October 30, 2021

A friendly obsession, with Nick Thompson

22 minutes

Through time, space, and changing circumstances, DC native Nick Thompson has made it work with tango - on his own terms. Hear how a hidden obsession, sparked one January evening at Portland State University, transformed into a friendly one over the years.

This episode was produced in partnership with Tango Mercurio.

Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: "Después del Carnaval" by J. A. Amuchastegui Keen, performed by Osvaldo Fresedo y Su Gran Orquesta Argentina with Ricardo Ruiz | Image from C’est la Vie milonga in Xi’an, China (photographer unknown)

Show Notes

Learn more about the history of Portland tango via The New York Times and/or a founder of its community.

ValenTango is still going strong! See what’s on the agenda for 2022.

See what's so different about Argentine Spanish.

The friendly dancers Nick ran into in Buenos Aires were Rebecca Rorick Smith and Eric Lindgren, some of Nick’s first teachers in Portland. Watch a video of them performing around that time and one from 2019.

Other Portland dancers Nick mentioned in the interview were Adam Cornett, who visited Xi'an repeatedly as a guest artist, and Alex Krebs. (To close the circle, Alex Krebs is the Portland name I heard back in 2007, when I met a former student and sometimes partner of his, Jennifer Olson, who was DJing at a milonga in Montevideo. Small tango world!)

Haven’t heard of the Terra Cotta Warriors Nick mentioned? Watch a video or read an article about their fascinating history.

Read a transcript of Nick's episode here.

...more