Ahh Tango. Travel.
The World of Tango –
Fresh start. Fresh stories.
We all love social Tango for various reasons.
This page shares the stories about the people we meet and interviewed in Tango from Maestros, Organizers & TDJs to Shoemakers and code writers that we have in our world of Tango
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Venedig im Dezember 2024
Nach einem langen Reisetag kamen wir am Flughafen Marco Polo an und fanden den Wasserbus nach Venedig. Die Nacht war kalt, es war nicht windig, und der Mond schien nicht besonders. Nach Rücksprache mit einer Person und dem GPS stellten wir fest, dass unsere Haltestelle die Rialto-Brücke war.
Wie wir gelernt haben, ist es schwierig, sich mit Gepäck in Venedig fortzubewegen, vor allem, wenn man kleinere Kanalbrücken überquert. Nachdem wir den Wasserbus verlassen hatten und losgelaufen waren, hatten wir Mühe, eine kleine Brücke zu überqueren, um zu unserem Hotel zu gelangen. Das Splendid Venice Star Hotel. Wir waren so dankbar, dass wir nach 10 Minuten unser Hotel gefunden hatten, dass ich beim Eintreten einfach nur dastand und die Wärme des Raumes genoss.
Unser Zimmer im 4. Stock mit Blick auf den Kanal ist sehr schön, besonders das Badezimmer gefällt mir. Badewanne, Dusche, Bidet und Toilette.
Und natürlich die Illy-Maschine für Kaffee und diese süßen kleinen Expresso-Tassen.
Das Tangofestival beginnt am Freitag, so dass wir ein paar Tage Zeit haben, die Inseln zu erkunden.
Nachdem ich die Temperatur überwunden habe, verstehe ich die
the reason people love Venice. It has small streets similar in feeling to Barcelona’s El Born. The streets are filled with glass shop after glass shop selling blown glass trinkets in the shape of dragons to cherries with a large eagle, too. Then there are the stores that sell masks to high-end handbags and clothing stores.
Es gibt auch viele "Made-in-China"-Läden, also seien Sie als Käufer vorsichtig. Es gibt viele Restaurants mit Pizza und Pasta und einige kleinere Cafés mit Kaffee, Gebäck und Schokolade.
Der öffentliche Nahverkehr findet auf den Kanälen mit kleinen und großen Wasserbussen, den Vaporetti, statt. Diese Wasserbusse fassen etwa 25 Personen auf einmal. Wir werden morgen eine 3-Tageskarte kaufen, mit der wir die Stadt durch ihre Kanäle entdecken können.
As to the weather, it hasn’t rained, only sprinkled. But the risers are out in St. Marks Square near the St Marks Basilica. They are used to raising the walkways a couple of feet, allowing people to walk the area without getting inundated by water as Venice is sinking. I don’t want to imagine the city underwater as that would be devastating.
Bei diesem kalten Wetter geht die Stadt in die Häuser und scheint um 22 Uhr zu schlafen oder so. Nachts durch die kleinen Straßen zu gehen, ist ein kleines Abenteuer, denn in den meisten Nächten werden wir von Menschen begleitet, die Russisch, Französisch, Spanisch und viel Italienisch sprechen. Ich liebe es, dieser Kakophonie von Sprachen zu lauschen, aber die Italiener sind am ausdrucksstärksten.
In den 4 Tagen, die wir in der Stadt verbracht haben, haben wir viele verschiedene Kaffeeerlebnisse gehabt und in ein paar hochwertigen Bekleidungsgeschäften angehalten, nicht nur um einzukaufen, sondern auch, um dem kalten Wetter zu entfliehen. Es gibt viele kleine Stände mit billigen Souvenirs, die nicht aus Italien stammen. Die Bandbreite der kulinarischen Erlebnisse war meist etwas mehr als mittelmäßig, auch wenn wir in einigen erstklassigen Tratorrias gegessen haben.
But the views and the people are fantastic. Even when just being casual, the Italians have mastered dressing up. It’s the attention to detail and the symmetry chaos…will depend on the person and/or the occasion. Makes for such great people-watching!!!
Wir sind jetzt auf der Insel San Servolo für die La Reunión Milinguera. Diese Insel beherbergte in der Vergangenheit ein Irrenhaus. Es scheint poetische Gerechtigkeit zu sein, dass ein Tango-Encuentro an einem solchen Ort abgehalten wird, da wir alle ein bisschen verrückt oder exzentrisch sind, um Tango zu tanzen.
Heute ist Sonntag. Der letzte Tag der Milinguera. Das Tanzen wird etwas früher beginnen, weil viele Leute abreisen müssen. Es war ein unterhaltsames Treffen, bei dem wir einige Leute, die wir in Rom kennen gelernt haben, wieder treffen konnten. Die meisten Teilnehmer sind Italiener, aber auch ein paar Franzosen, Deutsche, Iren und ein paar Amerikaner. Es gibt insgesamt 5 Milongas, zwei pro Tag und die letzte am Sonntagnachmittag. Die DJs waren eine gemischte Tüte, denn zwei waren auf dem Festival in Rom und zwei nicht.
Bei dieser Milonga tanzen die Tänzerinnen und Tänzer meist in enger Umarmung. Nur einige wenige tanzen in offener Umarmung mit Giro, Giro und Giro. Die meisten Tänzerinnen und Tänzer tanzen pünktlich zur Musik und hören ihr zu, was die Tanzfläche zu einem lebendigen Ort zum Tanzen macht.
Bei jeder Nachmittags-Milonga werden Vorspeisen serviert, aber das Vorgehen ist oft sehr chaotisch. Wenn das Essen kommt, neigen die Leute dazu, zum Servierbereich zu eilen, was zu chaotischen Schlangen führt. Opps aber ist nicht wirklich eine Linie, sondern ein Schwärmen.
The same effect is true for the bar area that offers a complimentary beverage ranging from Prosecco to a Campari spritz. I’m not sure if this process can be any smoother!
Die Unterkünfte sind für einen Milonga-Standort geeignet. Das einzige Problem war der Mangel an Licht in der Nacht, da tagsüber die großen Fenster viel Licht hereinlassen.
Heute Abend werden wir mit Freunden zu Abend essen, bevor wir in unsere Heimatländer abreisen. Es wird bittersüß sein, denn wir haben die Gesellschaft genossen.
Die nächste Station für uns ist Buenos Aires. Hier werden wir wieder für ca. 4 Monate leben. Wir werden Freundschaften wieder aufleben lassen und ein paar Projekte zu Ende bringen. Wir werden die Milongas besuchen. Wir werden die Veränderungen in dem Land entdecken, das wir im April dieses Jahres verlassen haben.
Abrazo und vielen Dank an den Organisator von La Reunión Miloguera Michele Sottocasa und seine talentierte Crew für eine wunderbare Veranstaltung.
El Abrazo Tango Club feiert
Aktualisiert am 3. April 2024
Während ich gemütlich am Küchentisch im Haus von Zoraida Fontclara saß, erinnerte ich mich daran, wie es zu diesem Treffen und den anschließenden Gesprächen gekommen war.
Ah yes. It’s really a simple answer.
I wanted to know more about these two wonderful people who created El Abrazo Tango Club. At the time of our meetings, Zoraida’s life partner and co-organizer in the milonga, Diego Alvaro, was working and teaching in Europe, so he did not participate in our coffee conversations.
The story begins…while I am living in BsAs and going to many milongas and dancing tango frequently, one of my favorite Milongas is the El Abrazo Tango Club at El Beso on Fridays from 2.30 to 8.
I think I have danced at El Beso, every friday afternoon since we finished the pandemia years ago. That’s a lot of dancing in one place.
Im Laufe der Jahre fand ich Gefallen an dem Raum, den Zoraida und Diego geschaffen haben. Die Gastgeber sind sehr gastfreundlich, der Boden und die Musik sind ausgezeichnet und die Milonga ist normalerweise voll mit Einheimischen und Tangotouristen, weil sie eine der freundlichsten der Stadt ist.
Diese Milonga entstand vor 28 Jahren.
This Friday, March 8th, the El Abrazo Tango Club celebrates their 28th anniversary. This milonga was the first afternoon Milonga in the city and started at the old La Confitería Ideal on Suipacha near Avenida Corrientes in March 1996.
One week after celebrating their 20-year anniversary at La Confitería Ideal, the milonga moved to it’s present location at El Beso, Riobamba, and Corrientes.
Here, at this milonga, it’s not about your level of dancing or the clothing you are wearing. It’s about being in your comfort zone, of enjoying the place, whether you are dancing or sitting. It’s possible to just enjoy watching the dancers while always being kind and not causing discomfort to others.
I asked Zoraida over a coffee.”How did this milonga begin ?”
These conversations continued over successive coffees, as we got to know one another better.
To write a story, I wanted to discover the essence of the person with this in mind, one must get to know that person.
From these conversations with Zoraida, I learned that she grew up knowing she wanted to be a contemporary dancer. She attended many different dance schools, from ballet to contemporary dance, while living in Buenos Aires with her parents. They both worked at regular jobs and danced tango as did most Portenyos in those days.
Diese Leidenschaft für den Tanz führte dazu, dass sie viele verschiedene Tanzstile erlernte und später auch unterrichtete, ebenso wie die Struktur des Tanzes und die Choreographie.
Aber im Rahmen ihres Tanzes war sie immer auf der Suche nach etwas mehr, etwas, das ihre Leidenschaft für den Tanz entfachen würde.
Das Studium und die Arbeit mit vielen lokalen Tanz- und Theatergruppen war ein wahr gewordener Traum, aber der Stress der 7-Tage-Arbeit holte sie schließlich ein. Zoraida war 23 Jahre alt. Sie war überarbeitet und gestresst, und als Tänzerin fühlte sie sich nicht erfüllt.
Was hat gefehlt?
In this spirit of discovery, she left Buenos Aires and traveled to France, Italy, and Germany.
Ihre Talente ermöglichten es ihr, vorübergehend Mitglied verschiedener Kompanien zu werden. Sie probierte all diese Kompanien aus, aber sie war immer noch auf der Suche nach ihrer Gabe, ihrem Platz, ihrem Stil in der Welt des Tanzes.
Die 1980er Jahre in Paris waren für sie und ihren Tanz eine erstaunlich produktive und reiche künstlerische Zeit. Hier in Paris lernte sie Pina Bausch kennen, eine deutsche expressionistische Tanzchoreografin.
Meeting Pina and seeing her dance work touched Zoraida’s soul in a way that no dance had done so before.
Es war eine große Ehre, eingeladen zu werden. Dennoch war es eine schwierige Entscheidung, da ihre Familie in Argentinien sie finanziell unterstützte und dies immer schwieriger wurde.
Besides this, another dear dancer friend wanted to go to Argentina. Daniel Trenner was a teacher of contact improvisation and wanted to teach this subject in BsAs.
After living in BsAs for a while, Daniel asked, “Why are we not dancing Tango?”
Zoraida dachte über diese Idee nach, als sie sich daran erinnerte, dass sie mit ihrem Vater Tango getanzt hatte, als sie jung war. Sie hatte diesen Ausdruck von ihm gelernt.
Als sie anfing, Tango zu tanzen, fand Zoraida all die Verbindungen, nach denen sie im Tanz gesucht hatte.
Aber selbst als sie in Bosnien und Herzegowina Tango tanzte, lernte Zoraida noch verschiedene Tanztechniken. Sie wurde eingeladen, Kurse am Omega Institute in Nord-Massachusetts zu besuchen.
Eine Zeit lang lebte sie dort, unterrichtete Klassen und fuhr täglich zur Schule. Eines Tages wurde sie auf dem Weg zum Unterricht in einen schrecklichen Autounfall verwickelt, bei dem sie 10 Tage lang im Koma lag, aber irgendwie hatte sie viele schwere Verletzungen.
Während sie im Koma lag, erinnerte sich Zoraida daran, dass sie sowohl in ihrem Unterbewusstsein als auch in ihren Träumen immer wieder die gleichen Gespräche führte.
Diese Aussage wiederholte sich ständig.
Was ist mein Ziel?
Die Antwort auf diese Frage lautete: Tango!
Sie wählte Tango, und Tango wählte sie.
Ultimately, she is a tango teacher but not of steps…
Zoraida ist der Meinung, dass der Tango mir das beibringt, was ich denke, dass ich dir beibringen muss, um mehr in deinen Körper integriert zu sein.
Im Tango lerne ich, dir das Handwerkszeug beizubringen, um für dich selbst zu tanzen und was gut für dich und deinen Körper ist.
El Abrazo Tango Club Milonga, der Ort, ist ein Raum, um den Tango zu umarmen und um sich mit anderen zu treffen.
Tango ist eine Sprache ohne Worte.
Because I propose a space that I want for the people to be themselves.”
Zoraida erzählt weiter, wie sie Diego kennenlernte, als sie 24 Jahre alt war, und sie wurden gute Freunde. Er war ein Schauspieler am Theater. Dann, nachdem sie 6 Jahre lang mit Diego befreundet waren, verliebten sie sich und heirateten. Sie sind stolze Eltern von zwei erwachsenen Kindern.
Der Tango-Club El Abrazo wurde 1996 gegründet und findet bis heute jeden Freitagnachmittag im Club El Beso in Riobamba bei Callao statt.
Und solange ich in Buenos Aires lebe, finden Sie mich an den meisten Freitagabenden im El Abrazo Tango Club, wo ich mit meinem Herzen tanze.
Am 8. März feiern sie ihr 28-jähriges Bestehen.
Abrazo y beso
Julia Doynel und Sueño Porteño
By Julia Doynel
This story is published to honor & celebrate a major birthday of my friend Julia
foto by Hugo Gimigliano
I met Julia Doynel at Sueno Portenyo for the first time in 2018, my first trip to Buenos Aires. In subsequent trips in 2019, I danced at Sueno Portenyo, which in those days was located on the 2nd floor at a space on Humberto Primo. It was a very large, beautiful space accommodating up to 400 dancers.
Returning again in January 2020, but this time, for 3 months, I danced there on Sunday night and Wednesday night. I got to know the staff, the waitresses, and most of all Julia herself. I found her to be a most interesting and intelligent woman with a background in theater, as a director and as well a woman who with 4 children and a few grandchildren.
When the force of the horrible quarantine arrived organizers decided to close down all the milongas. Julia supported this decison, as no one could imagen the upcoming events. The country closed its doors to the world on March 20th, 2020.
In my conversation with Julia I find she has great wit and a big heart. During the pandemia she fund raised and continued to pay small salaries to all the people who had been loyal and worked with her.
About once a month I would take a taxi that she organized for me to her house. I would stay for about an hour, we would talk about the past and about the future of us of tango and of our hopes for the renewed world once the vaccines showed up. She even came with me when I was going to recieve mine.
This elegant woman who I call my friend is amazing. She has her man, Hugo, who is also a very intelligent and kind man with a beautiful embrazo.
a night out for diner
We have gone out to dinners and milongas together. They have taken me to some of the oldest and most traditional milingas still running in Buenos Aires.
I feel so fantástico to call her mi amiga, mi querida.
Sueno Porteno 2024
So now we get to the story that Julia wrote about her relationship to tango. Enjoy!!!
My dad danced tango, and when I was 4 or 6 years old, he put me on his feet and taught me how to dance, a ritual that we practiced quite frequently for a few years until, around the age of 9, The Beatles arrived and I abandoned tango, although in my house it was heard every day.
Many years later, my eldest daughter Veronica, who did dance tango, went to live in Spain with a scholarship in art, and since I missed her a lot, she insisted that I learn to dance tango and So out of casualness I started to learn and I never left it again, tango… a one-way path.
As so many people say when they arrived to tango for the first time you start to know another way of love and passion.
The Buenos Aires [Sueño Porteño] dream was born from the need to make the milonga a place more human place, less alone, 16 years ago in the milongas the men sat on one side, the women in front, which prevented them from interacting when they were not dancing.
Tango is also a dance, of a culture, it is a social fact, many couples have been formed thanks to tango. Tango when one dances with a good dancer, with a good connection, is the only place where one stops thinking. to just feel, that’s what makes it unique.
Buenos Aires, the heart of tango, welcomes you to this unique culture of embracements and friendship, welcome to the beauty of our landscapes and cities, to a great food!
Some of the milongas (the places where we dance) as Sueño porteño gives you a very nice welcome, and you can find warm people that with tango invites you to dream on a wooden floor.
Contact https://www.instagram.com/juliadoynel/
My Friend, Eduardo Saucedo
At the Seattle Tango Boot camp in 2018, I remember meeting Eduardo Saucedo for the first time. He is a handsome, well-built man. (He moves as a dancer, always forward and usually walking tall.)
At first, I was a bit intimidated by him, but he has this wonderful ability to make people comfortable with him. He’s charming and a gentleman.
And as a tango maestro, he is awesome.
After attending numerous group classes with him, I booked a private class with him. At first, I was intimidated to dance with him, as I was still a novice tango dancer but soon I learned to relax and did dance with him. He was an incredible lead with a delicious embrace.
That embrace was a long time ago, but one of the first steps in my understanding of the embrace and the ❤️ connection in Tango.
Today, he’s not my tango maestro, instead, he has become a very dear friend for me.
How did this happen you might ask?
When we discovered we were both living in Buenos Aires at the same time, we started going on these long walks. To sit in the park and talk. To get a coffee, then later on when it was finally possible, we added either lunch or diner.
To this day, this is a tradition we both enjoy when we both are in Buenos Aires
We just finished up a late lunch at Milion Restaurante on Parana near Sante Fe.
We talked for many hours, about the paths our lives are progressing down and future travel plans.
Eduardo is a wonderful story teller in 2 languages, but one of my favorite stories is as follows.
Young Eduardo had just started dancing tango 28 years ago. He was new to the city as having lived most of his life in Provincia de Sante Fe. Eduardo was 18 years old. He went for the first time to Salon Canning.
Imagine 28 years ago the tango scene in BsAs. When the milongeros ruled the city dance clubs. Men spent most of the day preparing for the night. They polished their shoes, wore their clean shirts with their suits, and perfumed themselves profusely.
Women totally dressed up, in tango outfits and their heels. In those days, you entered the salon wearing your heels. As it was not an acceptable practice to put your shoes on in the Milonga.
There was a young Eduardo, overwhelmed by the occasion. All the beautifully dressed men and women walking into the salon. I think he just stared in admiration and stayed in a corner, watching. Looking and watching.
Until an older woman, she walked over to Eduardo and invited him to her table. There were many older milongeros at this table. They adopted him. For nearly 4 years every Saturday, he went to Salon Canning and danced with all the milongeras.
Learning about tango in this manner, he learned about tango from the corazon. He learned the codicos of tango from these folks, especially the woman, Maria who became his Tango mom.
He did not learn his tango at the academy of Tango in Argentina. He learned from the old milongeras y milongeros that he met at Salón Canning all those years ago.
Tango from the Corazon. Tango is not about steps, it is about emotions and tango – el abrazo de tango.
This is what makes Eduardo such a wonderful maestro as he tries to teach this lesson to his students. The tango of the heart.
I truly think if you have never attended a workshop or camp of doing, your tango is missing something. The essence of tango
And all these years later, he continues to travel mostly to the US to teach workshops in Tango. He is well respected in the tango community and has officiated in many competitions as a judge.
Contact https://www.facebook.com/eduardo.saucedotango
Contact https://www.instagram.com/saucedotango/
Santiago, Chile
Niko Carambas Y Belen Martinez
Tango
We met for the first time, in Buenos Aires, at a Milonga, where me and another friend, freshly arrived from the states, decided to have our first night at a Milonga with a taxi dancer. [ For those of you not aware of this phenomenon, this is when you are able to rent a professional dancer to dance with you for a fixed price and time]. And as he was highly recommended by another favorite’s teacher couple also from Chile, Paloma Berríos Y Maximiliano Alvarado. Yes, we decided to hire Niko instantly and then suggested he bring his dance partner, Belen with as they both spoke excellent English
At the San Miguel De Allende Tango Festival, Niko & Belen were assisting Maxi and Paloma with Tango classes. Both couples are amazing dancers, but physically their appearances are quite different. Maxi & Paloma are shorter and very muscled, while Niko & Belen are taller with a less muscular appearance.
Niko and Belen spent 5 years in the world of Show tango. First in Chile travelling thru the country and then they moved to Buenos Aires. While they lived in Buenos Aires, they learned and did as much as they could, dancing in as many as 5 companies at a time.
Teaching and learning
Performing sometimes in 3 shows a day. Keeping this schedule was physically exhausting. They learned a lot about the dance, and about how to teach and who they are as dancers and teachers. In this process, they discovered what they want to help others discover about Tango.
Abrazo – Embrace
What they want people to discover is the humanity and empathy in the closeness of the dance. The empathy of feeling the closeness of another heartbeat. Both feeling the connection and the floor and the music. The embrace is why we all dance Tango. Their job as teachers is to do no harm to their students, to teach them the dance and to understand the dance and not belittle them. To make possible what might be possible. To have patience, to understand the body, to understand the movement and be able to break it down into smaller teachable moments. And to have fun. To enjoy these moments as they are filled with life and laughter.
Connection
Perhaps the most important idea that they discovered was that they dance for connection.
And this is how they ended up living back in Santiago Chile, for the quarantine. They had just started a new Tango tour, with stops in the USA and in Europe, when the world changed as we know it. In March 2020, they decided to go back to Chile. At first living separately with their parents, then in August 2020 moved in together while living with Niko’s parents.
As life unraveled for all people in the tango world, now without income, many teachers turned to the internet to try and figure out how to teach an embrace over Zoom. As tango is an intimate partner dance, how do you transmit that feeling? How to continue earning a living from online classes? Last year this was all new territory.
Tango on Patreon and Zoom
Niko and Belen navigated the pathways to teaching classes online, as both are pretty tech savvy. And with the creation of the Patreon app. This amazing app was a way of folks subscribing to classes online and teachers being able to make a very modest amount of money. As a subscriber, you were sent weekly instructions on different movements in Tango. [Think this financially this app saved many tango teachers, as I currently support on 5 entities on Patreon and is still going stong with people who prefer online classes.]
Yes, I know another ZOOM class… I have watched many classes. And I will say that I did find the classes with Niko and Belen’ always have good techniques and breakdowns of the steps. They do not take themselves overly seriously…after all Tango is not only a dance but a lifestyle. Remembering to have a sense of humor is a key ingredient in teaching.
They sit on a created set with a big bowl of popcorn in front of them and chat away, while demonstrating the steps or pattern that they are teaching that day. Very homey. Not at all how you imagine a Tango class. Again, stressing the humanity of the dance. These two dancers also express a humility with others, even after years of taking classes, dancing in shows and teaching online, the liveliness of these two are always evident.
Even though 11 years ago, when they first met, they did not want to be paired with each other, somehow life always creates tensions that lead to unexpected results.
And now
Belen and Nikko still are residing and teaching in Chile, but now they have a son who is close to 2 years old and are thoroughly enjoying being parents and continue to teach tango.
And here we are.
Contact nikoybelentango@gmail.com
Contact https://www.instagram.com/berlinchu/
Michelle Bandion
Seattle, Washington, USA
The secrets of a master Tango teacher
I got to know Michelle Bandion about 8 years ago, when a friend of mine invited me to share a private Tango class with him. Having met Michelle a couple of times before, I was excited about the private. Somehow even with dancing and teaching her adult life, she still takes the time to make a possibly threatening situation comfortable; the situation of course is the close embrace. For many first timers, including myself in those days, it is a bit of a challenge to be that intimate with a stranger. The whole idea of that much physical contact in a dance makes it so different than any of the other dances I had participated in. But I get ahead of myself.
Teaching Styles
Michelle’s’ style of teaching, I learned after our recent chat, is based on several beliefs. She believes that:
- People are drawn to Tango for many reasons; romance, physical exercise, intellectual stimulation, social interaction, and to escape.
- These conditions affect what and how a person learns;
- That all her students have individual styles of learning, but that the best teaching appeals to all types – kinesthetic (doing or feeling), visual (seeing) and auditory (hearing clear instruction);
- That learning as an adult has many emotional triggers, so the teacher needs to be aware and gentle at all times;
- That leads and follows have different but equal needs and deserve equal time in every class.
What was your first Tango experience…
One of my favorite questions to ask dancers and teachers is: “What was your first Tango experience that made you want to dance Tango?”
Michelle answered, “When Forever Tango came to Seattle in early 1990s, I saw the show. Then the stars Miriam and Sandor came to the Washington Dance Club where I was teaching ballroom dancing. That weekend I took all the workshops they offered as both lead and follow depending on what they needed. I had a private lesson. I fell in love with the dance. Shortly after this experience, I started going to San Francisco (where Forever Tango was for an extended run) for lessons with Sandor, Miriam, and Carlos Gavito, and became one of the earliest Tango teachers in Seattle.”
What about Tango today?
Because she is an experienced dancer and teacher, my next question was:
“What would you say to someone who wants to start Tango today?”
DO IT!
But know it’s going to be a giant, crazy, mostly fun, sometime frustrating adventure, filled with lots of wonderful people. In my classes, I teach a lot more than steps. I teach the codes needed to have a lifetime of successful dancing experiences. I make the classes fun in themselves.”
Michelle and her husband, Richard, regularly offer free house parties to her students to help them make the leap from classes to dances. She also teaches the lessons before one milonga and one practika every week and encourages her students to come. Introducing this world to her students in a gentle manner, allowing the fear factor not to be in charge … turning an almost terrifying experience into fun speaks highly of Michelle’s skills as an instructor of tango and an observer of life.
So are you having any fun yet?
Next, I asked her “What makes a great class?”
“I want my students to have a sense of accomplishment after every class, but still have fun.
It is fun to be romantic, fun to be physical, fun to be intellectual, fun to be social, fun to escape and dancing lets us do all those things!
You can experience some of this in every class as well as develop the skill of social dancing.”
This last year has been a unique experience for many instructors. No in-person classes, no milongas, and everyone having to learn how to teach on Zoom. For Michelle, this inactivity could only last so long. To keep in shape and happy to be dancing, she invented her own Tangosize classes. They are not actually classes but just 15-minute Tango breaks that can be done without a partner on Zoom. Created during strict quarantine, this idea took her months to perfect.
Michelle said, “I had forgotten how to train as a solo dancer. I had to work intensely to develop the four Tangosize breaks I initially did, but now it’s easy to add moves and music. I love feeling my tango muscles working hard and I know Tangozise is helping others. The breaks are every day and totally free, and even though we are opening up, I like them so much that I will keep doing them.”
Do you still enjoy?
I asked one last follow up question.
“You started teaching dance with swing, salsa and ballroom dancing.
Do you still enjoy and teach those dances?”
“Yes, they are still fun, but I love the close embrace of Argentine Tango, and l love the challenge of teaching Argentine Tango, and I especially love dancing it with my husband.”
Michelle helped me to embrace the close embrace in that first lesson many years ago. Little did I know at that time that my Tango journey would lead to a new chapter in my life living in Buenos Aires. Tango has a way of taking us on a voyage of discovery we could not possibly have planned, and the rewards are many, as I have met some wonderful people from all over the world while dancing Tango. Thank You Michelle!
Buenos Aires, Argentinien
Pablo Nievas & Florencia Fraschina
A Tango Tale
With the music of Troillo playing tango in the background, as I climb the stairs to the 2nd floor living and work space to meet Pablo Nievas & his partner, Florencia Fraschina. We have been in touch over the last few months via email but have never met in person before.
However, I wanted to interview him as he is a an icon in the world of Argentine tango, as he has danced for many years, and traveled worldwide to teach tango.
Primarily, because we had never met before, I read up about him on his website. On his website, there is lots of great information about Pablo and his history, but I wanted to learn about Pablo and Florencia and their story.
About Pablo
Pablo has been dancing since he was 5 years old. His grandparents who lived in Mar Del Plata, danced Tango at Sunday family gatherings. He loved to watch them. His grandparents were the center of attention at these monthly family gatherings. He asked his grandfather to teach him to dance when he was 5 years old, and his grandfather agreed.
Pablo noticed when he danced with his grandfather, he danced differently than his grandfather. Discovering at 7 years of age, that his grandfather had taught him to follow. Little Pablo asked him, Grandfather, why did he teach me this way to dance? His grandfather replied, you need to know what it feels like to be a follow and to dance fast and you learned to respect the follow and to lead your follow, thus allowing you to dance together to any music.
This answer was to set the tone for Pablo in his life, in his dancing and in his teaching method.
Tango Passion and Teaching
In other worlds in the years before Coronavirus, Pablo, as many other Argentine Tango maestros, traveled the world extensively teaching not only the United States, Canada but all over Europe and Britain. As he teaches the steps of the dance, he also tries to instill the culture and passion of tango to all his students.
Pablo says I give as much technique in class as I can, but I hope when students are more confident and in the control of their bodies that they relax becoming Tangeros. Then they are filled with the passion for the dance, the music and the lifestyle of Tango. It is this Magic that is why Pablo loves to share and teach. It is to share his passion for Tango with his students worldwide.
However as an indicator of his longevity in the tango world, he is currently in his third life and dance partner cycle in 50 years. His current partner is Florencia Fraschina. They first see each other at milongas in Buenos Aires but unknown to them, they had been running into each other their whole lives. Living in the same cites at the same time and but still did not knowing each other. They met a few times and even danced a few times.
Tango Magic
After that at a milonga, magic happened for both, as it sometimes does in the world of Tango. The magic of dancing tango with the lead or follow with most delicious embrace. The connection, the music, and the floor collide at the same time. Tango Heaven. After dancing together a few more times, Pablo asked Florencia to be his dance partner.
Florencia’s background is from the world of milongeros tango which is quite different from the world that Pablo lived. Florencia had a 20-year history as a milongera, dancing with all the know portenyos in Buenos Aires.
With time and love they have adapted to each other creating something fresh and beautiful.
About Florencia
Florencia having attended art visual college is an accomplished painter of many years. The current dancing studio used to be her painting studio as it was one of the largest rooms with great light in the house. The importance of her art in Florencia’s world cannot be understated. Her role as a painter is always evolving.
As a woman, as a painter and as a dancer, like most woman today, we are always making choices as to what is important in our lives.
Tango Life
They find a way to share the passion of Tango and of Life together.
To this day, Pablo and Florencia support each other and try to balance out these roles that life has given them.
For now, Pablo and Florencia are committed to loving each other and to dancing together.
With the end of the corona virus, in the next year we look forward to seeing Pablo and Florencia back out in the Tango world with Pablo teaching with Florencia.
Portland, Oregon
Clay Nelson
Valentango Organizer
Valentango – Tango Festival
As a woman who dances social tango, one of my favorite American tango festivals is Valentango Festival, held in conjunction with Valentine’s week, usually every year, in Portland, Oregon. This festival is one of North America’s largest and longest running Tango Festivals.
Who is the creator of Valentango Tango Festival and how did it start?
Clay Nelson, founder of this Valentango Tango Festival and Burning Tango – and this is story. I know Clay Nelson from his Valentango festivals and newsletters and as an unassuming man who enjoys being behind the scenes. I took a leap of faith and contacted him about writing a story about him and Valentango tango. Festival He was a bit reticent at first, but then wholeheartedly got into the interview process.
How Clay came to Tango
Clay came to Argentine tango as many people used to … through Ballroom dancing. At one point in time dancing was an activity taught in the public school system. This was Clay’s first dance experience. He and another guy were the only ones in their high school class to volunteer to attend the dance classes, and because of this Clay was immersed in the adult class. Clay was hooked. The first dance he learned was Foxtrot.
After enjoying the high school classes, Clay went to his local Arthur Murray dance studio to learn more dances. With more lessons, he decides he wanted to be an instructor. At the school in 6 weeks, he was taught all the current ballroom dances. He taught at Arthur Murray while an undergrad at U of Illinois. This is where he first encountered American Tango [Aka Gringo Tango]. After all this was the 1960s.
Time in Buenos Aires
It was a few years later, upon a visit to Buenos Aires, with his Argentinean girlfriend at the time that he saw a Tango Show. As he says he was struck buy it but did not connect.
While living in Texas in the 80’s as a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A & M he had the chance to see a touring Tango Argentina touring show.
Again, he liked it, but again felt no connection.
He continued to teach
During all these times, he continued to teach at the local Arthur Murray studio. Attending a party, a woman from Argentina who danced Argentinean Tango was paired up with Clay because he too danced Tango. Only they never connected because Clay danced American Tango. In fact they tripped over each other and almost fell—how embarrassing! This was quite a shock to Clay.
In Texas, he eventually took a sabbatical from the university for personal reasons and returned to Portland.
Fast forward to the early 90’s when the first Argentine Tango Workshop happened at Oregon State in Corvallis, Oregon. Clay took the workshop and fell in love with Tango. For many years, Clay ran his own successful dance studio called Clays’ Dance studio. As he danced more Tango, he felt an affinity for the dance unlike any he had felt for the ballroom dances he was teaching.
Continues to teach, but
By the mid 90’s Clay continued to teach but he decided to turn over all of his other ballroom dance classes to other instructors and focus entirely on Argentine Tango. And the funny thing was that once he decided to do this, initially Clay could not understand why the ballroom community did not take to Argentine Tango, instead preferring to stick with American Tango
As we chatted, we talked about these two types of tango, the dancers associated with each group create very different communities.
Differences
“In American Tango, the lead and follow are together in a very stylized hold that is very much separate from each other. In most Argentine Tango, the lead and follow are dancing in a close embrace. Each type of dancer is different in movement. In ballroom, one dances to look good for your audience and to make the follow look good. In Argentine Tango one dances with your partner and to make the follow feel good”.
But I digress, Clay started to host dances in the old and renown, Crystal Ballroom in Portland on Sunday nights.
Crystal Ballroom
Earlier, the Crystal Ballroom was sold to the McMenamin brothers. There was an uproar over this as the dancing community thought the building was going to be torn down [ It was the largest spring floor west of the Mississippi]. As it happened Clay presented to the McMenamin’s a signed petition from the community about not tearing the place down as it had such a storied history. The McMenamins decided to restore the dance hall to its former glory and use the place as a live music venue and on Sunday nights would offer dance classes. Clay was offered this opportunity and was asked to teach Argentine Tango.
At this point…
At this point, a local orchestra wanted to play argentine tango music. Same time, Clay knew of another Argentinean Tango orchestra that was touring the northwest. He invited them to join the other orchestra at the Crystal Ballroom. Then another idea occurred to him. With the live music to have a performance of Argentine Tango. He knew some other teachers and he invited teachers from San Francisco and Seattle to perform the dance and to teach classes. All this was scheduled to happen on Sunday night at the Crystal Ballroom with some overlap onto Monday night. Approximately 600 people showed up for classes that night. Cliff continued to teach, and They were taught the basic walk and the cross. The year was 1998.
October Tango Festivals
This event eventually morphed into October Portland Tango in the fall as not to compete with Valentango which happens in February. Then in 1999, after having a conversation with Alex Krebs [Portland] about the need for an event in February. Valentango was born. The first year it attracted 300 people. This year’s Valentango 2025 will host approximately 500 or more people. Its always been on of my favorites in the United States.
And sometimes special moments occur, that we treasure for a long time. This happened at one of those early Valentango festivals, Clay shared the following story. It was at one of those early festivals, when a guy approached him to say,” Clay, thank you so much for doing this festival, it is the BEST weekend in my Life”.
Now in the middle of quarantine, these words continue to bring joy to Clay’s heart for all the years of Valentango festivals he has done. As we were finishing up out video call, Clay and I shared a few points on tango. That tango needs to be danced in close embrace when dancing. Open embrace is good for learning or practicing new steps.
Clay’s tango experience in Buenos Aires
Over the years, Clay has travelled to Buenos Aires over a dozen times just to dance Argentine Tango. He says each trip provides new learning opportunities. On a recent trip, sitting at a table of with several other seasoned milongeros strangers, and not knowing very much Spanish, they conveyed to him the need to show respect to your partner by how you embrace each other and how proper etiquette means you should escort your follow back to her seat at the place you first invited her to dance by sending her a cabeceo.
This is Argentine Tango!
Another Tango Story
About the Tango App: Hoy Milonga
If you have been in Buenos Aires ort countless other cities and wanting to know where to dance Tango or Tango Festivals or Milongas, you download Hoy Milonga.
This is the story of how Hoy Milonga – Tango App got to be.
From Buenos Aires – Hector Villar
In the not-so-distant past days of Tango in Buenos Aires when you wanted to know what milonga to attend. It was simple. Look it up on this wonderful Tango app Hoy Milonga for IOS or Droid or on the website www.hoy-milonga.com
While in quarantine, I wondered story of its creation. So, here is the story.
This Tango app was created in 2012 by Hector Villar. Hector an Argentinean living in Paris at the time who needed a programming job to stay in France. Years before Hector had given up his profession as a system engineer and was needing to study up on new technologies to get current and get a job.
So, it occurred to Hector to develop an iPhone application that would list all the milongas in Paris and Buenos Aires. In the end he did not look for a job, he says, I liked the project so much that I kept developing it, and that’s how Hoy Milonga, the tango app was born.
Hoy Milonga is not just an Tango application for the phone: it is an online platform with information for lovers of this musical genre, especially for those who want to dance to it.
Traveling Tangera: My First Trip to Buenos Aires
From Seattle – Jan Sheeley
Love and tango in Buenos Aires
My very first trip to Buenos Aires yes, I’m so excited and it is so hot and muggy in the airport waiting for a ride to the city. Crazy drivers but no worries my heart is thumping thinking about what may await in my first tango milonga.
Fast unpack and ready for my first encounter. At the door to the milonga you would never imagine the joy. Dusty wooden stairs and I can hear the music. Very small bathroom but shoe etiquette needs to be met, never enter with outside shoes.
Am finally at my first milonga
Beso del Sol the first milonga, champagne yes, good seat, eh not so great but right now it feels like the soul of tango is in my grasp. The energy washes over me, the cabeceo needs all my attention. A new face, and I get the invitation. I am on the floor, in the arms of a local and we just connect. Eyes closed the music and movement entwine. I am captured, my heart is captured can you hear my body singing?
There is respect, an outsider must wait, obey the ritual but the rewards are amazing. The welcome, the atmosphere of the dance hall, the vitality of the dancers and the sheer delight of knowing you have entered the sacred world of tango at the milonga.
No words can describe the feeling, the utter rapture. My first milonga glow encasing my entire body. Taxi home. Sleep a little and be ready for the next adventure and embrace.
From Germany
DJ Shahran
Why I Love to DJ?
What made me become a tango DJ? Of course: the love of the dance, and the music. But the most important motivation and challenge at same time, is to make dancers at a milonga happy. As DJ you are responsible for the energy and mood in the milonga. It is somehow a creative job, I think.
It’s like, as you would invite some nice friends to cook for them. You would look for ingredients in good quality, superb spices and herbs and maybe some surprising flavors. Et voilà. Sure: It’s possible that some of them at the milonga are maybe not happy with your creation, but at lastly it’s your job the show the passion and true proficiency that is within you at each milonga.
To be a DJ is to make people happy
As a DJ it’s such a wonderful feeling to create and see the smiles lighting up the faces of the dancers. It’s great, when the dancers come to you after Cumparsita at the end of the milonga and say: “We came with a triste and sad mood to the milonga and going home now satisfied, bright and happy”.
And in my opinion, the best thing what can happens to you as DJ; here a short story: Once I played a Vals-Tanda in the Milonga Vida-Mía in Cologne (Germany). The dance floor was very crowded, but sweet and not hectic. All the dancers were in such a flow and happiness that I feel, I’m dancing, turning and flying with all of them at the same time. It’s just amazing, incredible.
What made me become a tango DJ? The love to people and tangolovers. But lastly: It’s not about the DJ, but about the dancers at the milonga.
Who I am?
I was born in Iran, living in Germany for more than 35 years and my profession is both a journalist & language teacher.
There are two things that I love traveling, hiking, sport, cooking, art, books & of course music and curious open mind people, who don’t think just in categories and stereotypes.
What do I love in tango (dance) is Embrace, energy, flow & musicality
Contact djshahram68@gmail.com
Kontakt Instagram instagram.com/dj_shahram