"...through, just, love and committing to your own journey within a culture and within a craft and within a practice, you can embody whatever you want to. And there's nobody to tell you that it's not authentic or real or enough."

Co-founder of Oxygen Tango School and Awaken Tango Mitra Martin talks about her Persian heritage and the value of research, innovation, acceptance, and attention in tango.

Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: “Zorzal”, arranged and recorded by Orquesta Típica Misteriosa Buenos Aires with music and lyrics by Dorita Zárate | Image Credit: Glenn Campbell

Show Notes

• Learn more about Mitra's perspectives and work on her website. (Bonus points if you learn more about “The Romance of the Rose” and gardens in Persian poetry or even read Mitra's thesis!)
• Read some background about Iran’s history and government, then read Mitra’s reflections on Iran's 2022 protests.
• TriANGulO changed locations but is still going strong as a studio and community under the leadership of its founder, Carina Moeller.
• Listen to “Instinct Tango, with Aníbal Dominguez” for another perspective on how contact improv relates to tango.
• Read why Mitra recommends learning tango one-on-one rather than in conventional group classes.
• Listen to different versions of the same song, “El Choclo,” to get a sense of the different styles of Carlos Di Sarli and Juan D’Arienzo.
• Learn more about Marshall Rosenberg’s framework of nonviolent communication and read a post by the student Mitra mentioned, Andrei Andreev, applying Rosenberg's framework to tango.
• Listen to “Flowing together, with Avik Basu” and visit Awaken Tango to read the Inner Experience of Tango report.
• Mitra shouted out the following folks as key sources of inspiration and support in her tango journey: Avik Basu, Stefan Fabry, Jaimes Friedgen, Korey Ireland, Dave Lampson, Carina Moeller, Rebecca Shulman, Daniel Trenner, and Brigitta Winkler.

Read a transcript of Mitra's episode here.

In summer of 2021, Scott Boddye said goodbye to all but two-suitcases worth of worldly possessions and became a digital nomad. Since then, he's traveled on 4 continents and counting, learned to dance in heels, and created a social media platform for tango dancers that he hopes to launch any day now.

Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: "Loca" composed by Manuel Jovés, arranged and recorded by Tango Bardo | Image Credit: Kappu Chino

Show Notes

• Check out Scott's website to learn more about him, then visit the website for Mundo Tango.
• Learn more about Daniela Borgialli, Scott's first tango teacher, then read an article about the Tango Club at Arizona State University - which is still going strong almost 20 years after Scott studied there!
• For a deeper dive on gender norms and tango, check out any or all of the following HoT episodes: Small movements toward tango for all, with Arno Plass; Embracing to change the world, with Alex Pacheco Castillo; Image, authenticity, and building bridges, with Phi Lee Lam; Reflections of a queer tango trailblazer, with Augusto LaMarshall.

Read a transcript of Scott's episode here.

Aja Fenn on the value of committing to our teachers, the significance of the yin-yang symbol to tango, how performance culture has evolved since she started, her philosophy on social dancing, and what's inspiring her 24 years into her tango journey.

Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: "Duo de Amor" written by Astor Piazzolla, performed by Tango Bardo | Image Credit: Maurice Kaplan

Show Notes

• Learn more about Aja's current activities through Fabrica Tango's website or by perusing her YouTube channel, then watch Aja perform with Fabrica co-founder Masha Abapolnikova (in Philly, as mentioned in the episode).
• See the trailer of the film that inspired Aja to try tango, The Tango Lesson.
• See what Aja's first maestro, Matías Facio, is up to these days, then learn more about legendary milonguero Tete Rusconi and Aja's first practice partner, Mitra Martin.
• Learn more about Sharna Fabiano's current work exploring the relationship of lead and follow, then watch clips from TangoMujer performances and a performance where Sharna and Aja switch roles.
• Nerd out about the origin of the yin yang.
• Watch Brigitta Winkler perform or visit her website, then watch a performance by Nancy Lavoie.
• Nerd out about tango nuevo.

Read a transcript of Aja's episode here.

Singer. Producer. DJ. Argentine woman on a mission. Camila Arriva is working in multiple ways to bring women's voices to modern tango. (And yes, she also dances.)

Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: "Cantando" by Mercedes Simone; short clips of "Soñando," by Paquita Bernardo with lyrics by Eugenio Cárdenas, and “Ni una Menos” by Verónica Bellini, all performed by Camila Arriva Grupo as part of their MUJERES project | Image Credit: Facu Suárez

Show Notes

• To learn more about Camila and MUJERES, visit her website at http://camilaarriva.com.
• Listen to a 2018 BBC audio documentary about the feminist revolution in Buenos Aires, read an article about the feminist tango movement, then check out 2 groups Camila mentioned in her interview, Tango Hembra and Movimiento Feminista de Tango.
• Listen to Michael Lavocah's episode or visit his website to learn more about tango's Golden Age. Bonus: follow "Volver," the TV channel Camila watched as a child, on social media!
• Learn more about Paquita Bernardo and some of the “cancionistas” that inspire Camila (including one who didn’t make it into the episode): Tita Morello, Azucena Maizani, Mercedes Simone, and Nina Miranda.
• Hear an NPR podcast on why cumbia is the musical backbone of Latin America, then listen to a playlist of Argentine Cumbia.
• Listen to the version of "Ni una Menos" by China Cruel, the band of songwriter Verónica Bellini, then watch a video of Gaby Mataloni and Rocío Lequio dancing to Camila's version.

Read a transcript of Camila's episode here.

"Listen with your bodies, listen with your feet, listen with your heart. Listen with every cell of your body. Listen with your spirit." ~Tango Stories: Musical Secrets

Michael Lavocah danced tango for 20 years before writing his first book. He hasn't stopped since...

Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: “Adiós, Pueblo,” written by Agustín Bardi and performed by Orquesta Típica Ricardo Tanturi, courtesy of Crackling Tunes; and "Tierrita," also written by Agustín Bardi with lyrics by Jesús Fernández Blanco and performed by Alfredo Gobbi y su Orquesta Típica with Héctor Maciel | Image Credit: Veronika Korchak

• Show Notes Check out Michael’s 7 books, starting with Tango Stories: Musical Secrets, then moving on to his Tango Masters series, which to date includes Aníbal Troilo, Osvaldo Pugliese, Carlos di Sarli, Juan D’Arienzo, Francisco Canaro, and Osvaldo Fresedo.
• Watch Christine Denniston, Michael's first teacher, talk about her experience with tango.
• Learn more about Julio de Caro (the musician who inspired what Michael refers to as the DeCarean school for making complex music), Pedro Laurenz, Pedro Maffia, and Alfredo Gobbi. Then watch Cecilia Berra and Horacio Godoy perform to "Tierrita," the Gobbi tango you hear a clip of in the episode.
• Learn more about the singers Michael mentions: Rosita Quiroga, Azucena Maizani, Libertad Lamarque, and Ada Falcón.
• Listen to Tango by Year.
• Read more about lunfardo, "the secret language of the Tango Rioplatense."
• Listen to Humans of Tango episode 6, "Disappearing so tango can talk, with Juan Cantone."
• Read a brief musing on cadencia from New-York-based dancer and teacher Ney Melo.
• Watch an interview (en español) with "El Gallego" Manolo, from whom Michael learned the figure that digested for 9 months before appearing in his body.

Read a transcript of Michael's episode here.

What does environmental psychology have to do with tango? Quite a lot, it turns out. Tango DJ, teacher, organizer, and social dancer Avik Basu lays it out for us.

Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: “Sin Palabras” by Mariano Mores, with lyrics by Enrique Santos Discépolo and performed by Aníbal Troilo y Su Orquesta Típica with Alberto Marino | Image Credit: Steven Thull

Show Notes

• Learn more about Avik's work and play in tango and environmental psychology, then learn more about the Inner Experience of Tango survey. (Bonus: listen to Avik on Joe's Tango Podcast!)
• Read about Avik's first teachers, Yelena Sinelnikova and Ramu Pyreddy, and the college club in Ann Arbor where Avik started dancing.
• Learn more about Mihaly Csikszentmihaly's theory of flow via video or text, then read Charles Walker's chapter on social flow.
• Avik mentioned learning from the embraces of Alex Krebs, Cacho Dante, and Gustavo Naveira. Read some musings from Cacho Dante (RIP), then check out Gustavo's and Alex's respective websites.

Read a transcript of Avik's episode here.

"When I was twenty, this was NOT possible..." A lot has changed in the 25+ years since Sol Orozco started dancing tango in Buenos Aires. Luckily, Sol is a big believer in change - in her own life and in the world around her.

Producer/Host: Liz Sabatiuk | Music: “Ilusión de Mi Vida” by Feliciano Brunelli, arranged and recorded by Asato-Pais Duo | Image Credit: Oscar Chang Photography

Show Notes

• The music in Sol's episode is a contemporary interpretation by Asato Pais Duo of "Ilusión de Mi Vida." (Read Spanish? Here's some history about the song.) Asato Pais were among the artists gracing the Garufa TangoFest stage. Learn more about them on their website, where you can also find their social channels, including the adorable and incredibly informative music education videos they post on YouTube!
• Watch one of my favorite videos of Sol performing (with Juan), then watch a video by Heyni Solera featuring Sol.
• Listen to Humans of Tango episodes featuring Juan Cantone and Heyni Solera.
• If you have any doubts about why Sol’s family might think of the U.S. as the “big bad monster,” here's some useful background.
• Read about the history of knives in tango (and/or watch a video by the same author).
• Follow Garufa TangoFest on Facebook or Instagram to stay tuned for August 2024! (Bonus: Watch Juan and his current partner, Virginia Cutillo, perform at the 2023 edition.)
• Want to study with Sol? You can follow and contact her through Facebook and Instagram.

Read a transcript of Sol's episode here.