Simply put, we have one of the finest teaching staff available for you at ValenTango. All 12 instructors are exceptional teachers and dancers of traditional Argentine tango and have vast international experience in performing and teaching tango. And on top of that, they’re just great people. I think you’re gonna enjoy and learn a lot from them!
Lautaro Cancela and Julia Gorin are outstanding tango dancers, teachers and choreographers with an extensive tango trajectory of over 30 and 20 years respectively. Their paths first crossed in 2022. Their attendance at ValenTango will be their first appearance together in the USA. Laitaro is among the most sought-after tango maestros worldwide. He is the judge of the Mundial de TAngo in Buenos Aires.
Watch their video at: Lautaro & Julia
Celina Rotundo & Hugo Patyn are master instructors from Buenos Aires. They are creators and directors of various productions and know how to reach the audience by touching the deepest feelings when seeing them dance; They have made different appearances in Movies, Shorts, Advertisements, Festivals and Tango Shows in more than 30 countries.
As teachers they have trained hundreds of dancers in great milongueros as well as professionals who today travel all over the world. They use an exclusive and approved method where in their classes each person, regardless of their level, reaches their goals, managing to learn and incorporate what they have learned. Get to know them even better: www.hugoandcelina.com
Daniela Roig & Hernan Prieto (Buenos Aires) [video] email: danielayhernantango@gmail.com
“Since our childhood we realized that dancing was the play we loved the most; and today we make that play in our way of living. Embraced by tango many years ago, we try to pass on what our teachers have told us and that what we really love.” Consistently Daniela & Hernan rank at the top in the evaluations and so we are pleased that they will be returning again this year.
JULIA GORIN and JONATAN BAEZ (Argentina) are professional dancers, teachers and choreographers. They dance and teach Tango Salon, also Tango Escenario (stage tango) and Argentine Folklore.
Jonatan has been dancing Argentine tango since 1996, and has danced Argentine folklore since he was eight years old. He also performed with the National Folklore Ballet of Argentina. He was the recipient of many prestigious dance awards, and winner of various regional and national competitions in tango and folklore.
Julia has been dancing tango since 2000, and has studied music (piano) and classical and modern ballet since she was six years old. She was also the founder of the tango community in Cyprus.
Together they have performed famous Café Tortoni, Añoranzas Tango, the legendary “Sabor a Tango”, “Tanguera”, “Che Tango”, and many others.
Liz & Yannick Vanhove (Belgium) [video] email: lizyyannick@gmail.com
Liz and Yannick are one of Europe’s leading “Tango Salon”- dancers and teachers. They love everything about Tango and teach it with openness, humility, patience and a touch of humor to dancers of all levels, always with a strong emphasis on technique and moving naturally.
Marcos and Florencia [video] are from Argentina. They started to dance together in 2013, but with more than 15 years of previous experience dancing each one, developing and researching in Tango since they were teenagers., learning from the biggest Maestros from Buenos Aires, where they live, getting an elegant style of dance combining the roots of the traditional tango, adding the new tools from the Scenic Tango, prevailing the intimate embrace and connection. In Buenos Aires, they have been part of some of the best well known tango shows, such as La Ventana, El Viejo Almacen, El Querandi. Cafe Tortoni. As a teachers, they are focus on the technique to get a comfortable dance for both roles.
Gaby and Vini met at a milonga in Buenos Aires and immediately felt a special connection, that Tango magic that we are all looking for! They started working together in 2019 and they have been on tour in Mexico, Brazil and also working in Buenos Aires. They share a deep passion for the dance and for teaching and they are together creating a strong and consistent product to share their vision of Tango, their way to express and feel it and all the technical knowledge that they have.
Virginia Visconi is a member of the famous DNI Tango School and Company for 7 years as a teacher and as a performer in Buenos Aires. In 2015 she started dancing with the great Maestro and dancer Julio Balmaceda, with whom traveled the world teaching and performing at Festivals, Milongas, and several shows until the end of 2019. Together they created the Show “Tango, a Society of Two”, which premiered in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 2015. She is the creator of a Tango technique based on Yoga and Body Biomechanics (see artinmotiontango.com)
Virginia has been a jury member of the following Tango championships: La Boca Championship in Saint Petersburg (Russia) 2014, Tango in Paradise Championship in Bali (Indonesia) 2015, International Tango Summit in Los Angeles, CA (USA) 2018, European Tango Championship in Cervia (Italy) 2018, Championship of the city of Medellín (Colombia) 2019, ATUSA in San Francisco (USA) 2020.
Jaimes Friedgen is one of the most influential Tango teachers in the United States. Starting Tango as a teenager in the mid-Nineties, Friedgen had the opportunity to study with many extraordinary dancers and teachers, many of whom are no longer with us. He has carried forward their teaching as well as his own innovations by either founding or consulting for some of the most successful Tango schools in the U.S. and abroad. Though widely considered to be one of the best dancers in the world, Friedgen continues to drill solo exercises every day and take classes of all levels in both roles. His uniquely effective system of teaching draws the most dedicated Tango students from all over the world; no matter the level, from absolute beginner to professional Tango dancer, Friedgen has a knack for finding the most useful challenges to improve one’s Tango.
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Carlos and Maureen have been dancing together since 2016. They have traveled around the US, Colombia and Argentina teaching, competing and performing while continuing to study with many different tango masters. They have produced tango shows in the city of New Orleans and have also been part of the Thalia Spanish Theater in New York. Some of the award winning couple’s biggest accomplishments have been special guest performers in the mythical Salon Canning and Maldita Milonga in Buenos Aires, Argentina and also created the first Medellin Tango Marathon in Medellin, Colombia. Their teaching style brings positive energy and clear instruction to the classroom for those looking to improve their dance for the social dance floor as well for those looking to teach, perform or compete.
Jesica and Facundo are a fierce and fun couple with a combined 25 years of experience in dancing, teaching and performing. Facundo is a DJ, Dancer, Performer, Choreographer and Tango Teacher. He studied Tango at the National University of Arts in Buenos Aires, where he trained in Tango Dance techniques, styles and pedagogies, as well as Stage, Choreography and Performance Tango. Facundo’s teaching focuses on self-awareness and reflection, as he challenges students to explore the details of the dance and master their own techniques. Jesica is a Dancer, Tango Teacher, performer, Community Leader and a Bodyworker. She’s heavily cross trained in other vernacular dances such as Lindy Hop, Zouk, Balboa, Blues, and West Coast Swing. She has been teaching and performing Argentine Tango nationally and internationally for 10 years. Her home base is in Denver where she organizes the Tango on the Rocks Festival. Her education and training in Anatomy and biomechanics influences her entire career and her life in general. She approaches the dance and the classroom with a focus on connection, communication, and ease of movement. Together, this duo believes that dancing and movement should be a pleasure. They encourage dialogue and mindfulness. In class they will charm your pants off and have you laughing while you learn and grow.
Maxi & Paloma (Chile) [video#1, video#2] “Paloma & Maximiliano, native from Santiago – Chile, has been dancing together for 25 years. Since they were young, they share the passion for Argentine Tango as a heritage from their parents. They were formed in Chile and Buenos Aires, with many argentine masters. Based in Miami – Florida, USA, they have been touring through South, North America and part of Europe, teaching and performing in uncountable Casinos, Convention Centers, Hotels and TV shows. Invited to teach and perform in the biggest and the most renown Tango Festivals across US. They won the 2nd place in 2007 in the Worldwide Tango Championship in Buenos Aires and the 1st place in 2008 in the Trex Games TAFISA worldwide competition in South Korea. They define their style as a salon tango, developing their style like a permanent laboratory, experimenting the movement of the body from the simplicity of the life, convinced that the Tango dance is for everybody. It doesn’t matter the age, the background or if you never danced before. Their teaching, it’s characterized as energetic, didactic and detailed. Focused on promote the argentine Tango and their culture around the world inspiring their students from the connection, the joy through the embrace, the improvisation between the couples and the love for the social dance.”
Paloma Berrios786-6226081www.palomaymaximiliano.com
Maxi Copello & Raquel Makow (Buenos Aires) [video] Tango became part of Maxi’s life from the very start as his grandparents were Argentine folkloric musicians and his father, Carlos Copello, is one of the most well-know and prominent tango dancers who participated in a number of notorious tango shows and movies. Maxi has been the director of a tango movie, producer of tango stage shows and dancer in international tango shows.
Natalia and Agustin [video] are an up and coming new Argentine couple who in the last three years have participated in more than 100 tango events, in ten countries from America to Europe. During their first-year European tour they were called to dance at a Dutch Royalty Award, the “Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Prijs 2016”, in the presence of Queen Maxima of The Netherlands.
They have synthesized their unique style from over 10 years of intensive research into the history, dance and culture of tango; including testimonials from remaining living milongueros. Rather than relying on rote figures, their style instead focuses on expressing musicality, authenticity, and emotional and historical connections.
They teach in a fresh and playful way, and their technique uses vivid analogies, exciting technology and emphasizes partner equality and body awareness.
Yaisuri Salamanca & John Hernan Raigoza (Colombia/New York) [video 1] [video 2] are a professional Tango acouple with more than 15 years of experience. Their style is based on traditional tango, enriched by modern dancing techniques. Awards include: Third Place World Tango Championship, Buenos Aires, 2008, Fifth Place World Tango Championship, Buenos Aires, 2007 and First Place World Tango Championship, Colombia, 2007. They have performed in theaters from the West End, in London to Tango Houses and Milongas in the heart of Buenos Aires. In addition, Yaisuri owns a line of tango shoes for men and women which you can see at New York Tango Shoes, and John Hernan has a delightful taste for DJing.
Oscar Casas (Buenos Aires) & Jesica Arfenoni (BA/Chicago) [video]
Besides his tango dance skills, Oscar Casas is a true artist – energetic, explosive, perceptive, sensitive and full of fun. All these qualities are reflected in his paintings, which leap off the canvas, inviting the viewer to get involved. Check out oscarcasas.art
Oscar is a highly respected milonguero of the old guard Argentine style. He is extremely popular with his students and teaches with energy and humor–emphasizing concepts, specializing in improvisation, music interpretation and respecting the character of the different orchestras. Everything he teaches is applicable to crowded milongas. Jesica is a great salon tango dancer–a natural milonguera! She’s the 2103 Tango Salon World Champion and has toured throughout Europe and Latin America since 2010 giving seminars, and performing. Jesica was a member of the dance companies “Tango Viaje Al Sentimiento” and “Tango Mas Tango”. She was also a member of the “Ballet Folclórico Nehuen Auquen” for three consecutive years. Jesica has also served as a judge for several championships in different countries.
Rod & Jenny (Chicago) [video]
Dancing together since 2009, they believe that the connection, musicality, and technique are the keys to fully appreciate the beauty of Tango. In their classes they concentrate on how to be comfortable inside the embrace, based on the logic and naturalness of the movement. They travel all around the U.S. as well as abroad (Vancouver, Victoria, Mexico City, Cancun, Poland, India, Italy, etc…) to perform and share their tango knowledge at festivals and weekend workshops. Their infectious energy and love of the dance has created a large following of students in Chicago and the surrounding area