Author: alecoyung

Luz Castiñeiras is a tango dancer at heart, a musician, and a music therapist. In addition to dancing tango she plays and teaches piano and has composed several tangos. Her first tango teacher was Rodolfo Dinzel, who taught her how to improvise and create dance, instead of reproducing it. She also finds inspiration in Chicho Frumbolli and Gustavo Naveira who brings an intimate understanding of tango music and dance.

Luz first connected to tango as a music therapist working with cancer patients in Buenos Aires. During that time she collaborated on a 5-year research project that studied tango as therapy. “I became interested in looking at how tango practice can change lives,” says Luz, “and how it can help you learn to move your body in different ways.”

In addition to tango, Luz has studied ballet and modern dance, and she integrates these forms into her tango practice. In her classes, she creates a friendly, inviting atmosphere and invites feedback from her students which she uses to tailor the class to their needs.

A tango guitarist, dancer and engineer from Argentina, Guillermo García has been teaching tango in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2001 and is one of the pioneers of local live tango music. He has been a guest teacher at most of the local dance studios and milongas (tango dance parties) and his San Francisco weekly class has been running since 2007. In 2011 he was part of the dance cast in the show Tango Fatal, directed by Forever Tango lead dancer Jorge Torres. In 2018 Guillermo and his partner Hande Yildiz taught the beginner and intermediate tango program at Stanford University in the Spring Quarter, and two eight-week programs in Berkeley focused on the different rhythmic forms of Argentine Tango. 

As a musician Guillermo started playing guitar at age ten, learning from tango guitarists in Argentina and later undergoing classical guitar training at the Conservatory of Bahía Blanca. In 1996 he settled in California and co-founded band Flor de Tango, with whom he performed for four years and recorded one of the first locally-produced tango albums at Stanford University. He then prompted the creation of Trio Garufa in 2001, with whom he has recorded three albums and performed extensively in the USA, Argentina, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Colombia and Canada. He also performs tango music as a solo guitarist and in collaboration with other musicians.

After becoming an electrical engineer in Argentina, Guillermo specialized in signal processing for music technology in France and California. He holds an MSEE from Université d’Orsay and a Ph.D. in EE from Stanford University.

Guillermo believes that everyone can dance tango and that most of us tend to encounter similar challenges along the learning curve. His teaching method is influenced by both his engineering and musical backgrounds, and is based on musicality, partner connection, technique and steps, historical context, and social etiquette at milongas.

Felipe Martinez and Ayano Yoneda came together in the tango scene of the SF Bay Area, and embody the global nature of tango, traveling full-time throughout North America, Europe, South America, and Asia to teach, DJ, and lecture about the music. They also spend time annually in Buenos Aires studying and enjoying the dance and its history.

Felipe’s background includes a degree in education and 20 years of experience in tango. He is widely recognized for his clear teaching strategy, enthusiastic personality, and ability to make real improvements in your dancing. Ayano has been dancing tango since 2005 and is an accomplished and motivated dancer, with excellent movement technique and musicality. She has been teaching with Felipe for the past few years around the country.

Together, their demonstrations are clear and precise, offering students an excellent model of movement. Both Felipe and Ayano lead and follow interchangeably which is invaluable for teaching. Their series at Stanford University and their classes at The Beat in Berkeley are always in high demand.