## **QUEER TANGO LONDON REGISTERED CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION 1201560** ## **REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** **QUEER TANGO LONDON REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** ## **YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** |**CONTENTS**|**Page**| |---|---| |Legal and administrative information|2| |Chair’s Report|3| |Trustees’ Report|14| |Statement of financial activities|17| |Balance sheet|18| |Notes to the financial statements|19| 1 ## **QUEER TANGO LONDON** ## **LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** **Charity Number:** 1201560 ## **Trustees:** Ray Batchelor: Chair Margaret Trotter: Treasurer Tom Cottle Claudio Tedesco Gawaine Preston Samantha Marcus Gordon Pullenger **Registered Office** 205 Well Street London. E9 6QU Email: contact@queertangolondon.org **Main Dance Venue:** Bishopsgate Institute 230 Bishopsgate London EC2 4QH **Bankers:** Lloyds Bank PLC 19/20 Upper Street London N1 0PJ 2 ## **QUEER TANGO LONDON** ## **CHAIR’S REPORT** ## **YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023** 3 Howwe dld It: FDBthllCiub............................................................._.............._.... ity ¥kr4ffl21 QTLMlionlx..................................._.... QUEER IA*tT• FOR FREEDOII LONDON need to CE!!! W•rifi'J•*tshT•wt4••tyQw•rTw4Dt".,,,,,........ Friday 6th Ja BEGINNERS,. COURSE... Introductlon 11 Came as som8lhlNJ of 8 Shock. The QTL Team work hard lo ke8p up a steady flow of twlce-monlhly Queer Tango Milong89 (apart from a Summer 8reakl which include classes taught by the QTL Teaching Team, or by guest teachers, plus the devislng and running ol a few'special events" each year, nol lo m&nlh)n responding to numerous nvltalions lo provide queer lango Input Into various organisalions, if asked. Thal takes a lot ol work. Wè aro always focussed on th8 Next Thing. We rarely, if ever, step back lo take stock of wh81 we have done, nor lo ¢•t8brale what we may have achieved. Wèll, w8 8ro stgppin9 back now. And we Snvito our dancers lo joln us in a brief pause for celebration, before we continue our joyous work. "D8ncing to Changg The Worfd" in thg weeks, monlhs and years ahead. 1 Th•QTL Twuilrj•￿ Bi vmrk. whl R•y I(.￿1[). BwTrinthi Aknr¢w. Gly4￿n•Pr•￿1oTh Cclll•, Mwg•r•tTr•Mw. CI•Atho Tod*￿ts. 4nd Gor&tsn Pulhr•r. The shock? The sho¢k wa$ wnnln9 Ihrough our calendar for 2023 and Seeing ju51 how much we did in those Iwefve months, how much varièty there was, and how succgsslul wè had been- and we wera therel For tho publ1¢ benefll lo promots and foster Ihe underslanding. and appr8ciation of quegr tango and the values of equalty, diversity and indusivity associated wilh it. quoer tango are overt. Wè rtfer lo them. Th8y drive what we do. As the name'que8T tango" implS8s. ils original objectlves sprang from those of queer polilics. $pecificalty the femliist and las it was called thenl'gay liberation. movements of th8 lal 20th and earfy 21" centuries. To advance educatlon and18aming In queer iango, in particular bul nol •x¢lusiv&ly, by providing qu88r tango dance events, classes, demonstrats"ons, p8rfom)ances. tslks,18clur8s. exhiblllon8. publi¢atw)ns, and collaborallve projocls. Quoer tsngo Is a wodd-vlde phenomenon. The pc*litics of gender and sexuality were still r8levant in 2023 and rèmain so today. both in Ilberal societies such as ours Islill work lo do. not least wrth regard lo Irans rights). bul also In r8pr8ssive 8nvironm8nts $uch a$ Russla of Turkey. QTL. D8nciNJ lo Ch8ngg the Wortdry By 2023, QTL had already adopted the strap Ilno"Danclng to Change tho Worfd. the tlllo of 8 P8per del￿ered by QTL Chair, Dr Ray Batch•lor in Pads in 2018. Danclng Sn 8 Ilberal socloty Is a prfvil090. 11 comes wilh responsibilities to those who do rK>I. Change the worfd7 How? And why? Edgardo F•mand•2 S¢•ma has famou81y run ￿8￿h mobs" ol queer lango dancing in tho 8lreets of Bu8nos Aires, impromptu danclng with notic*8 on tho back ol dancers namkng Tango as such has tacit social and politicol objeclives, whereas those assoclal&d wllh Tango Terra, and had decided lo donat8 811 our profits Ihal nighl to the charity, Rainbow Road, helplng LGBTa+ pgoplg fleg lh& re- empowered Taliban in Afghanistan. Sov8nty-seven people came. A nèw era in QTL'8 history had begun. What does QTL exist lo do? 2023 began well. Au8plclou$ly, on Friday 131h January followlng our application in 2022 to Ihe Charity Commissionars and months of complex, dilficull negolialk)ns- Including a four-page justification of our being called Queer Tango London at all. rather than anything else- we achleved lull, Registered Charlty ICIOI slalus. In this, we were skilfully guided by QTL Trustee, Margarot Trott•r. who has invaluablo professional experience In Ihe ¢haritsble field. And we asserted irs our application. Queer Tango London oxists: 3 Tnts ￿￿dorfU1ty i¥•ni*J. 9ohWOU4, Atrv•dg M•NirsE•plndg how h*C￿&y gUPPOrf OTL'I r•-opwffjg "I want this to become your hom&°. Frances lokj us. And il h88. On October 15, 2021. we threw open the doors of thè elogant. whit8 Upp&r H811- which has a k)vgly fioor- with a beginn8rs' das8, DJ- ing from our own Tom Cottle, live music from band*onista, Alfr•do Martln E$plndola from QTL al th8 Bishopsgala Institut8? A bit of context.. founded by TIM Flynn in 2Q08, QTL onty h8d stabl$ venues and rggular milongas- dance even15 Wlth classe5 and dancing afterwards- from 2011. QTL venues W8re modgst.. a Community Cèntre in Vauxhall, lor example, friendly. bul where th8 floor was so bad, we had to put pink'dance p<)wde¢' down each time 8nd sweèp rt yp afterwards. 11 we attracted 20 or 25 dancers. we judged such evenls successful. n March 2020. like all lango in London, Covld- 19 closed us indefinilely. By mid 2021, wllh Covid bwx)mlng hL8tory, we approached, and were welcomed by Franc•sea Cantyi Artistic Oirector lo thg Bishop$g8le Inslllute. 11 had kjng bg$n a cèntre for LG8TQ+ culture, includlrvJ quèer Bnd same-sox soclal danclng. 2 M*rgar•i TvoLi•r IC**iilitsJ alUILs Iii*im1￿1)9*￿lth• BishDpgoath lrndlutè on 15"October 2021. eountriès wh6r8 LG8TQ+ p￿pIe are al r18k of persecution. Bul he is also famous for his qu&er lango work with the elderly, with peop with physical and mental disabilities and with others. In short, he invites all of us- including QTL - lo recognlse how much we h8v& In corrmon with other soci81 group8 al nsk of persecuts'on. As you wlll 88e In what follows, QTL'S portfollo of objectives has been legitimately extended bgyond th0￿ of 9gnd&r and s9xuality. Well, did we do all that in 2023? W& did. 4 OTL iy lor our IiiFrflylAc*g- GDidon PL4hng•r, OrLè-W￿lc0￿e14fft Chlgf Ioulson Ilqtt lo nghll. kn4nlh• c￿rI￿lI* D•vlH. EunlG•Hw Oaw•T Pr•ston •howth*r Not convinced? Plgase read on, and judgg for yoursglf... Ray Balchelor Chair of Trustees Queer Targo London Octo￿r 2024 vi 1. We ran 21 QTL Mllongas chitif means of 8¢h¢8ving oui obhctives. Not all of QTL'S Teaching Team are experienced tango taachers, but our policy of 'péer to pèer learning means that as queer lango dancers, we support each other in sharing our InS￿h1$ with others. Beginnèrs, Coursès arè specially developed for people with little or rKJ couple dancin9 experience. Over six classes. we btlild on simply'walking ￿th Attitudè. adding 8 few mov85 which enable dancers lo lakt to the dance fl￿r wlh confidence. YQU HAVE BB&N AWARDKDTHiaTB]IRTBLY8ZIUOUB CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION 7KATYoufuRWMDUPYOATL 1 Swthg Ic•rtr•i. • key ollhe QTL T•KNn9 Te•m*Thth. In L¢￿ty)n. IntroJwM da(K•rntO4Ulh•nl¢ BEGINNERS. COURSE CLASS Helping others onto Ihe queer dance Il¢)or Our regular queer tango milongas- every other FrfdBy in 2023, but thg first and Ihird Frfday now- are our core adfvily, and our Not like clas$8$ el$6wh8ral Queer iango seeks doliberately to build communlty. Unllke classes els8where, we welcome experienced dancers lo join our Beginnors Class&s, which they are happy to do- and we are graleful lo Ihoml Thal way, beginners can dance with people ¥tho"know how to do it" rather just egth olhar. whi¢h makes 8 huge dlfference. Once the dancing starts after the class. those gxp8ri6ncod dan¢&rs arg tK>I strongers. and will dance wrth those still leaming. By popular demand. we added to these Be9inner6 C1888es, Improv&rs' Cl8sses- something a little more advanced for those ready to try. Ovtrrcomlng the dance floor tash b8nler' £14 entry1£12 concessions) is, by London standards. not th81 expensive, and anyong who book5 online can come lor just É121£10 concessions). Concessions include"QTL Member8 th089 h8ve regislewl for fteè Membèrshlp on our websllo.. Ilps.'!IvwN.oueertanAo_lond_on.comlmembeTS Even so, even al that rate, not everyone can èasily commit lo six classes. QTL 18 mlndful ol that and. wllh the agrggmgnt of thè Bishopsgale Inslllule with whom we share profils, introduced a special .6 Classes for £50 offer- actually SIX evonls ralhgr thon classes. LONPON 2.we Invlted 9 Internatlonal Gu•st Teachers One way in whlch we add variety to our regular QTL events is lo invite a range of qUOgr and quggr-friendly Gugst Tga¢h&rs. As ¢llché has11: 'if you can t see rt, you can't be it QTL ensures a sleady flow of quèèr exaMp￿S for our dan(*rs to ￿. 8njoy. and pèrhaps L¥)nsider emulating. So, for example.. Astrld W•lsk•, the talènted. ndefab"gabl8 founder of the L4rgesl queer lango festival of all in 88rfin,' th8 legendary Solèdad Nanl from Buenos ￿reS in her first over visit lo Ihg UK, univ8rs811y lo￿￿ and admired as a leather, as an astonishingly vibrant dancer, and as someone ¥tho very much dog$ not fil conventions of what "tango woman- should be. QUEER Manu Sanz eone reall spètlal. F•R LONOON Chamayo Fesllval in Valencia, where dancing and dèbate arè combinèd", and thal relativ rarity, two qU88T worntrn dancing ltsJ&lher, Argentinians Arladna Za•hn8dorf and K•lla Luclano living in Europe and bringing thgir dislinclive, powerful. contemporary quagr tango style to appreciative queer a￿llenC*S around thè worfd. + TangoE14 14th & 15th July- Queerl Que8r.frlendly? Off thg dan¢& floor in the widèr wodd, attltudgs to gender and sexual politics changing. These changes are r8flected on11, and not lust on que8r dan¢8 floors. Wo love our queer teachers, bul we would be short Changing Our dancers if, from lime lo time, we did not Invite t818nted tgo¢h8rs who org not'quogr'ln Ihg SOLEDAD NANII Among the young6r generation of qu8er tango practttioners. QTL invit8d.' Manu Sanz. port of the crea¢4ve force behind the innovative narrowèst sense, bul are in tun8 with what's been happening. Nata•ha L•wlng•r and Harls Mlhall are of the generalKJn who have grown up wilh and fully embra¢8 th9$9 chongod valu08 In Iholf leaching. What's mofe, whtn they tsach al QTL, they reverse roles with, as often as not, Natasha leading Haris, as well as Harts leadlng Natasha. ()UEEPI Frld•v 2111 Aprll Tlie LEGENDAR Y- Los Ocdmpol I ONDON ILONDC)N Natas¥a Lew ihail Har ng Queer-friendly couple, Los O¢ampo from 8uenos Aires, aka Monlca Romoro and Omar Ocampo are tango leaching maestros, celebrated for 20 yg8rs as Stars In Ihelr own touring shows and universally respected. They are of another generalion lo Natasha and Haris, bul th8y loo are firm QTL lavourfles. 2023 was no eXCept￿n. Why? We note Ihat tho ¥Md&r tango world often ha$ 8 bias towards youth - not least, vA)ere women are concemed. QTL has a mission towards any oldgr dancors who are at risk of These popular dance￿ do not need remlnding las our standard QTL o)ntract does) lo'avobj using gendered temiinology SLbch as"women' and 'm8n" $ubsliluling 'Yollow&l' and 'leade or olher gender-neutral language.. marginallsalh?n. Quite ap8rt from their legendary stalus and years of experience, as thay Sha￿ their open. frièndly, and altfactiva lango with all of us, Monica and Omar damonstrale to QTL dancers just how ridiculous suth prejudices are. 3.W• ran a "Qu••r Tango Oa818"1 While we always take a break over the summer- that's when hlstorically, many international Queer Tango Festivals occur- in 2023, taking advantage of an opportunity to uso the Grgal Hall al the Bishopsgalo Inslilule, we decided lo make a QTL offerlng rwjht in th8 middlè of th8 summèr. Our'Queer Tango Oasls. proved a hll. r Tango Oa8 ..Inth• 18th Aiifjust AND they also u80 refomed language. Monica often leads, and Omaf follows. 11 works very v4011 indeed. 4.W• ran "Tho Nlght Llf• of Queor Tango" for LGBT Hlstory Month A8 QTL'S conlributKJn lo LG8T History Month 2023 celebrations, for one night onty, we tr8nsfomied the Upp&r H811 Into 8 n￿h¢ club. AS we said in our publi¢lty, QTL... .Invllo8 you lo ug 89 w• rdlv• •om• of th• •t•amy hl¥torkn olMm• ¢J•n¢lng the Bueno8Aires. Parls and Berlin of the L981 century. Expert QTL DJS, Claudlo T•d••co nd Tom Cottl• wlll u8 Ihfj mu$l¢ of Iho#• times. Ray Batch•lor punctuat85 th8 eveni with wltyl?), illu8tral8d 5-minute hislorlcal th8m8d"Le¢lureiie$" LGBT 2LutyO• W•twwJ Dayld Tpmpkln For queer tango lo flourlsh,11 needs 8 sense of identity. For that, a sense ol its history can only help. Indeod. queer tango has a history extending back lo Ihtr late 19" century a8 R•y showed in his book, Queer Tango H￿Ion&S.. lrfaking a Start120211 which bg di)wnlo8ded h&r8 for free.. hlt sjl ueertan obook.o loth com• drbsitd tho wqqr Ihfjy hAvb b•bn. l ublicab'on 5. W• ran "J•wlsh Tango M••ts Queer Tangollg 11 was 8 complete 86llvOUtI A resc¥Jnding success and, as we posted on social media the next day.. OUEER Jewlsh Tango meets QJ*er Tangol Thank ¥Ou to EVEPYONE who urne, for *thatever reasons What a fAbulouS mix WÈ werePThE WDdd as sh￿Id bE. with drfttrenc@ ielebTated. dIfFe￿nt peoplÈ peacefullyat 31/12/2023| |---|---|---| |Unrestricted|£8,785 £13,365 £12,374|
£9,776| |Unrestricted|funds are £9,776|| ## **5 Related Party Transactions** The Board of Trustees consist of queer tango dancers, teachers and DJs. Trustees are the voluntary workers of the charity and can also receive fees as dance teachers and performers on similar terms as non-committee members. No Trustee received remuneration for being a Trustee. 19