Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Feb 26: DJ Jake Spatz, stars Christopher Nassopoulos & Caroline Peattie (SF), Metin Yazir (Turkey)


This Friday, join us for a great party with Christopher and Caroline, Metin and Jake. Fun guaranteed!

8.30pm Upper level class by Christopher and Caroline. (included with admission)
midnight performance

DJ Jake

Additionally, there are simultaneous classes for beginners and pre-intermediate at 8.30pm, taught by DanceSport faculty (included with Lounge admission).

Special Event this week only
Metin Yazir, in town this weekend only, is teaching workshops at DanceSport Friday and Saturday, more info here.
Friday 7:00-8:30pm Int/Adv Sacadas & Barridas ($30); half off at Lounge afterward.

More about our stars:
DJ Jake Spatz (Washington, DC)
Jake Spatz has been teaching Argentine tango since 2005 and DJing since 2006. He has brought his enthusiasm for the dance, music, and culture of the tango to cities up and down the East Coast, including most recently he played to great acclaim at Tango de los Muertos. In his hometown Washington, DC, Jake hosts Milonga Local, and DJs every 2nd Saturday at Milonga Porteña at Chevy Chase Ballroom.

Christopher Nassopoulos and Calorine Peattie (San Francisco)
Known for their musicality and dynamic movement, Christopher and Caroline are two of the best-known close-embrace instructors of Argentine tango in the United States. They are specialists in teaching pure lead and follow and clear and uncomplicated walking.

Christopher was first introduced to Argentine tango in 1993, and made numerous trips to Buenos Aires to study and learn the social traditions of the milongas there. Caroline taught many forms of movement and danced salsa for almost a decade before being lured to the tango in 1997, and joined Christopher as his teaching partner two years later.

They have been invited to teach in more than 20 cities across the country. With strong backgrounds in yoga, pilates, and martial arts, and a multitude of athletic skills between them, these energetic instructors fill their classes with contagious humor and a relaxed atmosphere to create positive and upbeat class experiences.

Skilled yet unpretentious, Christopher and Caroline have the incisive ability to analyze movement and help improve a student's technique on even the most subtle levels. In addition, both Christopher and Caroline lead and follow, giving them further insight into the technique of and relationship between the two roles. They give their students the building blocks they need to create their own improvisational dance, using the beauty of the music and the embrace of their partner as their ultimate guide.

Metin Yazir (Istambul)
Metin Yazir is credited with leading the resurgence of Argentine Tango in Turkey in the 1990s, and is considered by many a master of masters, having taught many of the rising stars in Turkey and around the world.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Fri Feb 19: Dominic Bridge & Jenna Rohrbacher; Travis Widrick & Tali Wagner

This week join Dominic and Jenna for the most beautiful and sensitive performance you have seen in a long time!

Special guests Travis Widrick and Tali Wagner from Buffalo will perform as well.

Upper level class 8.30pm (included with admission)
by Dominic and Jenna

Simultaneous classes for beginners and pre-intermediate dancers taught by DanceSport staff (also included).

Performance by Dominic and Jenna, and Travis and Tali at midnight.

DJ Tine

Drink specials, famous empanadas and real food.


More about our artists:

Dominic Bridge & Jenna Rohrbacher (Portland, OR)

To Jenna Rohrbacher, dancing tango is an ongoing search for the complete. Balanced by complexity in movement and purity of sensation, her strong, elegant dance embodies the traditional roles of Argentine tango and beyond. In teaching, Jenna encourages students to discover their individual connections to the music as well as focus on laying a foundation of solid technique upon which they can build their dance.

In the last three years, Jenna has taught and performed around the U.S. with Joe Leonardo, Alex Krebs, Felipe Martinez, and Dominic Bridge. In the summer of 2008, Jenna taught at the Tango Mango Festival in Devonshire, England with Portland's own Rebecca Smith. In February 2009, she performed with Alex Krebs at the Maui TangoFest, and in the summer of 2009, she performed with Dominic Bridge at Chicago Tango Week as well as in Florence, Italy.

In four years Dominic Bridge became one of the top young tango professionals in the world. In this time, he has performed up and down the west and east coasts, Chicago Tango Week ’09, Italy, and Buenos Aires, as well as in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. Dominic has spent the last year building a tango school and teaching full time in Florence, Italy. When his weekends were free, he took trips around Europe, spending a significant amount of time in Paris, Rennes, Berlin, Bäsel, Siracusa, and Catania. Dominic views tango in the same way he views any language: there are clear structure, grammar, and rules, all of which can be broken when understood. He knows these things form a foundation necessary in communicating in one’s own way. His effectiveness as a teacher grows from his deep understanding of movement and his ability to clearly communicate.

Travis Widrick and Tali Wagner

Travis Widrick first discovered tango in 2004, studying in Geneva NY with Joaquin Canay. What started as something reluctant quickly developed into a lifetime passion. After moving to Buffalo, NY Travis began to teach the small struggling community out of necessity and now is at the forefront of its growth. Travis is passionate about the culture and music of Argentine Tango with his reputation as a Tango DJ starting to make waves in the tango community.

Tali Wagner happened upon Travis' class in 2007. Instantly addicted and eager to learn she rapidly advanced, assisting and then teaching alongside Travis. Tali is fascinated by the body in motion and studies disciplines such as yoga, ballet, and other social dances. Tali has a strong desire for the growth of the tango community and the preservation of tradition. She shares with an excitement and passion about Tango and community that is infectious and inspiring.

Travis and Tali dance traditional style Argentine tango, with emphasis on connection and musicality. They strive to convey not only the movements of the dance but the FEELINGS and SOUL of Tango. Major influences on their dancing have been Bryant and Faye Lopez, Oliver Kokler and Silvina Vals, Geraldine Rojas, Julio Balmeceda and Corina DeLa Rosa.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Feb 12: Mariana Parma & Omar Lagos, Ronen Khayat & Jennifer Wesnousky. DJ Tine


This week, Lounge is excited to present more fabulous New York talent.
Mariana Parma & Omar Lagos will teach the upper level class at 8.30pm and perform around midnight.

Special guest performers:
Ronen Khayat & Jennifer Wesnousky. Ronen is available for private lessons Friday and Saturday.

DJ Tine



More about our artists

Mariana Parma is an instructor, choreographer and performer and has a B.A. in dance from Rutgers University. She has been featured in motion pictures, national commercials and has worked with Broadway choreographers for musical and film productions. She specializes in Latin dancing: Salsa, Mambo, Tango, and Latin American Folk.
Her achievements have included:
-Principal dancer and supervising choreographer in "Todo Tango" at the Thalia Theatre in Queens, NY, in 2001.
-Produced and performed in the off-Broadway dance show Swango the Fusion
-Worked with Hinton Battle, 3 time Tony Award winner, in the musical workshop, The Bronx Casket Company.
-Featured dancer and co-choreographer of the Tango Show at the Thalia Theatre in Queeens
-Featured dancer in the national tour of SWING the Musical from Dec '05 through Jan '06.
She can be seen around the world performing Salsa and Tango.
In 2009, Mariana and her partner Omar Lagos danced at the World Tango Championships in Buenos Aires (salon style), and made New York look great in the semifinals!

Omar Lagos is one of the most sensitive and stylish salon dancers in the New York tango scene. He is a sought-after leader and his partnership with Mariana Parma is a perfect match that makes both partners shine.

Ronen Khayat began his dance career with ballet and modern dance in his native Israel. After training for years in these styles of dance, as well as performing with several companies in Tel Aviv, San Francisco and New York, he discovered Tango, which has become his passion. In both Buenos Aires and New York, Ronen has studied Tango with today's greatest masters. Ronen has performed in such noted shows as Carnagie Hall's Tango Nuevo, Dream of Tango in the Byham Theatre in Pittsburg, Tangos Pour La Milongas with the noted Ensamble Romulolorrea at the Outremont in Montreal, at The Meany Hall Theatre in Seattle WA, and the New York Tango Festival. In 2003, he stared in Broadway choreographer Robert Royston's Swango which was performed in NYC's Swing 46, as well as The Hellen Hayes Theatre. Ronen currently lives and teaches in Israel.

Jennifer Wesnousky Born and raised in California, Jennifer Wesnousky trained in gymnastics, ballet and jazz throughout her childhood. When her pursuit of careers in Latin music and Spanish translation brought her to New York, she chanced upon Argentine tango. Enamored, she studied extensively with top tango masters at home and in Buenos Aires, where she traveled annually. As a performer, Jennifer has danced and taught at locations and events as diverse as cruise ships, Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night Swing, Joan Lunden’s Camp Reveille, the New York Tango Festival, Latina Magazine’s Poet’s Den and in the upcoming film, “ParAmor.” She has also appeared in numerous stage productions. As a teacher at Paul Pellicoro’s Dancesport, Jennifer is passionate about taking her students to the next level. She has also been a guest instructor and performer in several of the United States and in Israel. Currently, she can be seen dancing in “Borges and Piazzolla Tango” at the Thalia Spanish Theatre in Sunnyside, Queens.


PS: Videos of tonight's performance:

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Feb 5: Daniel Raphael & Mariana Galassi, DJ Tine


Join us on Friday Feb 5 for a Tango Lounge featuring guest artists
Daniel Raphael and Mariana Galassi

Class at 830: upper level. Included with admission.
Performance around midnight.

DJ and host Tine

More about our guest artists:
Daniel Raphael has been working as a professional dancer and instructor for more than 12 years, training individuals, teaching groups, and conducting workshops in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and in New York City at DanceSport. He has performed many different dance styles for television and stage that include Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary Dance, Flamenco, Latin rhythms, Brazilian dances and Tango, his specialty.
He has spent the last few years meticulously researching a process regarding the teaching of Tango and the preparation of new dance professionals, developing a personal teaching method based on strong body awareness and concepts and techniques from the fields of psychology and holistic therapies.
His teaching method is committed to the development of self-confidence and focuses on integral health regardless of age. This commitment is based on his own successful training in Ballet (Classic, Modern and Contemporary), Alexander Technique, Yoga, Bioenergetics Therapy, and Ayurvedic Massage.
Daniel’s vast experience allows him to embrace Tango's many aspects, from the old Canyengue style to the contemporary Tango Nuevo.

Mariana Galassi was born and raised Buenos Aires, Argentina. She trained intensively with Chicho Frumboli and Lucia Mazer, Julio Balmaceda, Corina de la Rosa and Gustavo Naveira. In 2000 she moved to New York City where she currently teaches tango. She continues to travel throughout the United States performing at different venues and teaching workshops.
The strong connection Galassi establishes with her partner, along with her own fluidity of movement and profound musicality all serve to contribute to her unique and sophisticated style. While she remains true to the spirit of traditional tango, her personal interpretation of the dance makes her one of the most distinctive and exciting dancers of the new generation.