dance.
Barbara Newman
With a PhD in Chemistry and a career spanning marketing, communications and business intelligence, Barbara has driven digital innovation for one of the UK’s largest directory companies, and supported multiple start-ups as a freelance development director. She was also a founding member of the UK Internet Advertising Bureau, serving as its Chief Privacy Officer.
After stepping away from full time corporate life, Barbara discovered Argentine Tango while learning Spanish in Argentina—a moment that sparked an enduring passion. Back in the UK she founded a not-for-profit tango group that brought world-class teachers to the area to inspire students and create a vibrant local tango community.
Barbara brings to UKATA her blend of creativity and communication expertise.
Charlotte Holwell
Charlotte trained as a junior teacher and subsequently spent more than 25 years running a small nursery, around the full-time role of raising a family.
In addition, voluntary work has always been a thread in Charlotte’s life, centred on hospitality and children with the charity Safe Families and with many roles within the church.
Her voluntary support for her local tango class expanded several years ago into UKATA and a busy role on the committee as Membership Secretary.
Charlotte is excited to see the new possibilities of UKATA as a charity bringing benefits to more people across the UK.
Core Volunteers
Donors and Contributors
Daniel Gini
Daniel Gini of Points of Tango: generously provides UKATA with the UK Tango Map and tech support – an essential visualisation of the public gateways into tango.
Tracey Acosta
Tracey Acosta of Tango Fandango generously provides the charity with professional design services (including logos, website, and posters). She, with her husband Leo, also arranged and filmed the interviews in Buenos Aires of the supportive patrons Carlos & Maria Rivarola and Nito & Elba Garcia (below).
Photographers
Several tango photographers generously provide UKATA with the use of their photos and videos for UKATA publicity, enhancing our visual messaging to the public. Website content provided by Rex Boyd and Ben Lovejoy.
Robert Kemp
Robert Kemp of the Tango Zone: generously provides UKATA with web build and design to enable UKATA to reach the public.
Membership
Membership is open to all who:
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are resident in the United Kingdom, and
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support the aims of the charity and accept the duty to exercise the members' powers in good faith to further the purposes of the charity.
A member may be an individual, a corporate body, or an individual or corporate body representing an organisation which is not incorporated.
Membership will be open in January 2026
Our Patrons
We are honoured to have two of the most prestigious couples in the the world of Argentine tango as our Patrons and well-wishers: Carlos & Maria Rivarola and Nito & Elba Garcia
Carlos & Maria Rivarola
María and Carlos Rivarola are one of the most renowned couples of the tango world. They are known for their embodiment of the essence of traditional Argentine tango, taking it to the world through their stage shows and on film.
They were part of the original cast of “Tango Argentino”, the stage show that ignited worldwide interest in tango in 1983. Starting in Paris the show was a huge success and moved to tour in Italy, and Canada before arriving in on Broadway in New York in 1985.
Carlos became well known for his work on screen - as both dancer and choreographer in Marcos Zurinaga’s film Tango Bar (1989), Leonard Schrader’s Naked Tango (1991) and Carlos Saura’s Tango. His work on the film Tango won him the National Film Award for Best Choreography 1999 awarded by the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts, Music and Dance of the United States.
Carlos and María Rivarola continue to teach, dance and share tango with the world.
Nito & Elba Garcia
Nito & Elba have become references for generations of tango dancers. Dancing together for 50 years, they have become one of the most highly respected and beloved tango couples worldwide.
Nito learned to dance tango as a child by watching his uncle and aunt dance tango on packed-earth patios; he began to dance formally as a teenager, in the days when men practiced together because women could tango only if closely chaperoned by their mothers. As a young man, he polished his skills in the dance halls of Buenos Aires and in the 1950s, he was a principal dancer with the orchestra of Osvaldo Pugliese.
In 1996 they won the prestigious Lobo del Mar award for their outstanding contribution to the arts. We feel truly privileged to have their support for the work of UKATA
We are proud of our origins
We remain grateful to the tango teachers and dancers who made the UK Argentine Tango Association a reality, from the start of an ambitious idea in 2020. The founders and first committee members were:
Dante Culcuy, Diomar Giraldo Escobar, Bruno Vandenabeele, Leandro Palou, Fernando Guido, Flavio de Brito, Filipo Monici, Ricardo Oria, Daniel Gini, Tracey Acosta, Nikki Preddy, Ali Hartland, Tony Glover, Barbara Newman, and Charlotte Holwell.
The first constitutional objectives were:
a. To further Argentine Tango’s distinctive cultural identity as a recognised art form in the UK.
b. To come together as a community to endeavour to establish official recognition for our art form within the registered dance communities and relevant government departments.
c. To be recognised as the official body for Argentine Tango in the UK.
d. To help our members to grow their business
In 2025 the charitable objectives are differently worded and have a different focus, but they absolutely meet, directly and indirectly, all of those original aims.