New this spring! - 2 workshops emphasizing creativity.

Expression of contrasts – A serie of 5 workshops to explore the contrasts that can exists in interprétation within the basic of the vocabulary of  argentine tango. Starting April 26. Click for details

Friday May 11th, don’t miss the Samba de Gafieira demos with Rachid, Amélie and friends.
The April 28 avril Dance encounter will be held on Saturday May 26 instead. A party with two dance communities!  In this new series, the first one will be with La Samba de Gafieira and Tango. (Introduction course to tango at 20:30, Introduction course to Gafieira at 21:30, all this followed by an alternative night mixing both music styles.)  Click for details et  http://www.facebook.com/groups/7407965148/

Milena Plebs in Montreal from May 29th to June 3rd! Tango choreographer, performed with “Tango Argentino”, the show that rekindled the presence of tango worldwide. She is offering 4 days of workshops and is available for private classes. Click for details

On Thursday June 7, How to wear high heels with Tina Karr. A unique chance to learn more on the art of wearing high heels and a short history of the heel lesson! Click here for details

The new term is now on-line. Lovely spring! Follow this link to see our new schedule. Please go to right week, it’s on Google calendar. There are new tango technical courses on our schedule!

Friday March 23rd is our 3rd annual Hats n’ gloves night! 

The end of session bal for the winter term is on March 24th. Come celebrate our students and see their demos! The professors will also be giving performances. There will be a pre-launch of the Air de Tango clothing line, a few pieces of clothing will be on demo. Just a foretaste!

The Air de Tango annual shoes sale! Before a new arrival, EVERYTHING must be sold! The prices are going to be between 140 & 170 plus taxes! Incredible! Starting on March 23rd, here are the hours of the sale: Friday the 23rd 20:30-midnight, Saturday the 24th 20:00-midnight and Sunday the 25th 16:00-19:00. Don’t miss this opportunity to get a pair of the most beautiful shoes in the world!

NEW! The 4th Saturday of the month bal ! On Saturday April 28th, we will have a party with two dance communities!  In this new series the first one will be with La Samba de Gafieira and Tango. (Introduction course to tango at 20:30, Introduction course to Gafieira at 21:30, all this followed by an alternative night mixing both music styles.)

ZAMBA workshop with Cynty and Toto! We want to take the opportunity to have a workshop with these dancers while they are here. Plus, it’s one of the most gorgeous dances! If you want to be in this special group, send an e-mail to Mylène.

Ste-Thérèse Section:

The new term is now on-line. Please see our new schedule.

Saturday March 31st from 18:00 to 20:00 : Pre-Launch of Tanda Collection: A brand new line of clothing and dance accessories for women, Feminine and unique creations. A welcome cocktail will be served, raffles and surprises! Diane and Gabriela will host you!  FREE admission!

At 20:00 , milonga With DJ Christian Gagnon on the 2nd floor and a Latino night on the 1st floor. Invited dancers and demo will be held at 20:00 with Bryant and Faye Lopez from Toronto. Come dance Argentine Tango and other Latin dances!

Your host Diane and Christian!
$10 admission!
Dining possibility from 18:00, on appointment only.  Diane 514 894 7446

Saturday April, 7th: Faye’s Ladies Tango Week-end
3 Workshops for women at 12:00 (limited places, reserve before March 25th)
Lunch at 13:15
From 17:00 to 19:00 

Ladies: You will have the privilege to do makeup, hair and massage for free. Courtesy of the show “Hair” Calla of St. Therese
Official launch of Tanda Collection available for you!
Gentlemen: A conversation will be held before the evening for free for all interested dancers; “history, music and movement” with Christian Gagnon and Bryant Roberto Lopez. Welcome to all men who wish to learn the origin and the culture of Tango.

19:00: Dinner-Milonga $35 ( upon reservation only, before April 3rd)

On the menu: Picadas entries, duo of grilled served with its side dishes, coffee, and dessert

21:00: Milonga $15 (without reservation)

Demonstrations-fashion show in the evening with our guest of Buenos Aires, Luna Palacios

Draw and Surprises for women

For more information about the event and workshops, please consult the complete description on-line:  www.tangosoul.org

Informations, suscriptions et tickets : Diane Rivest 514 894 7446

FOR ALL WOMEN: Receive a Gift Certificate from Spa Polar Bear’s Club of Piedmont by registering for workshops!

At the present time, there is a lot going on in the Tango community and I hear several comments such as “now we don’t know where to go” or “everyone is divided”, etc…

As a mother of two young boys, I know how important it is to have a passion, which is something I hope to transmit to my boys….a passion for something because this motivates us and gives us energy to create!

When a new establishment opens its doors in the community I think “oh here is someone else who has fallen in love with tango”.

As an organizer, I know that milongas are an essential part of the financial health of an establishment. However, if milongas and classes are popping up everywhere, it does dilute the community and essentially dissipates it. There are those who believe that the more activities there are, the more people will get involved, but I beg to digress. I believe that people want to go where other people are; this is also the image that I think we want Tango in Montreal to have.

When activities are planned, its prime goal should be to invest time, knowledge and energy in the community while always respecting the history of tango and the people who have built this community over the past 24 years. It is a known fact that financially, life

in the field of arts is a challenge. It’s unfortunate that we have to compete with people who seem to be in it just for the quick buck!

Speaking with the fabulous painter, Léa Rivière, she spoke of similar problems in her field. People with no formal training who were painting for fun and clearly not in need of painting to survive started to sell their paintings. Nonetheless, they were taking away from the lifeblood of the art they loved! Isn’t that a strange paradox? So the message is, I think that if we want the community to thrive and continue to grow in a healthy way, we need to be more conscientious of tango artists……..do you know who these artists are here in Montreal?

Another theme is that I think people have this false idea that there is a reigning climate of competition amongst organizers. I personally LOVE it when people from other studios/schools come to my Friday night events. The last time Carol from Studio Tango came we stayed until 4 am with Allyson Manta talking about them good old times… and this attitude is shared amongst organizers.

I remember the time when I used to have my shoes in hand going up the stairs to a milonga and how excited I was! I had the rare chance this weekend to go to the Tango Queer night at the Tangueria, again Paul and I had a good time chatting on a number of things! I am so looking forward to going to all your milongas, but as you know for now I pretty much have my hands full!

And in any case who would want to leave these men at home alone anyhow

 But one day, I will have more free time and it is with pleasure that I will be more present at other people’s milongas. In the meantime, let us work together towards maintaining Montreal as one of the best tango communities in the world.

IMHO number 1 – Time perspective

This is a shout out to Oliver Kolker whose blog has been as inspiration to me. He signs it with this acronym IMHO which stands for ‘In my humble opinion’ and it has inspired me to write a post that is more revelatory than usual. Here is the link to his blog : http://oliverkolker.wordpress.com/ Oliver, if you read this, I won’t use your acronym all the time, just this once; this series I mean :0

So, here goes….

For some time now I have been thinking about many issues concerning Tango. I would like to offer my insight on a few of them and hopefully, in the best of worlds, it will be helpful for some or provoke thought in others. Since I have been dancing tango and have been an active organizer in the Montreal Tango community for the last 17 years (yee gods!), I have perspective…. ….time perspective that is; and this is a key issue in this post which is addressed to all but specifically with the Montreal Tango community in mind.

Time is something that is often taken for granted in Tango. For those of us who have put our guts into this we know how hard we have worked to get to where we are at with our Tango. If you have only been dancing for three or fours years, you may not realize that Tango has been in Montreal for 25 years already…a quarter of a century! So there is a history that you might not be aware of, but it is there and it is interesting and it is important.

This history is something that should be taken into consideration by new organizers, students and teachers; unfortunately, this is not always the case. I would like to invite you to view the first minute of the following clip from You Tube on the life of Rita Hayworth (one of my idols) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFKSmzeIuBQ. Did you hear how Nicole Kidman spoke between .24 and .45 seconds? She says: ‘It is so important that we remember those who brought us here…’

If the Tango community in Montreal has grown in importance to the point it has today, it is because someone did something right at some point in time. Collectively I think the people who put the roots of tango in place did and are still doing a great job. Students and potential students should be aware of who are the key people in this community, who are teachers that have extensive body training and have truly worked on the pedagogy of teaching tango. The fact that a school has aggressive marketing does not make it a great school.

When I started dancing I was so awed by the dancers before me that it took me a long time to gain confidence in tango. I remember my first teacher from Argentina, the late Andrea Missé, she was my age but had so much tango in her! I was profoundly touched by her as a teacher/ dancer but mostly as a person. I remember after one of her performances she was standing alone at the bar, and she seemed so angry all the while containing herself with the elegance she always had. But she was not happy with the performance and she shared her thoughts with me on the subject for a few minutes. I loved how she allowed herself to be angry and say it…from my past experience, I had learnt to keep my mouth shut. Just those two minutes changed me and gave me have more confidence. Later on during the trip she said to me ‘You should be proud of what you have done in Tango for the short time you have been dancing’. Here we were, two young women with such vastly different backgrounds in tango and hearing these words from her has undeniably contributed to the dancer I am today. I was strengthened by her visit, and I must say I was never the same, but in a good way. She was, without knowing it, a mentor to me for that short visit.

Mentorship is one of the most important concepts in our society. I personally have had a few younger teachers start at my school and slowly we mentor them so that what they propagate is coherent with what tango has been in the past as well as what it is growing to be. It is imperative that the experienced teachers/dancers transmit their knowledge to the next generation of teachers/dancers who will in turn carry it to the future students…….and here I mean knowledge in all aspects of tango. I thank those younger teachers who have had the confidence in me to be part of their training; in fact it has been a privilege for me.

But this brings me to the following question: What do we do when some think they know it all and we are just an old dusty book that has no interest in being read?

Newsletter February 2012

Attention!  A new beginner class will begin on Tuesday February 14th at 6h30!  Come and live the passion of  Tango for Saint-Valentin! Link

The compagnie Tango Mylène Pelletier! You don’t know about this yet?  Come and see the videos and there new show Tango Nocturno at the Balcon Thursday February 23rd! Follow this link

Air de Tango will again participate to the Nuit Blanche this year on Saturday February 25th…the contents of the evening will be revealed after the 7th, stay tuned!

Cynthia and Toto will teach an open class every Saturday from 6h30 to 8h00 pm.  they will also teach workshops on Thursdays! Women’s technique, Zamba and Chacarera! Follow this link

School are celebrating!  On Saturday February 11th! Link!

Lover’s evening Friday February 10th at Air de Tango, come dressed in RED ! DJ Mathieu Brossard

NEW STUFF!  Practica del domingo, Come and see our big screen!!!!! A new approach! Interaction with Youtube! Come with your youtube link to study! Between 5 and 5h45 the teacher will help you figure out those difficult to understand movements you see on the videos. We will choose randomly amongst the propositions!

TANGO TECHNIQUE classes every tuesday and thursday from 5h30 to 6h30. Come and practice your steps while being guided by one of our teachers! 12$ per classe or 100$ for ten classes

North shore section !

Sunday February 5th : Faye and Bryant Lopez from Toronto will be with us for some workshops in Ste-Thérèse

Connexion and change of direction ( all levels) $35 per pers. 15h00-16h30

Transition Tango salon to Tango waltz ( for inter and advanced) $35 per pers. 16h30-18h

$60 for the 2 workshops

 Reservation Diane : 514 894 7446

 Milonga 18h  Entry milonga $10

 Demonstrations by Faye and Bryant during evening

First of all…………………….Happy New Year to you!

Our winter session is starting January 16th!

Invite your friends to come and discover the world of tango!  During the first week of classes…You can come to ALL the classes as a try-out!  Link

Cynty and Toto will be at Air de Tango the 14th and 15th of January to give workshops. They will be doing a demonstration on Friday the 13th!  Come and see these incredible dancers! LIEN

The medias the paparazzis!

Air de Tango will be at Place des Arts with Artv on Thursday January 12th between 18h45 and 19h50.  We will be doing demonstrations and will be attempting to convert a few spectators into instant tango dancers;)Follow this link to participate!

A note:  The Sunday practica will be suspended on the 15th to give place to Cynty and Toto’s workshops.   We will start over on the 22nd and the price will be 7$ for non-students.

CTMBA : This Friday we will take memberships for the CTMBA, buy the card and you get 4 entries to the Friday night milongas!  You save money!