Around 100 older people took part in the first free tango class in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, in Spain’s Canary Islands, as part of a European project designed to promote active ageing through dance.
The course is part of STEP BY STEP, an Erasmus+ Sport initiative coordinated from the Canary Islands by Consulta Europa and developed in collaboration with the city council’s welfare, care and health department.
Held at the Leoncio Castellano municipal pavilion in Tamaraceite, the opening session marked the start of a three-month programme made up of weekly 90-minute classes.
Carmen Luz Vargas, the city’s councillor for welfare, care and health, met participants before the session and said projects like STEP BY STEP show that care and wellbeing also depend on creating spaces for meeting, physical activity and social connection for older people.
Michelle Perello, from Consulta Europa and the Socio-Cultural Association Abrazos en Movimiento, said the initiative is innovative in the Canary Islands because it brings into the community a practice that has already been tested in other European countries and in health and care settings.
She added that tango can be an accessible non-pharmacological tool for improving quality of life in older people, with benefits in mobility, balance, walking speed and motor-cognitive function, as well as participation and general well-being.
David Prieto, also from Abrazos en Movimiento, said tango can help improve mobility, coordination and balance, while also encouraging social interaction and emotional wellbeing, in line with existing evidence on adapted tango for older adults.
The emotional dimension is central to the project. Working with steps, sequences and movement can stimulate memory and spatial awareness, while the partner-based nature of tango helps reduce unwanted loneliness and promotes social contact.
Funded through the European Union’s Erasmus+ Sport programme, STEP BY STEP brings together organisations from Spain, Italy and France, and the activities being piloted in Gran Canaria will be replicated in the other partner countries.
In addition to the classes, the project will produce training materials, digital resources and a replicable model that other organisations can use in different settings.
With the launch in Tamaraceite, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has become one of the first settings for a project that aims to show tango can be more than an art form – it can also be a practical way to age with better health, more independence and stronger community ties.
