Teachers

Anna, female Tango teacher. Wearing black with her hand on her chest.

Ana Thomas

Las Vegas

Andres, male Tango teacher, wearing a black suit with white under shirt and a black bowtie.

Andres Bravo

New York

Ruth, hispanic Tango teacher, wearing a burgundy dress. CShe has curly hair and a beautiful smile

Ruth Hernandez

New York

Carlos is a hispanic man with a full beard, wearing a gray suit with thing lines forming squares. His arms are crossed and the background is black.

Carlos Urrego

Maryland

Victor is a white hispanic tanguero in a dark color suit and shirt, with a gray tie. He seems to be singing a serenata outside at night.

Victor Rua

Texas-Taxi Dancer

Normas is a black man in a velvet black and silver zebra lines suit and a black shirt. He wears a white tie and have a smile like a mischievous child.

Norman Hinestroza

New York-Taxi Dancer

Mauricio Galarzo

New York-Taxi Dancer

Reserve your favorite taxi dancer by texting: 202-256-1043

Musicians

Who Are They?

Emiliano Messiez

Piano

Emiliano Messiez is a Latin Grammy-nominated composer and pianist originally from Argentina and now based in New York City. Known for his versatile and unique sound, he is the founder and director of the Tango Orchestra Típica Messiez, a member of the Romo-Agri-Messiez Trio, and the pianist for the show Forever Tango. Trained in classical music, jazz, tango, rock, and Latin American rhythms, he has performed globally at renowned venues including Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and the Houston Grand Opera. As a composer, Emiliano has written several musicals, such as Bordello, the Musical (2019), The Guava Tree (2021), Casa Alfonsa (2022), and The City Dog and the Prairie Dog (2023) among many others.

Mel Atoyan

Violin

Violinist Melisa Gohar Atoyan was born in Argentina to Armenian parents. She is the first violinist and a founding member of the Arya String Quartet, most recently featured in 2019 at the Pleasantville Chamber Music Society. She has performed as a soloist with the Adelphi Symphony Orchestra, with which she served as co-concertmaster. With immense opera experience, she has served asconcertmaster and in the first violin sections of the Utopia Opera, New Opera, Regina Opera, and New Rochelle Opera companies. Additionally, she appeared in America’s Got Talent in 2014, playing in the string section for Emily West’s performance at Radio City Music Hall. Melisa has also appeared in notable venues such as Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall), Merkin Hall, Lincoln Center’s Midsummernight’s Swing, Teatro Coliseo, among others. Besides being classically trained, Ms. Atoyan also performs tango music and has worked with grandiose tango musicians such as:

Grammy Nominee: Emilio Solla, Pedro Giraudo, JP Jofre, and Hector Del Curto. Melisa has also worked with Polly Ferman and GlamourTango, Tango Untangled” (Teatro Circulo) and has served as violin solo for Astoria Tango Orchestra under the direction of Daniel Binelli.

At the age of 8, Ms. Atoyan was awarded 1st prize-Junior Division in the Fundación Banco Mayo Competition (Argentina). After receiving the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) Performing Arts Fellowship in 2009, she was accepted into “La Scuola di Musica di Fiesole” (Italy) International Competition Training Course the following year, studying with renowned pedagogue, Pavel Vernikov. Under the tutelage of Valery Oistrakh at the Brussels Royal Conservatory, she received her B.M. in Violin Performance.

As a dedicated teacher, Ms. Atoyan has served on the violin faculty at the Brooklyn Music House, Herald Music School, Music Box School, Vienna Music, PS 11 (Brooklyn) and currently teaches violin at Bergen Academy of Music and Art as well as leading the intermediate orchestra and teaching group violin classes at UCMP.

Rodolfo M. Zanetti

Bandoneon

A native of Argentina, Rodolfo Zanetti plays the bandoneon, a type of concertina particularly popular in that country and an essential instrument in most tango ensembles. Dedicated to playing tango from an early age, he joined the Mancifesta Orchestra and Tango & Punto before co-founding the Quintet Bandó, with which he made well received tours to Washington, Chicago and New York.

Under the auspices of the Astor Piazzolla Foundation, in 2003 Zanetti directed Maria de Buenos Aires, the masterpiece of Astor Piazzolla and Horacio Ferrer. He performed as bandoneon soloist with the Choir of the National University of Cuyo (U.N.C. - Mendoza) and with the Coro de Jóvenes de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. In 2009 he founded El Despunte Tango Club, a traditional tango trío. In 2013 he performed as soloist in the very international wine event of Mendoza, the Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia.

In the United States, Zanetti has performed as soloist with the Pan American Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Lisner Auditorium of George Washington University, the Embassy of Argentina, the Organization of American States and other notable venues. In New York he performed as soloist at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Carnegie Hall.

In 2017 he won the First Prize as a bandoneonist at the "Che Bandoneón International Competition" awarded by the Argentine Tango Society at the Stowe Music Tango Festival in Vermont, USA.

In 2018 he participated as a bandoneon player in the album "Vigor Tanguero" by Pedro Giraudo, which has obtanied the Latin Grammy to the best Tango Album.

In 2020 he was a soloist in the recording of the album "Tango of the Americas" which was nominated last year for the best tango album by the Latin Grammy Awards.

Rodolfo Zanetti studied with Jorge Puebla and Hilario Alberto Iribarne on bandoneon, continuing his studies in piano with masters Monica Rizzo and Roberto Urbay at the Faculty of Arts of the National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina

Dj's

Who Are They?

Harvey Schwartz

With his holistic understanding and inner reflection of different perspectives, DJ Harvey strives to understand the feelings and generate shared moods among groups. While feeling a miraculous connection with the dancers, he knows critical elements of music that invite them to a better place. He is a spark of life that every listener and dancer desires.

Dimon

DimOn started taking tango lessons in 2013. Shortly after that, his background in music, sound engineering and love of tango, led him to becoming a tango DJ. DimOn has DJed at over 100 tango events and milongas, receiving frequent compliments on his music selection and playlist. He is always searching for danceable, uplifting, and stimulating music in his extensive library, avoiding bland or overplayed melodies. His tandas are appealing, well formed, and with high quality sound. He believes that cortinas are also important in creating the mood, so his cortinas are hopping and distinctly different from tango tunes. To keep dancers engaged, DimOn plays a balance of traditional, contemporary, and some nuevo music. He is also an avid alpine skier and enjoys dancing and skiing with his wife Alla.

Rainier Pereira

Rainier Pereira's journey as a Tango DJ began at the age of 15 when he rented speakers for small Latin parties and started selecting music upon his friends' requests. This early experience sparked a passion that would shape his career. By 2010, at 20 years old, he co-hosted the only milonga in his hometown, stepping in as a DJ due to a lack of local tango DJs. His interest in tango deepened, leading him to Buenos Aires, where he studied tango and gained insights from renowned DJs like Mario Orlando and Horacio Godoy. In 2014, Rainier moved to Buenos Aires permanently and started co-hosting the Cachivacheria Milonga while DJing at various practicas and milongas. His career expanded internationally in 2017 when he DJed at milongas and festivals across Europe while also performing and teaching tango for several years. In 2020, he relocated to the US, quickly becoming one of the most popular DJs on the East Coast, known for his sets at numerous festivals and milongas nationwide.

Carlos is a hispanic man, professional Tango Dancer, teacher, and all around a great guy!

Carlos Urrego

Carlos is a proud member of the Gardelina Association of Colombia, where he immersed himself in Medellín’s rich Tango culture. Surrounded by collectors and aficionados, he developed a profound understanding of the music, participating in various events and ovations at the Medellín International Tango Festival.

In 2006, Carlos founded El Último Café, a Buenos Aires-style milonga in Medellín, where he began his journey as a Tango DJ. Since then, he has curated music for countless milongas and Tango festivals, blending tradition with his unique artistic touch.

Carlos’s passion for Tango has taken him across multiple countries and cities, where he combines DJing with teaching and performing. Along the way, he has refined his craft through workshops and collaborations with renowned DJs from Buenos Aires, including Ricardo Saluski, Mario Orlando, and Horacio Godoy.

With a deep respect for Tango’s history and a talent for creating unforgettable dance experiences, Carlos continues to share his love for Tango with communities around the world.

Guillermo, white Argentinian man and tanguero DJ and dancer for years.

Guillermo C. Elkouss

Native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, he grew up listening and singing to Argentine Folklore and Tango, and dancing Folklore. His father, a violin player, was part of a Music Band that play Tangos at the Milongas and Carnaval Dances in the 1940’s. Guillermo embraced tango again in the 1990’s, initially as a dancer, later on as a Tango DJ, Tango Teacher, Tango Performer and Lecturer on Tango History. He has DJ’d over the last 20 years in many venues : Milongas in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, New York, including Milongas in Buenos Aires and at the Argentine Embassy in Washington, DC. His emphasis is on traditional Tangos, Milongas and Valses from the Golden Era, that represent the essence of Tango and the highest point in the History of Tango. However his extensive song collection and tandas also include many Tango Nuevo and Alternative Music. His carefully selected cortinas are chosen to enliven the atmosphere of the Milonga.

Yoga Teacher

Caroline Karditzas

Caroline is a white blond female with great smile and healthy living guru.

For a meditative class tailored to the needs of the tango dancer.

Caroline has spent the last 18 years defining and refining her yoga teaching style and understands, that just like life and tango, how it is unique to every practitioner. The pauses and holds in yoga are just as important as the movements and should benefit the body and mind, so that we can all continue to do more of what we love for, as long as humanly possible. This will be a non-aerobic practice that is accessible to nearly any body and will not add to the workload of the Tango Marathon. We will concentrate on the pauses and holds in postures so that you will feel stretched, refreshed, and ready for the dance floor. - No previous yoga experience is required, and in fact, Caroline welcomes beginners. Experienced practitioners will, of course, be able to expand on what you already know by moving deeper into the stretches.