The Artists

Cecilia Gonzalez (Buenos Aires) and Donato Juárez (Mar de Plata)

Cecilia is very well-respected by the tango community in Buenos Aires and has taught at numerous festivals around the world, including the Argentine International Tango Congress (CITA) held annually in Buenos Aires. Along the way she has partnered with some of the most famous tangueros of her generation: Osvaldo Zotto, Fabian Salas, and Mariano 'Chicho' Frumboli, to name a few. Her knowledge and passion for tango makes her a very appreciated and requested tango teacher. She has taught in Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and US. She has been a member of the teaching faculty of CITA since its inception in 1999.

Donato is one of the most talented tango dancers of his generation. From his hometown of Mar del Plata in Argentina, he tirelessly explored the intricacies of this dance through self-study and under several reknowned teachers. He has taught at international tango festivals in Australia, Europe, Mexico, the US, and Iceland and has performed extensively in Argentina, most notably partnering Cecilia in the 2008 International Argentine Tango Congress (CITA). www.tangomotion.com

Luiza Paes (Buenos Aires) and Nick Jones (Denver)

Luiza Paes, Brazilian-born, music student since age six, worked in musical education and vocal technique for many years. Her very first tango experience was in 1997 in Portland, Oregon where she took a group class with Clay Nelson and was immediately struck by the music and fascinated by the idea of the connection in the couple. Back in Brazil, Luiza met Norberto "Pulpo" Esbrez who became her teacher and then partner for nearly 10 years. Luiza and "Pulpo" traveled the world teaching and performing: Russia, Japan, Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Greece, Spain, Denmark, United States, Canada, Mexico, Uruguay, and Brazil. They taught at numerous tango festivals including CITA in Buenos Aires, Portland, Las Vegas, Boston, Amsterdam, and in Denmark. Luiza is a fun, caring and articulate instructor and teaches technique emphasizing the leader's and follower's roles, improvisation and the ability of adapting. Since February 2008 she started teaching and traveling on her own and her focus has been teaching musicality along with a technique that opens up possibilities for creativity in the dance. Luiza and Nick have been performing and teaching together in 2008 and have been very successful in generating a relaxed and humorous environment for students to enjoy and take the most out of their learning process.

During the last five years, Nick Jones has taught in major cities and at festivals across the United States, Australia and Buenos Aires, including Pulpo's Tango Week, Portland's TangoFest (2005) & Valentango (2006), Tango de los Muertos (2006, Nick w/ Florencia Taccetti), in Washington DC, New York, Montreal, San Francisco and at Yale University (2006). Nick's dancing is effortless, elegant, sophisticated, and musical. Nick also plays the bandoneon, and leads a tango quintet in Denver. In college, Nick majored in poetry, minored in painting, and loved throwing pottery. It was through throwing pottery that he understood for the first time what it really meant to be centered and "on axis" - terms that dance teachers often toss around - and now these concepts are central to his teaching. As a teacher Nick is enthusiastic and has an uncanny ability to explain complex ideas simply and to pinpoint the subtleties of where each student needs to improve. www.naturaltango.com

Brigitta Winkler (Berlin) and Tomas Howlin (Montreal)

Brigitta's dancing and teaching is loved by both traditionalists and innovators in the tango world. Trained in ballet and modern dance, she discovered Argentine tango in 1980. She has traveled to Buenos Aires many times to learn from some of tango's 'greats': Juan Carlos Copes, Antonio Todaro, Pepito, Gustavo Naveira, and Eduardo Arquimbau. She is a founding member of Tango Mujer, an all-women tango group that has performed in New York, Berlin, Theaterhaus Stuttgart, the Colorado Dance Festival (1999) Tango Marathon, and at the prestigious Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Brigitta is a frequent guest teacher at Dance Manhattan. Her dance studio, Tanzart, has been a pillar of the tango community in Berlin since 1987. With more than 20 years of experience teaching and performing tango around the globe, Brigitta is one of the most inspiring and innovative artists in the tango world today. In class, she has the knack of unlocking her students' creativity and making tango fun at any level. www.brigittatango.de

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.tangoclasico.com/tomas

Korey Ireland (Kansas City)

- Monster Orchestra Leader

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. He has been playing the bandoneon for a number of years and has participated in and led a number of tango orchestras similar to TdlM's Monster Orchestra. He cares deeply about nurturing the nacent tango music scene in the United States, and is a supportive and passionate leader. Originally from Kansas City, Korey has spent the better part of the last five years traveling and teaching tango in England, Holland, Spain, Germany, Russia and Argentina, sharing his passion for tango, music, expression, and connection. In January 2005 he met Mila in El Corte and they are continuing this tango adventure as a duo. (OK, that's really Mila holding the bandoneon in the photo, but Korey's the one peeking over her shoulder!) www.ko-arts.com

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

Evan Griffiths (New York City) - DJ

Evan knows what he likes to dance to - and luckily for us, what he likes to dance to is the best of the Golden Age tango music. He studied classical piano for 12 years, and has been playing tango piano now for the last 5 years. Evan has been been teaching tango since 2001 and has assisted Susana Miller in classes, and assisted and performed with Luciana Valle, Alex Krebs, and Florencia Taccetti. He has taught in many places, including Eugene, Ashland, NYC, Portland, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Ann Arbor and in Berlin, Germany. He is currently on staff at Dance Manhattan in New York City.

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

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 5 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, Tuscan, and Montreal. www.open-tango.com

David Reynoso (Boston)

The festival's logo and the look of the website came about primarily because of the serious talent of David Reynoso. A theatre designer and a painter, David also works in residency as the American Repertory Theater's Costume Crafts Artisan. His paintings are exhibited by private collectors, as well as venues in Texas, Boston and NYC. His theater design credits include the world premieres of Jeffrey Hatcher's "The Fabulous Invalid", "Training Wisteria" by Molly Smith-Metzler (Winner Best New Play for Kennedy Center's ACTF Competition), and Caitlin Condy's "Little Wing" at the NYC Fringe festival. He worked in New York as assistant designer to James Noone on over 14 productions nationwide (Glimmerglass Opera, Manhattan Theatre Club, National Actor's Theatre, the Guthrie, Broadway, and Huntigton Theatre Company.) David has collaborated on over sixty productions since receiving his B.F.A. from Boston University, and has received awards and nominations for his design and artistic skills (Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Princess Grace Award, Kahn Award).