ANDRES “TANGUITO” CEJAS & GENOVEVA FERNANDEZ

Andres and Genoveva represent the purest form of Tango de Salon and are widely thought of as leading exponents of the Villa Urquiza style.

Andres had already been working as a professional dancer for many years when he befriended the famous milonguero, Pepito Avellaneda, whom he acknowledges as his first Tango maestro. Later in his career Andres worked with Osvaldo Zotto (Zotto senior), another expert in Villa Urquiza. He has been dancing with Genoveva for over 15 years and together they have travelled, performed and taught all over the world. They have worked with well-known orchestras such as Sexteto Mayor and danced with many of the leading figures in Tango; amongst them Miguel Angel Zotto (Zotto junior), Osvaldo Zotto & Lorena Ermocida, Roberto Herrera & Vanina Bilous and Los Dinzel.

Their deep knowledge of the authentic Tango movements, their collective experience at the highest level of performance and teaching throughout the world and their self-critical and exhaustive technical training make them amongst the most accomplished and grounded teachers still accessible to the non-professional student.

Andres and Geno are regular faces at Salón Canning and Sunderland Club and continue to perform in Buenos Aires and further afield (Geno performed in London when she was 4 months pregnant and was back on the dance floor in Argentina a matter of weeks after the twins were born!) Most recently they have been working in the Buenos Aires Tango Festival 2007.

Andres and Geno are always received as old friends whenever they visit us. They are well known throughout the UK, where they have worked with our associates and friends in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle and London, but they are perhaps best known for their frequent visits to stay with us in Yorkshire, when they teach at the regular clubs, Caminito in Leeds, Sheffield Tango Club and the Friday night Milonguita.

STEFANO FAVA & ALEXANDRA WOOD

Stefano and Alexandra co-founded the London dance school Tango In Action in 2002. Their passion and commitment to authentic Tango Argentino has led them to train and work with some of the most famous and acclaimed dancers in the world, including two inspiring milongueros from the 40's and 50's: Toto Faraldo and ‘El Turco’ Jose.  They have also trained and performed with Miguel Angel Zotto (Tango Por Dos).

They have been involved in many Tango shows, both at home and overseas: including performances for the Lord Mayor Gala evenings, at Mansion House and the Guildhall in London; a show they created and choreographed especially for a performance at the Argentine Embassy, and performances at The Gratz Tango Festival, Austria. Most recently they performed in the Sunderland Club, one of the most prestigious milongas in Buenos Aires, and have worked with the internationally famous orchestra Color Tango.

They spend several months a year training and researching in Buenos Aires. Through their continual exposure to the authentic dance form in the milongas of Argentina, they aim to constantly feed and inject their dance with the rich culture and history of this fascinating art form.
 
Stefano and Alexandra dance with an elegant and sensual style, true to the roots of traditional Tango de Salon. They are both passionate, experienced and dedicated teachers; their teaching is clear and precise, based on the importance of technique and the deep connection between the couple and their interpretation of the music.

ANDREAS ERBSEN & ANGELA ‘RUTH’ MANONELLAS

Ruth & Andreas live in Buenos Aires and tour Europe professionally on a regular basis. A dance project in the Buenos Aires district of La Boca brought them together in 1999 and they have danced and taught together professionally since. The “Milonga de la Boca” was for a long time a popular venue that attracted many dancers, orchestras and artists and was well known outside the district, in Argentina and further afield.

They studied traditional and modern tango in Argentina and Europe, and use their different cultural backgrounds (Argentina and Germany) to great effect in their teaching approach and techniques. Their classes place great emphasis on musical expression and communication between the dancing couple, yet also incorporate a clear analytical process and ‘diagnostic’ element for the student.

Ruth and Andreas have been to Europe regularly since 2001, teaching, performing and staging their own productions. They are known for elegance in posture, classic technique and gentle good humour.

PABLO NIEVAS & VALERIA ZUNINO

Pablo and Valeria are widely respected teachers and performers, known for their charismatic teaching style, infectious energy and technical precision.

Valeria studied classical dance at the National Dance School of Buenos Aires and began her career as a professional dancer in modern jazz. Pablo started out in the milongas and worked as assistant to Pepito Avellaneda in his teaching days.

As teachers Pablo and Valeria have created their own method of dance education, which they term “corporal biomechanics”; the result of more than 20 years of experience with dance and working with the dynamics and kinetics of Tango. They are proud to say that their method is being used today by dancers and teachers worldwide.

As performers their experience is well-known. They have worked in so many top-class Tango venues that the list of performances and collaborations is almost a “Who’s Who” of Tango: Confitería Ideal, El Viejo Correo, Re Fa Si, Porteño y Bailarín, C.C. Torquato Tasso, El Morocco, Salón Canning, Salón Dandi, La Nacional, El Cachafaz, Niño Bien…..and their work with many orchestras and artists deserves special mention: Abel Cordoba, Roberto Echagüe, Alberto Podestá, Argentino Ledesma, Nestor Rolan, Jorge Valdez, Color Tango (director: Amilcar Tolosa), Sexteto Sur,  Los solistas de D’arienzo, Narcotango,  Color Tango (director: Roberto Alvarez).

They tour worldwide every year, visiting Europe frequently, and they always have an open invitation to dance with us in the UK. Back home in Argentina they teach a regular class at Confiteria Ideal and are known for specialist milonga workshops in Porteño y Bailarín and in Niño Bien.

PABLO RODRIGUEZ

Pablo is a prodigious talent in the world of professional dance. We are proud to have worked with him so early in his career, for here is truly a star of the future. At just 23 years of age he has already won the prestigious title “Buenos Aires Metropolitan Salon Champion” with his partner Noelia Hurtado.

With a fluid and laid-back approach, Pablo’s casual informality belies the rigorous technical discipline underpinning his dance. The style is true to the classical Todaro tradition, and Pablo and Noelia are influenced by the elegance and lightness of touch evident in the Salon Tango of Villa Urquiza; the area of Buenos Aires in which Pablo has spent most of his time training with the old-style milonguero Carlos Perez. Carlos is a “face” from the 1950’s, yet our society’s members who have visited Buenos Aires will be delighted to find that he still teaches a class with his partner Rosita at the famous Sunderland Club every Monday night – and in the summer time you will probably find Pablo there too.

Pablo is passionate about expressing through his dance the deep and varied cultural background of the different musical styles existing in Argentina. Pablo says that if we dance in the same way to Di Sarli as we do to Pugliese or Canaro we have missed the point and need to listen again! He shows teaching and dancing ability far beyond his years and remains one of our most popular visitors.

STELLA BARBA

Stella was born in Buenos Aires and began her professional dance career in 1986. Although a highly experienced performer, she is best known as a teacher, with an in-depth knowledge of authentic social Tango. Her specialist classes cover canyengue, milonga traspié, vals and milonguero-style traditional Tango, as well as technique-based Salon and modern Tango. She remains one of the most loved and respected dance teachers in Buenos Aires and has taught the regular class at Salón Dandi for many years.

As a performer Stella has toured the world, working with such partners as Orlando "Coco" Díaz, Roberto Tonett "El Alemán", Puppi Castello and many others. Her most famous partnership is with Pocho Pizarro, with whom she worked for over 10 years.

Stella has a string of TV and video performances to her credit and has appeared in several films, including: "Evita" directed by Alan Parker (1996); Jorge Coccia’s "Canción Desesperada" (1996); "Funes, un gran amor"by Raúl de la Torre (1992) and "Convivencia" directed by Carlos Galettini (1993).

In Buenos Aires she has regularly performed in the main theatres such as Teatro Nacional Cervantes, Teatro Alvear, Teatro Regio and Centro Cultural San Martín. She has worked in many of the best-known Milongas: Club Almagro, La Galería del Tango, Sin Rumbo, Sunderland, Cuartito Azul, Confitería Ideal, La Trastienda, Gricel, etc.

However, Stella’s heart lies in the social dance and if you are in Buenos Aires you are most likely to bump into her at El Beso, or you can always catch her every Saturday at Salón Dandi. Whenever she visits us in the UK, she is much loved for her enthusiasm, her constant smile and her willingness to pass on a lifetime’s knowledge of all things Tango.

FERNANDO GUIDI

Fernando Guidi has been dancing and teaching Tango since 1995. He combines young and friendly charm with a great understanding of teaching the dynamics and movements of Tango. At an early stage in his career he adopted an attitude of 'developer and researcher' concerning all aspects of dance. He extended this same attitude when he started to teach, in order to fully understand a concept and find the best way to explain it to students. This resulted in a simple, clear and unique way of teaching.

For Fernando, Tango is an improvisation dance, true to the spirit of the milonga. So, in his lessons, only with rare exception will you be asked to use sequences of steps. Instead, he provides the student with tools to understand the principles that govern certain movements, or exercises that enable the student to experience something first, and then reflect on it to apply these techniques to their dancing over time.

Fernando is well recognised for the quality of his teaching, where he combines a diverse blend of Tango, folklore and history, Alexander technique, theatre and teacher training.

He provides a very clear way of teaching complex concepts - explanation of the body movements, communication to each other when dancing as a couple, the expressions of feeling and emotions, with a clear and high quality of movement and sense of aesthetic.

GABRIEL MARINO

Trained as a classical dancer and musician, Gabriel has a strong background in traditional Argentine folk dance, especially in Malambo and Chacarera. He perfected his Tango in Buenos Aires working with legendary milongueros Carlos Perez and Jorge Raul Bravo. Gabriel’s dancing remains true to the authentic Salon style of these maestros.

Gabriel has worked with top Argentinian Tango choreographers Ana Maria Stekelman and Maximiliano Guerra and has performed for leading modern dance companies, including Ballet Municipal de Danzas Argentinas de Rosario, Ballet Mercosur and Ballet Concierto de Iñaqui Urlezaga. In 2006 Gabriel danced as Soloist in “Les Noces de l’Enfant-Roi” at the Château de Versailles.

He is currently a member of Homónima Dance Company based at the Tango Café Tortoni in Buenos Aires, and is working on the international tango production “Tango-Malambo”- Tango and Folklore, directed by Juan Corvalán (Tango Pasión).

IGNACIO GONZALEZ

Ignacio is a professionally trained contemporary dancer, best known for his work in the acclaimed Tangokinesis Modern Tango company with choreographer Ana María Stekelman. Ignacio uses a wide range of Tango influences in his dance style, incorporating both traditional Tango de Salon and cutting-edge ‘Tango Nuevo’.

In his stage work he has employed choreography with such wide-ranging musical influences as Chopin and Vivaldi mixed with Piazzola and modern electro-tango.

This innovative blend of skills and choreography represents a fusion of ballet, contemporary dance and improvised jazz allied to classic Tango technique and posture.

Tangokinesis has toured worldwide, throughout South America, USA, Europe and the UK. For those wishing to see Ignacio’s work internationally, the stage show is a real treat. You can also catch his work, with partner Laura Aguerreberry, on the DVD produced by “Compania 3 Minutos” (we can provide a copy on request).

Like all our friends and associates, Ignacio is most at home dancing socially in the milonga, where he remains one of the most popular of our regular visitors.