Next Tucson Tango Festival: March 3-7, 2011
Instructors:
Jaimes Friedgen & Christa Rodriguez
Murat & Michelle Erdemsel
Maria Olivera & Gustavo Benzecry
Varo Boyajyan & Naomi Hotta
Santiago Croce and Amy Lincoln
Meng Wang & Vladimir Estrin
DJs:
Maria Olivera
Sabah Chammas
Paul Akmajian
Larry Richelli
Martin Rybczynski
Lampis
Varo Boyajyan
Murat & Michelle Erdemsel
See Video Last Year’s Performances
Murat Erdemsel has been described as one of the strongest leads in the United States as a dancer and Argentine Tango instructor. He has taught in most of the major Argentine tango events in North America and has influenced large numbers of dancers with his unique perspective of dance and instruction while he maintains his teaching position for Dance Manhattan in NYC. Born in Istanbul, Murat followed his parents path to art school. He has partnered with well known dancers and including with Michelle, has shared the stage with the masters of tango. Performed to the live music of important Tango orchestras such as Hector Del Curto, Raul Haurena and Color Tango. Murat can also be seen on TV and in Movies with his dance.
Michelle Erdemsel took her first steps in dance at the age of 6 at the world renowned San Francisco School of Ballet and continued with such greats as David Howard in NYC. Her dance experience can only be described as eclectic, ranging from modern, jazz, flamenco, hula and theatre dance. Michelle spent many years touring with famous Musical Artists such as Liza Minelli in prestigious venues like Prince Albert Royal Hall in London, Off Broadway theatres in NYC, Stadiums and Arenas in Europe, South America and the US. Michelle has dedicated her life to teaching and dancing tango with her husband and partner Murat. Together they travel to teach at major festivals and perform at the milongas as well as with live music such as the Color Tango Orchestra.
Murat and Michelle have been living on the road and teaching for 6 years now. Their teaching and performing style is in high demand in Europe, Australia and the USA.
Murat and Michelle’s Website
Maria Olivera & Gustavo Benzecry
Maria Olivera & Gustavo Benzecry
Gustavo Benzecry Sabá & María Olivera are a couple of young dancers representing an authentic way of experiencing an artistic expression known around the world for its elegance, sensuality and expressiveness. Dancers of the so-called “Tango Salón”, they show this dance the way it is danced in its original ambience: the “milongas” of Buenos Aires, the Capital city of Argentina. They teach regular classes at one of the most prestigious dance halls of that city, the “Salón Canning” located in the Palermo quarter.
During 2008 and 2009 they’ve toured more than 20 cities including New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Boston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Chicago and Portland, where they got the highest ratings for their instruction in the several of the Festivals.
Besides teaching and performing, Gustavo Benzecry Sabá has written two tango-related books, the Tango Danza Glossary – Key Tango Argentino Dance Terms (Abrazosbooks – 2004, endorsed with a prologue written by Carlos Gavito and Juan Carlos Copes, and an epilogue by Miguel Angel Zotto) a dictionary containing more than 300 terms, and Embracing Tango – Techniques and metaphors between Tango and life (Abrazosbooks, 2006 – prologue by María Nieves and epilogue by Aurora Lúbiz). This last one, translated by María Olivera, is the first written approximation to the original Tango Salón (also known as “close embrace”) style, that has been danced in Buenos Aires for over a hundred years. It includes the explanation of 6 basic sequences as well as articles related to the embrace, the improvisation, the dance floor and the surrender. It is finally the first written guide to the so-called “milonga codes”, the rules of behavior and interaction of people in the context of the “milonga”.
During 2009 Gustavo produced a documentary film: “The history of Tango Dance: 1940 -1960”, edited by María. This piece contains a profound research about the way Tango developed in the Golden Years, and includes interviews to several of the living legends of that period, as well as footage of the iconic dancers who made the Tango become the social phenomenon of those two decades.
Gustavo and María have both studied from world-wide prestigious Masters such as Rodolfo Dinzel, Roberto Herrera, Dany García, Alejandra Arrué, Nito & Elba, Omar Vega amongst many others.
Jaimes Friedgen & Christa Rodriguez
Jaimes has been a full-time tango teacher for most of his adult life. Before that, he traveled from town to town with a suitcase and his guitar, sleeping on rooftops and singing songs for bus fare. A dancer of extraordinary accomplishment, Jaimes is hailed for his beautiful movement and musicality. His teaching career began early in his life, giving classrooms composed of various stuffed animals and plastic toys lessons in reading, writing, and basic arithmetic. He has since passed this responsibility on to his daughter, Ravenna, who was born in the fall of 2006.
Christa began her affair with tango as a completely incompetent beginner. Of course all beginners are incompetent at what they are beginning, by definition; that’s the freedom and pleasure of being a beginner. But Christa was really bad. The veterans of the scene thought she might not make it, despite her extraordinary enthusiasm and hard work. A few years later, she is one of the most influential dancers in the U.S. and serves as the primary inspiration for a whole generation of female dancers (not to mention keeping the guys in line). She takes great pride in the progress of her students and continues to pursue her study of dance with the same voracious appetite as when she was that wobbly, wide-eyed teenager years ago. Those who know Christa well know her to be a master of creating beauty out of anything; be it sheet metal, a beat-up old guitar, oil on canvas, the intricate movements of tango, or a friend with two left feet.
Varo Boyajyan & Naomi Hotta
Varo Boyajyan and Naomi Hotta
Varo and Naomi met in 2006 as student and teacher in a tango class. Throughout the years they taught/learned from one another, danced and shared the passion of tango. In 2010, they started traveling and teaching together. Varo and Naomi cherish the abrazo and the connection; through their love of music and expression of creative musicality, their dance expresses the emotion, the sensuality and the elegance of tango.
Varo’s immersion into the world of Argentine Tango started in 2004 in Los Angeles, California. Over the next few years he has become an active participant and an integral part of the Los Angeles tango community. He devoted himself to becoming a skillful social dancer, mastering floor craft, musicality, and establishing connection with the partner.
TEACHING: Varo’s rapid progression and extensive knowledge has led him to being invited as an instructor for the UCLA’s Argentine Tango classes, as well as becoming permanent staff member at the “Tango Room”, one of premier Tango studios in Los Angeles. Varo has taught and performed at numerous tango and dance related events in Los Angeles and Southern California, including the recent “Flamenco Loves Tango” production at the Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center.
Naomi was exposed to Argentine Tango while teaching salsa, swing, and ballroom dance classes at Southern California’s West Los Angeles and Harbor Colleges. Her attraction to Argentine Tango was instantaneous. In 2004, in order to further her tango abilities, she traveled to Buenos Aires, the Mecca of tango, where she spent 5 months in rigorous training and nightly milonga dancing. There she attained top-caliber techniques and absorbed the essence of tango. Her great maestros included Jorge Dispari, Carlos Perez, Fabian Peralta & Virginia Pandolfi, Francisco Forquera and Carolina Bonaventura, alongside numerous milongueros. She competed in the Second World Tango Competition Salon Category, where she surpassed more than 280 couples, ranking in the top 20 of the world. Since 2004, she has been periodically returning to Buenos Aires to maintain and further her tango skills and expression.
Naomi’s love, passion, and devotion for the dance is everlasting. She teaches and performs on a regular basis in Los Angeles as well as in other cities around the world. Her fluidity and grace are second to none. She strives to continuously explore and evolve as a dancer. Naomi’s goal is to one day become an old milonguera, expressing her life’s experiences through tango.
See Videos Last Year’s Performance
Sabah Chammas
Sabah Chamas DJ
Sabah got addicted to Tango in the late nineties. It started with dancing and now it includes being a DJ.
Tango music occupies my thoughts and energizes my spirit and I am in constant search for good music. Although I try to vary the music I play, I am heavily influenced by the style of dance in Buenos Aires as well as the music played at the milongas there so feel free to call me old fashioned.
Paul Akmajian
Paul Akmajian
Paul has been dancing tango since 1998 and teaching for the last six years. His love for the music and travels to Buenos Aires led him to begin building an extensive collection of songs and become a DJ. He has been a steady in DJ in Albuquerque for almost 10 years and in the last five years he has DJ’d at festivals around the country including Denver, Seattle, Chicago, St. Louis, Phoenix, and the Tucson Tango Festival. Paul has also DJ’d for numerous special events and milongas in Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix, Tucson, Salida, CO, and Santa Fe, NM. As a DJ, Paul strives to keep everyone energized and dancing by playing the best, most familiar, time-tested and dancer-approved music from the Golden Age of Tango.
Varo Boyajyan
Varo Boyajyan DJ in action!
DJ Bio
As an avid dancer himself, Varo has a deep appreciation for the tango music as a crucial part of the overall milonga experience for each dancer. As a DJ, Varo strives to create a musical atmosphere that inspires the dancers and connects with them on the emotional level.
While DJ-ing, Varo is always connected to the dancers-either by observing the energy and the interactions of the dancefloor, or dancing in the middle of it. In addition to selecting good tango songs, Varo pays detailed attention to the structure of the playlist.
Varo comprises the tandas and the relationship of tandas to each other in a way to establish a harmonious flow of the energy, and to develop emotional-energetic contrasts with a tasteful climax and rise that resonate within each dancer.
Varo regularly DJ’s at milongas in Los Angeles and Southern Calfornia. He has DJ’d along with Otros Aires and Narcotango. Varo is also invited to DJ at festivals all over the US.
Lampis
DJ Lampis
Lampis is fascinated by tango and continuously expands his understanding of this complex art form. He strongly believes that appropriate music is a critical factor for an emotionally fulfilling evening of dancing and he aims to achieve exactly that with his music selections. He focuses on traditional music that brings the dancers on the dance floor and keeps them there until the very end of the milonga.
(photo by Jan Jaroszynski)
Thanks to Judy Miller all of our guests were welcomed as they arrived!!!
Posted 3 months ago at 10:56 am. Add a comment
Tucson Tango Festival Part II
Instructors & DJs
Instructors:
| Murat & Michelle Erdemsel | Luis Bianchi y Daniela Pucci | Oscar y Mary Ann Casas |
NEW THIS YEAR: New Festival Instructor Showcase day is Thursday:
J. Abling |Daniela Borgialli | Varo Boyajyan
DJs
| Clay Nelson & Beth Anne Osborn | Paul Akmajian | Sabah Chammas | Varo Boyajyan | Vijay Namasivayam | J. Abling
Why these instructors?
We choose instructors that are community builders. We choose instructors that dance with the community where they are teaching. We choose to bring to Tucson the type of Argentine Tango instructors that are gifted at saying the right thing at the right time. Nothing is left to chance, no detail is ignored in our instructor selection. We know the different styles of tango and we choose instructors that will enhance everyones style of tango. Pay attention here, and you may find your tango has improved for a life time.
Murat & Michelle Erdemsel
See Video
Murat Erdemsel has been described as one of the strongest leads in the United States as a dancer and Argentine Tango instructor. He has taught in most of the major Argentine tango events in North America and has influenced large numbers of dancers with his unique perspective of dance and instruction while he maintains his teaching position for Dance Manhattan in NYC. Born in Istanbul, Murat followed his parents path to art school. He has partnered with well known dancers and including with Michelle, has shared the stage with the masters of tango. Performed to the live music of important Tango orchestras such as Hector Del Curto, Raul Haurena and Color Tango. Murat can also be seen on TV and in Movies with his dance.
Michelle Erdemsel took her first steps in dance at the age of 6 at the world renowned San Francisco School of Ballet and continued with such greats as David Howard in NYC. Her dance experience can only be described as eclectic, ranging from modern, jazz, flamenco, hula and theatre dance. Michelle spent many years touring with famous Musical Artists such as Liza Minelli in prestigious venues like Prince Albert Royal Hall in London, Off Broadway theatres in NYC, Stadiums and Arenas in Europe, South America and the US. Michelle has dedicated her life to teaching and dancing tango with her husband and partner Murat. Together they travel to teach at major festivals and perform at the milongas as well as with live music such as the Color Tango Orchestra.
Murat and Michelle have been living on the road and teaching for almost 4 years now. Their teaching and performing style is in high demand in Europe, Australia and the USA.
Murat and Michelle’s Website
Luis Bianchi y Daniela Pucci
Daniela and Luis Videos
Oscar Casas and Mary Ann Casas
Oscar was born in Parque Patricios (a well-known tango barrio in Buenos Aires). His parents were avid tango dancers, and, in the 1950’s and ’60’s, they organized three different milongas per week, which regularly drew in 400-500 dancers. Oscar was very much influenced by his father, both by osmosis and discussion. He absorbed the code (codigo) of the milongueros, and when he eventually decided to take up the dance seriously, he already had a background and base that was the envy of many. Mary Ann came to tango eleven years ago from a background of ice-dancing. Coincidentally, her favourite ice-dance is the Argentine Tango. Oscar and Mary Ann have spent the last years living and teaching 6 months in Bs As and 6 months in Toronto and the US. Oscar has a distinct style both in his dance and his teaching. He is very .milonguero., and is respected by the .old guard. in the milongas of Buenos Aires. He is also extremely popular with his students, who are impressed by his teaching style. He teaches with energy and humor, emphasizing concepts, specializing in improvisation, always interpreting the music and respecting the character of the different orchestras. He is especially interested in the dynamics and cadencia of the dance. Everything he teaches is applicable to crowded milongas.
El estilo de tango de Oscar Casas esta basado en una constante improvisación sin perder la esencia milonguera respetando sus códigos desde sus raíces. Este estilo Milonguero Moderno de Oscar reflejan las actuales técnicas utilizadas por diferentes estilos de hoy, sin perder el espíritu de la vieja guardia.
Mary Ann Casas nacida originalmente el Canadá realizo patinaje artístico sobre hielo por mas de 25 anos. Su experienioa como bailarina y patinadora fue muy importante en el desarrollo y crecimiento de sus 13 anos de carrera con el tango. Mary Ann y Oscar Casas coinciden que el tango es un sentimiento que se baila, una danza nacida por el tremendo choque de culturas que ocurrió en Buenos Aires el siglo pasado
Como lo quieran llamar, Nuevo, Milonguero, Salón etc., cuando dos cuerpos se unes en armonía a través de la música, para poder representarla, siempre hay un sentimiento. Ese sentimiento el lo que nosotros los Argentinos bailamos y llamamos tango.
See Video
Varo’s immersion into the world of Argentine Tango started in 2004 in Los Angeles, California. Over the next few years he has become an active participant and an integral part of the Los Angeles tango community. He devoted himself to becoming a skillful social dancer, mastering floor craft, musicality, and establishing connection with the partner.
TEACHING: Varo’s rapid progression and extensive knowledge has led him to being invited as an instructor for the UCLA’s Argentine Tango classes, as well as becoming permanent staff member at the “Tango Room”, one of premier Tango studios in Los Angeles. Varo has taught and performed at numerous tango and dance related events in Los Angeles and Southern California, including the recent “Flamenco Loves Tango” production at the Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center.
See Videos
DJ’ING: Knowing how important music is for a good social tango experience, Varo has been extensively studying the music, composers, band leaders, and styles. He has become a very well respected DJ in the community, regularly playing music at the “Tango Fusion” alternative milonga, UCLA Milonga and many other elegant and traditional milongas in Los Angeles. He has also been invited on many occasions to guest-DJ at the “DIVO” Milonga and the “El Encuentro” Milonga in Los Angeles. Most recently, Varo was a featured DJ at the 2009 Tucson Tango Festival for traditional and alternative milongas.
J. Abling has been teaching Argentine tango since 2001, first in Seattle, then in Portland.
His teaching focuses on the relationship between movement and the music, with an emphasis on technique. His methods is influenced by his study as a pianist and vocalist, his training in sports, and experience in performance arts and teaching other social dances. Some of his influential teachers include Jaimes Friedgen, Luciana Valle, Cecilia Gonzales, Cristina & Homer Ladas, Rosa Corisco & Felipe Martinez and Tete Rusconi to name a few. J. has taught in Seattle, Portland, Ashland, San Francisco, Reno and Los Angeles. He has performed with Carrie Whipple, Silvina Vals, Jennifer Olson, Tara Fortier & Luiza Paes. He aslo has dj’d in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Ashland, OR.
Currently, J. is traveling and teaching at different cities in the U.S. See Videos
Daniela is one of two Argentine Tango teachers in Arizona who has a Master’s Degree in Dance and it is her full-time profession. She has taught over 2000 people to dance, primarily Argentine Tango.
Dancing has always been a part of Daniela Borgialli’s life. She performed her first solo at the age of four and began making dances at 10. It wasn’t until graduate school that the Argentine blood in her veins manifested itself in a love and pursuit of the Argentine Tango. Once the tango spell had been cast, Daniela went where she could whenever possible in pursuit of its lure, and she discovered that her grandfather (who passed away shortly after she was born) was a milonguero.
Her studies have led her to great teachers including Luciana Valle, Cecilia Gonzalez, Fabian Salas, Fernanda y Guillermo, Brigitta Winkler, Alex Krebs, Tomas Howlin, and Eric Jørissen, to name a few.
After receiving her Master of Fine Arts in Dance and Choreography from Arizona State University in 2000, she moved to New York City and began teaching this exquisite couples dance. Her theoretical and technical background in modern dance, her enthusiasm and passion, intuitive nature, and artistry contribute to her abilities as a dance instructor.
Daniela currently teaches and performs locally in Arizona. She travels frequently to Buenos Aires to continue her professional development as a teacher. In the spring of 2005 she went to Buenos Aires on an Adjunct Faculty Professional Growth Award to further her professional development as a teacher of the Argentine Tango. She is interested in the art of teaching and attended several teachers’ conferences in 2006, including Teacher’s Week at El Corte in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
In September 2005 she was invited to teach in San Diego where she conducted a workshop on close embrace and a follower’s technique workshop. In 2008 she was invited by Sharna Fabiano to be on the faculty of a Follower’s Weekend where she conducted a class on “musicality and listening to the music”. She has taught in Charleston, SC; Washington, DC;, Houston, TX;, Flagstaff, AZ; as well as regularly teaching 2 levels of Argentine Tango to over 80 students at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ.
Along with Beginner and Intermediate classes, she enjoys exploring Tango’s life metaphor as a unique way to develop team-building and leadership skills, and interpersonal relationships. She is also interested in using tango to further improvisation and partnering skills with trained dancers. See Video
Clay Nelson is probably most famous nowadays for being the organizer of the Portland Tangofest – which has spread into several festivals per year.
Beth Anne Osborn studied Classical ballet and Modern Dance at the University of Cincinnati. She began studying tango 10 years ago with Homer Ladas in Tucson at the Shoebox Studio. I caught tango fever like so many others – apparently, there is no cure.
Clay and Beth Anne became partners two years ago. Currently they do two festivals in Ashland (Turkey Tango and Labor Day’s Grape Escape.
As instructors, they travel together to emerging tango communities sharing the secrets of social tango through the fundamental core values associated with “Close Embrace Style” Clay is committed to helping build healthy tango communities wherever he can. His “How to build a tango community Lecture” is a must for newer or smaller communities.
Clay and Beth Anne have obviously been bitten by Tango Fever and continue to explore the music, culture and the infinite possibilities that our beloved mistress, Argentine Tango, bestows upon us.
Clay and Beth Anne will be collaborating to bring us the quality of Solid Gold Tango we have come expect at quality milongas.
Solid Gold DJs:
Why these DJs?
I know for a fact that good DJs can make or break a festival. I have been diligently studying and DJing for a few years now and as time goes by I have become more particular and more aware of the energy that a well timed and properly mixed tanda can bring to the milonga floor. These are the qualities I looked for in the DJs I invited to keep our festival guests dancing. I know our group of DJs will keep our guests in the best of spirits, the purest of passion, while coaxing them to be blending and moving together on the crowded milonga floor.
To help you know how and why I chose these DJs, let me share what I want love in a “fantastic” milonga: I love dancing to well blended mix of golden, early, revival, transitional and progressive: I love pure tango! And these DJs play what I love! For a traditional milonga I love the golden era of tango coupled with a healthy helping of early tango then infuse this with an infrequent tanda of transitional tangos, mixed with a small measure of revival and a splash of progressive later in the night depending on the crowd. I like my tandas to be all of the same year, style, mood and rhythm. I want a playful grouping in a tanda that gets me ready to milonga, follow this with a romantic blend that pulls us close and prepares us for a vals.
I like a DJ that is aware and hip to the mood and tempo of the milonga floor, someone that is keeping an eye on the numbers dancing, their styles and fellowship on the floor thus introducing tandas that keep the seats empty and the floor moving. I want a DJ that knows when to pull the curtains and inhibit flying bumping when the floor is crowded as opposed the DJ that can put on a dramatic Pugliese when the floor is so crowded you can barely move!
I assure you that the creatively structured tandas at the milongas of the Tucson Tango Festival will leave you with a warm moist glow, a sparkling gleam and a desire for more! If you leave here with a wish, it will only be that you wish it would never end!
Vijay Namasivayam
.
Vijay was one of the key instructors and DJs in the Ann Arbor tango community. He is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He teaches the traditional Milonguero style of dancing that employs subtle body movements to generate complex choreography in a compact space. His classes have a strong emphasis on Connection, Musicality and Navigation that help students to quickly grasp the fundamentals of social dancing. His dancing style has been influenced by many teachers including Robin Thomas, Christopher & Caroline, Alex Krebs, Jaimes Friedgen in the US and by Susana Miller, Cacho Dante, Ana Maria Shapira and Javier Rodriguez in BsAs. As a DJ, he has been a part of several festivals in the US including the Portland and Denver tango festivals (http://festivals.tango.info/VijayNamas)
Paul Akmajian
Paul Akmajian (Albuquerque, NM) has been dancing tango for over 10 years and
teaching for the last five. He has been a DJ for most of his tango life and
in the last 3 years he has DJ’d in Seattle, Phoenix, Tucson, as well as on a
regular basis in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Recently, he was a DJ for the
Denver > Albuquerque Labor Day weekend Tango Festival. He is excited to
return to his hometown of Tucson to DJ for the Tucson Tango Festival.
Sabah Chammas
Sabah got addicted to Tango in the late nineties. It started with dancing and now it includes being a DJ.
Tango music occupies my thoughts and energizes my spirit and I am in constant search for good music. Although I try to vary the music I play, I am heavily influenced by the style of dance in Buenos Aires as well as the music played at the milongas there so feel free to call me old fashioned.
Varo Boyajyan
Varo’s immersion into the world of Argentine Tango started in Los Angeles, California. Over the next four years he has become an active participant and an integral part of the tango community in Los Angeles. He devoted himself to becoming a skillful social dancer, mastering floorcraft, musicality, and establishing connection with the partner.
Knowing how important music is for a good social tango experience, Varo has been extensively studying the music, composers, band leaders, and styles. He has become a very well respected DJ in the community, regularly playing music at the “Tango Fusion” alternative milonga, UCLA Milonga and many other elegant and traditional milongas in Los Angeles. He has also been invited on many occaisions to guest-DJ at the “DIVO” Milonga and the “El Encuentro” Milonga in LA.
Jay Abling
Jay loves to DJ and his tandas have been known to melt butter in refrigerators three states away! J Abling believes that a milonga is a “party where tango is danced”. Whenever he DJs, he intends to keep a good party going with select choice of music to inspire both lovers of traditional and alternative music. When not teaching or DJing, he is constantly organizing and listening to his music or looking for more music to add to his extensive collection. He has learned to dj from some of the best DJs in the country including Jaimes Friedgen, Alex Krebs, Dan Boccia, Shorey Myers and Vijay. He has DJd at festivals and regular milongas in Portland, Seattle, Houston, New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Maui and Ashland, OR.
Posted 4 months ago at 11:14 pm. Add a comment
