Joe's Tango podcast

Episode 072: Something interesting for the rest of my life - Avik Basu

My guest today is a Tango teacher and DJ with international acclaim. He started his TANGO journey back in 2002, and has studied with a number of renown teachers such as Gustavo Naveira, Susana Miller, Alex Krebs, and Robin Thomas. Based in Ann Arbor, MI, today's guest considers himself an eternal student and is always working to move his tango forward.

Let's meet Avik Basu...

More on Avik here:

www.a2tango.com

My guests today are Damian Lobato and Sarah Chung. They are currently based in Philadelphia, PA where they teach a number of classes and host events every week.

Sarah is known for her expressive musicality, and is very much about having her students establish a strong foundation in basic technique.

Damian was born and raised in Argentina, and began dancing in 1991. A former dentist, he decided to pursue tango full time in 2000. Since then, he has taught and performed in multiple countries.

More on Damian and Sarah here:

http://damianandsarahtango.com/index.html

My guest today is the director of the Philadelphia Argentine Tango School. She started dancing tango in 1999, and as tango inevitably took over her life, she eventually left her job and moved to Buenos Aires where she stayed for 3 years.

In 2006 she began working with Andrés Amarilla, and since then she has traveled the world teaching and performing.

Today's guest is also the director of the Philly Tango Fest, and hosts the radio show Tango Stories.

Let's meet Meredith Klein...

More on Meredith here: www.philadelphiatangoschool.com

My guest today grew up around creative arts and performance. She frequently travels throughout the US, Canada, Europe, and Buenos Aires to teach, and she has worked incredibly hard to build up tango communities in Boston and Western Massachusetts.

She has studied with a number of world famous tango instructors, and is also a well-known DJ. She has participated in and helped organize numerous festivals and marathons, including regular tango tours in Buenos Aires.

Let's meet Veronika Kruta...

More on Veronika here:

www.vktango.com

My guest today is a central figure in the Eugene, Oregon tango community. She fell in love with tango back in 1999, and in addition to organizing classes and events, hosts learning tours in Buenos Aires.

Today's guest is not only a tango instructor, but also a writer, and filmmaker.

Let's meet Marisela Rizik...

More on Marisela here:

Website: https://www.mariselarizik.com/

My guests today are Tommy Smith and Christian Wheelihan, who are based in beautiful Boise, Idaho.

Tommy started tango back in 2012, and soon it became an obsession. Today, he is a tango instructor, DJ, and organizer. With a background in math and engineering, Tommy is an instructor who approaches the dance with an organized, analytic method. He also teaches regular DJ workhops, and has DJ'd at Montana's Tango Uprising, the Salt Lake City Tango Festival, Tango on the Rocks, and several others.

Christian discovered tango along with Tommy, whom she teaches with. As a professional therapist, she brings a positive, relaxed vibe. She connects easily with students, and adds an invaluable personal touch to their classes. Together, she and Tommy teach in several locations around Boise, including the student tango club at Boise State University.

More on Christian and Tommy here:

Website: www.tangoboise.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/boisetangocoop/

My guest is Simona Zaino. Although she's originally from Italy, she's based in Dublin, Ireland. In 2004 she and her dance partner, Hernan Catvin, established Compadrito Tango, where they teach multiple tango classes and host a number of events. Simona has taught and performed all over Europe, the US, and New Zealand. She's also collaborated on a huge number of events, including acting and choreographing the opera Maria De Buenos Aires, which was staged at the Cork Opera House. In addition to appearing in television and radio programs, and having performed in a multitude of dance and music festivals, she also founded the International Tango Festival in Ireland, a yearly non-profit event that draws world-class tango pros, musicians, and tango aficionados from all over the world.

More on Simona here:

Website: https://www.tangofever.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tangofever

My guest today is based in the Netherlands. He is the founder of El Corte, a world-renown tango center located in the city of Nijmegen. With a background in dance education, he studied at the Rotterdam Conservatory and started teaching tango in 1987.

El corte has grown tremendously, and sees roughly 25,000 tango students a year.

Today’s guest is also an internationally famous tango instructor and teacher, and as you can imagine, he has a packed travel schedule. He spends several weekends every month - nearly half the year - flying around the globe teaching tango.

More on Eric here:

www.elcorte.com

My guest today is Robert McKenney. He's the general manager of Convergence Dance and Body Center in St. Louis, MO, and also an instructor there. And if the name of that studio sounds familiar, it's because several months ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Robert's mom, Roxanne Maier.

Robert grew up around dancing, and started studying it at age 16. He has also studied with a number of tango masters, including Gustavo Naveira, Pablo Inza, Mariana Montes, Daniel Trenner, and many others. He has taught and performed all over the US and Argentina, and is also a very popular Tango DJ.

More on Robert here:

https://www.convergencedbc.com/

My guests today are Nico Tapia and Stephie Berg, based in Phoenix, AZ. They met in 2013, and have been working together ever since. Well versed in a variety of tango dance styles, they have taught and performed all over the world. In 2014, they won the US Tango Championship. They are still active in competition, and have also gone on to train other US Tango Championship finalists.

More on Nico and Stephie here:

Website: https://www.nicoandstephie.com/

Website: https://nicoandstephie.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicoandstephie/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeAHya7_jd6LE3mXMG07Low