The Artists

Carolina del Rivero (Buenos Aires) and Donato Juárez (Mar de Plata)

Carolina’s dance education started at age six with classical ballet and continued at the Instituto Superior de Arte of Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Later she studied modern dance at the Taller de Danza Contemporánea of the Teatro San Martín, also in Buenos Aires. In 1995, she discovered tango and her dancing was enriched by applying all the knowledge acquired from other dancing experience.

Carolina's professional career started in the year 2000 when she partnered with Fabian Salas; since then she has been traveling around the world, teaching, offering seminars, workshops and performances and participating in the most important tango festivals of Europe, United States and Argentina. Since 2001, she has been part of the instructional staff of the Congreso Internacional de Tango Argentino (C.I.T.A.). This festival is the most important tango event in the world, held every year in March in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Gifted with excellent technique and a strong personality, Carolina brings to her dancing a delicate originality by fusing together her style and her interpretative quality; her dancing creates an emotional spell for those who have had the opportunity to watch her performances. Carolina is recognized as one of the best and most famous dancers and instructors of Argentine Tango of the new generation.

Donato Juárez is one of the most talented tango dancers of the new generation. Musical, precise and elegant, Donato teaches tango just as he dances it: with energy, passion and sensitivity. In his native city of Mar del Plata, Donato has been part of a young and enthusiastic group of dancers that have been researching tirelessly the complexities of tango. He has studied under many renowned masters who have pointed out his impressive technical ability.

Donato has been invited to participate in many tango festivals, workshops and seminars in the United States, Europe, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico. He has danced in many different theaters in Argentina and in the rest of the world. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 he was invited to participate and dance in the Congreso Internacional de Tango Argentino (C.I.T.A.), which takes place every year in March in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since 2009 Donato has been part of the instructional staff of this festival together with Carolina del Rivero.

In this partnership, Carolina and Donato bring together a technical and interpretative quality, where the musicality, elegance and precision of their dance show in great originality. Their teaching is characterized by their sensitivity, energy and passion. These qualities make them performers and instructors of great artistic talent, creating an atmosphere of fascination for those who have had the opportunity to their performances or attend their classes.

Watch Video of Carolina and Donato on YouTube
www.carolinadelrivero.com.ar

Melina Sedó and Detlef Engel (Germany)

Their philosophy: Tango is walking in an embrace.
Detlef and Melina dance close-embrace tango with a very personal touch. Their dance may be described as elegant and puristic and while they embed modern techniques and elements into the tango, their dance stays close to the roots of the traditional Tango de Salón. At the core of their lessons, which are always geared towards improvisational capability, are intensive body work and analysis of tango´s structures. But "technical" understanding is just a means to concentrate better on the essential: developing one´s own style and relishing the embrace in unison with the music.

Detlef and Melina discovered tango in the mid 90s in Germany - Melina coming from a dancing background - and started travelling all over Europe and to Buenos Aires to take classes with the most distinguished teachers: El Indio, Mariana Dragone and Hernán Obispo, Mariana Flores and Eduardo Capussi, Gustavo Naveira and Giselle Anne, Julio Balmaceda and Corina de la Rosa, Juan Bruno, Chicho Frumboli, Andrea Rejero and Sebastian Misse, Osvaldo Zotto and Lorena Hermocida, Omar Vega, Fernando Galera and Vilma Vega...and many more...

They started teaching in 2001 after having worked out a special teaching concept which is based on tango as a language with words, a grammar and the possibility to compose poetry. Of course, this is a "work in progress", as they constantly develop their methods of enhancing movements and understanding this complex dance.

Melina and Detlef started teaching in their home region in Germany and the neighboring regions of Luxembourg and France. Nowadays they travel worldwide, wherever people want to tango with sense and sensitivity. In April, 2007, they gave their debut in the USA and performed in some of the most renowned Milongas in Buenos Aires. In 2008 they've toured the USA and participated in the two of the biggest US Tango Festivals: Valentango and the Portland Tangofest. Furthermore, they have performed and taught at several European Festivals, e.g. The Festival du nouvel an (Kerallic, France) and Tango Otoño in Stockholm, Sweden.

Watch Video of Melina and Detlef on YouTube
www.tangodesalon.de

Veronica Toumanova (Paris) and Fausto Carpino (Syracuse, Sicily)

Fausto Carpino started dancing at the age of 6. For many years he trained in ballroom and went from competition to competition, bringing home regional and national prizes. When his older sister Barbara and her partner Claudio started learning tango argentino, Fausto was quickly touched by the same passion and his dance background made him a notoriously quick learner. He is one of the main teachers at the tango school in Syracuse, called Paladanze, and is famous for being Italy's "youngest professional tango dancer." Besides being a talented dancer, he is a well-known tango DJ, invited to various festival and marathons in Europe.

Veronica Toumanova was born in Moscow, but started dancing tango in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, at the famous Dutch school El Corte, ten years ago. Travelling all over the world to dance, she learned from maestros such as Chicho, Sebastian and Mariana, Pablo and Dana. Her background in modern dance allows her to build a solid technical basis for tango. Besides working in a couple she has been teaching followers technique in Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, France and Italy for the past three years.

Fausto and Veronica met in 2006. Shortly afterwards they started working together, performing for the first time as a couple at the Freiburg Tangomafia festival. For the past few years they have been teaching and performing in Europe, with a shared base in Paris and Syracuse. They also participate in the organization of the Syracuse International Tango Festival. In their teaching Fausto and Veronica concentrate on such aspects as the connection in the couple, musicality, technique and quality of movement. Their energetic dance fuses elements of various tango styles and is rooted in a deep sensitivity to music.

Their dance style can be described as "achieving a highly dynamic complexity of movement within the couple's intimate space". This is why most of the material they teach in classes can be used in a crowded milonga.

Watch Video of Veronica and Fausto on YouTube
www.faustoyveronica.com

Korey Ireland (Kansas City)

Korey Ireland is a professional composer turned tango-addict. He brings a lifetime of musical experience and an unquenchable thirst for tango to his teaching. In 2000, Korey began working with tango, initially as a dance instructor, and later as a musician and band leader.  Korey's dance style is informed by deep contact with nearly all of the world's tango capitals, with miles of dance floor experience in Buenos Aires, Berlin, Nijmegen, Moscow, Istanbul, London, New York, San Francisco, Portland...as well as guidance from some phenomenal teachers (Valle, Naviera, Krebs, Juerissen, Winkler, Guittierez, Castillano, Gonzalez). Korey is serious about the craft of teaching tango; he has attended both levels of the El Corte Teacher Training week, and has engaged in professional training seminars and personal explorations with many of the art form's leading instructors. Since early 2004, Korey has been traveling full time, teaching in Europe, Russia, North America and Buenos Aires, and is very grateful for the opportunity to share tango with literally thousands of students around the world.

In 2006 Korey hosted the first Stone Soup tango festival in Kansas City. Now in its 5th year, the event has become a unique and influential addition to the landscape of tango festivals in North America. Based on a culture of participation and connection, Stone Soup establishes a collaborative model for tango that is finding enthusiastic support around the nation. The next soup is rumored to be May 2010, in San Diego.

Read Korey's music biography below.
Watch Video of Korey dancing with Mila Vigdorova to a song he wrote and recorded!
www.ko-arts.com

Ben Bogart y los Gatos Azules (Buenos Aires and New England) - Musicians

Formed in 2005, Ben Bogart y los Gatos Azules brings the excitement, energy, and precision of the Golden Age of Argentine Tango to dancers around the United States. Playing classics from Juan D'Arienzo, Carlos Di Sarli, Miguel Caló and many other orchestras of the time, the band strives to bridge the current disconnect between dancers and musicians in the world of Argentine Tango.

Ben is a saxophonist turned bandoneonist. He studied classical music at UC Santa Cruz, and jazz at Berklee College of Music. He currently studies privately with the most respected bandoneón players in Buenos Aires (Rodolfo Mederos, Nestor Marconi, and Carlos Lázzari), and plays with the Orquesta Escuela de Tango de Emilio Balcarce, the school featured in the film Si sos brujo: A Tango Story.

In addition to playing he is working to make the world smaller for tango musicians worldwide, and to help musicians outside of Buenos Aires learn to play tango by making resources available and by teaching what he has and is learning. Go to Ben's youtube channel for recent videos of him playing solo bandoneon and with the Orquesta Escuela de Tango. www.losgatosazules.com

Korey Ireland (Kansas City) - Monster Orchestra Leader

Photo by Teresa Tam, TdlM 2008.

Korey's music training is marked by commendations from NEA, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, USA today, Berkshire Symphony, UMKC Concerto Competition, Robinson, Barrow, Hutchinson, and BMI fellowships and residencies with symphony orchestras and village gamelan ensembles. As a professional composer, Korey's work has been featured in film, television and advertising, as well as in concert hall, theater and dance collaborations which have earned industry awards including 8 omnis/addys, 3 telleys, BMI, and most recently a Crystal Seal Award for the soundtrack in the feature film "All Roads Lead Home."

From musician to dancer, teacher, and organizer, Korey's path continues full circle as his work in tango moves increasingly into his music. Korey has been playing the bandoneon for 5 years and has participated in and led a number of tango orchestras similar to TdlM's Monster Orchestra (Buenos Aires, San Francisco, Montreal, Ashland, Portland, Purdue, Providence, Devon, Manchester, Moscow) as well as giving presentations on tango music for dancers at major festivals around the US and abroad. He cares deeply about nurturing the nacent tango music scene in the United States, and is a supportive and passionate leader. In the spring of 2010, Korey will begin a pioneering program in tango at the Conservatory of Music at UMKC where he will train dancers and musicians in an effort to reestablish the symbiotic relationship of the art forms in tango's golden era. www.ko-arts.com

Read Korey's tango teaching bio above, under Instructors.
Learn more about the Orchestra here.

Robin Thomas (New York) - DJ

A well-known and respected dancer and DJ, Robin's enthusiasm for Argentine tango can be seen most clearly in his wholehearted dedication to teaching. He believes that it is very important for students to dance simply and musically from the very beginning. Robin's travel schedule is a busy one, reflecting his popularity as a teacher and tango DJ. Recently he has taught in Portland, Denver, Ann Arbor, Washington DC, Seattle, Berlin, Edinburgh, San Diego, Providence, Pittsburgh, and at the universities Yale, Princeton, and Cornell. When he is not traveling, Robin stays busy in his hometown of New York City teaching classes and DJing. On the rare occasion that he is neither teaching or DJing, Robin can always be seen on the dance floor, either working to expand his own understanding of Argentine tango, or simply enjoying the connection he works so hard to share with others. Robin hosts a practica, El Abrazo, each week to help dancers of all levels improve their tango and a popular milonga, Nocturne, once a month. www.robinthomastango.com

Shorey Myers (San Francisco) - DJ

Shorey has become one of the most respected and requested DJs on the North American tango festival circuit. She DJs all over the continent (Portland, New York City, Montreal, Washington DC, San Francisco, Seattle, Ann Arbor, Providence, etc). On a recent trip to Buenos Aires, Shorey DJed at Villa Malcolm and Salon Canning, and she has a standing invitation to DJ Monday night at Canning whenever she returns. Shorey can be spotted on dance floors in many different cities all over the US, though she now lives in San Francisco, CA.

Avik Basu (Ann Arbor) - DJ

Avik is driven by the belief that a little dance and music can make the world a better place. And so, he dances tango, DJs, plays bandoneon, organizes workshops, learns Spanish, and will even drink mate despite the fact he otherwise avoids caffeine. Perhaps most of all, he enjoys sharing the beauty of tango with others. His instruction over the past 5 years has helped to develop the Ann Arbor tango community into one of the largest in North America. Influenced primarily by the music and atmosphere of the milongas in Buenos Aires, Avik's purpose as a DJ is to seamlessly weave an evening of music that does justice to the tremendous range of emotions that tango expresses. In doing so, he hopes that the milonga will have something for everyone and that dancers will float home late, very late at night with music still playing in their heads.... www.a2tango.com

Homer Ladas (San Francisco) - DJ

Homer's first major alternative DJ act was to put 50 CDs (including assorted classic tangos, alternative songs and the 'Last of the Mohicans' soundtrack) into a player and press the random button. People loved it, but that was 1999. On July 9th, 2003, he pumped out the first 'less than perfect' DJ mixes for the weekly 'CELLspace alternative Milonga' in San Francisco. But again, folks were happy to have a venue where two worlds collided. Since his first major alternative DJ gig in 1999, his focus has been to find the right balance, while making smooth transitions, between music of the Golden Age and the music that lies beyond... www.organictangosf.info

Sean Dockery (San Francisco) - DJ

Sean Dockery's enthusiasm for Argentine Tango has driven him to explore the art on its deepest levels, dancing and studying daily for the past 7 years. He first started exploring the dance in order to help him better understand Tango music, which he had begun playing on the guitar. After a few short months, the dancing became his main source of drive and inspiration. To Sean, the tango couple is another member of the Tango orquestra, so naturally, his focus in dancing is rhythm and musicality. Sean also has a passion for DJing Argentine Tango. As a DJ he feels his job is to facilitate the energy and atmosphere of the milonga, provide smooth transitions throughout the evening, manage the delicate balance between predictability and creativity, and most importantly, keep people dancing! Locally, Sean DJs a weekly practica at The Beat, and at the Cellspace Alternative Milonga. He has DJed at the San Francisco Tango Exchange, in Boston, Sacramento, Tuscon, and Montreal. www.open-tango.com

Jake Spatz (Washington, DC) - DJ

Jake is a teacher and DJ based in Washington, DC, who has played music up and down the East Coast in cities including Asheville, Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlottesville, New York, Philadelphia, and now Boston. He plays mainly his own restorations of vintage tangos, which collectors from around the world have sent him for cleaning. On the literary front, Jake recently contributed more than 30 translations of tango lyrics to the forthcoming tango book In Strangers' Arms by Beatriz Dujovne. Jake's website is TangoDC.com. www.TangoDC.com

Shorey Myers (San Francisco) - Lecture on DJing

See Shorey's bio above, under DJs.

Tomás Howlin (Buenos Aires/Montreal) - Lecture on Tango History

Tomás was born and raised in Buenos Aires where he studied with some of the most renowned master teachers of all generations, such as Graciela Gonzalez, Gustavo Naveira, Jose Brahemcha, Puppy Castello, Pepe Avellaneda and Vanina Bilous. Tomás is among the few teachers traveling worldwide who have taught regularly in the most well known academies of Buenos Aires, and is a regular instructor at international festivals in Europe and the United States. During the last years Tomás has been performing and teaching in Canada and in the U.S.A. He was instrumental in the filming of the tango film "Macadam Tango". He was chosen to perform before the heads of state of 34 countries, including President George W. Bush and Dr. Fernando de la Rua, President of Argentina at the "Summit of the Americas" in Quebec City. He is a patient and devoted teacher with a unique method and approach. www.tomashowlin.com

Andrew Royal (Eugene) - Guided Stretching

Andrew spent the first half of his life as a classical musician, the second half as a yoga teacher and the third half as a tango instructor and DJ. Yep, that's 150% of delicious life. As an instructor his passion for his subject and students are clear as well of the breadth and depth of his knowledge. You can find his 'Yoga for Tango' classes at many of the country's most prestigious festivals. Originally from Houston, he now lives in Eugene, Oregon. www.royaltango.com

David Reynoso (Boston) - Designer

The festival's logo and the look of the website came about primarily because of the serious talent of David Reynoso. David likes to wear many hats (figuratively--yes, but in his work as crafts artisan for the American Repertory Theatre, literally as well). A Scenic and Costume designer for theatre and film, David is also a graphic artist and painter. His paintings and murals are exhibited by private collectors, as well as venues in Texas, Boston and NYC. His Film & Theatre work includes: Art Direction and costumes for Mexican indie-rock band, Porter music video: Host of a Ghost, and Juan Son‘s video for Nada. For the A.R.T: set and costume designer for the upcoming world-premiere of Trojan Barbie, set and costume designer for Copenhagen; costume designer for Shakespeare Slams (Shakespeare in the Square), No Man's Land, and The Keening. Has collaborated on over 75 productions since receiving his B.F.A. from Boston University in 2003. (Glimmerglass Opera, Pittsburgh Public, Manhattan Theatre Club, National Actor's Theatre, The Guthrie Theater, Huntington Theatre Company.  Awards and nominations: Princess Grace, Kennedy  Center for the Performing Arts, Kahn Award.