Arjan & Marianne teach in
Grand Café Frankendael Amsterdam
The tango we teach to our students is the tango as danced by young and old in the salons of Buenos Aires, i.e. in an embrace.
Central is dancing with each other in harmony with the music. We give great attention to posture, technique and the mutual communication of the dance couple.
In our tango lessons the pure approach to tango and respect for its culture comes first.
We teach since 1994.
See also our History page about the tango in a nutshell.
Licence for the use of music in our studio: 50704425/6 (buma/sena)
Courses of 10 lessons are offered three times a year, namely:
- mid-January
- beginning of April (Apr-Jun)
- mid-September
We work intensively with our students. Our courses last ten weeks, this gives time for building up and to make oneself familiar with the material of the course.
In order to facilitate your start in the tango, basic 1 students are allowed to attend extra classes of the basic 1 course at no extra cost (hence more than ten classes).
Prior to the tango courses we always give free introduction classes.
Salons of Buenos Aires around the turn of the century
Marianne van Berlo – watercolour
Tango music examples
The tango orchestras from the ‘golden’ years show a varied wealth of tango music styles.
For inspiration and to find your way through these styles, this page lists 27 orchestras with 162 examples of tangos, a number of milongas and tango waltzes.
In particular, the period from the 1930s to the 1960s was chosen, slightly wider than the ‘golden’ years.
Cafézaal in Frankendael for the classes
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Overview of all courses by Tango Argentino Amsterdam
The Core…….Tango music themes…….Other themes
THE CORE
The tango courses on four levels form the basis of our lessons:
- basic 1
- basic 2
- intermediate
- advanced
Herein we teach the students a good dance posture, dancing in rhythm and the music and especially the mutual communication: the proposal of the man and the woman’s reaction to it.
In multiple forms, variants and degrees of difficulty , among others, the following elements get a chance: walking / ocho for-and backwards / sandwich / double tempo / cruzado / cortado / cunita / gancho / pauses / media luna (counter) clockwise / voleo / giro (counter) clockwise / sacada / (stolen) decorations for the woman, etc. etc.
In these tango courses we also introduce the milonga, the cheerful sister of the tango. In each course a lesson is given in the milonga.
The tango waltz with its double speed is introduced as from the second course.
All our lessons are aimed at respecting the unique feature of hundred years of Argentine tango: the embrace. In preparation for dancing in the salon the focus is on the proper dance direction, that’s dancing counterclockwise.
TANGO MUSIC THEMES
In the tango courses with music themes we deepen tango further. The material presented is tailored to the different nature of the various tango orchestras and thus varies by course. The choice is determined not only by the beautiful music, but also by the wide range of styles that is caught with these orchestras.
The orchestras:
- Juan d’Arienzo:’El Rey del Compás’ (the King of the Beat). Spicy music with tight rhythm. Juan got the dancers mid 30 ‘s back on the dance floor. We use his music of late 30 ‘s.
- Rodolfo Biagi: the pianist that has also shaped the style of d’Arienzo. Although strongly rhythmic, it has a beautiful melody line. We use his music of early 40 ‘s.
- Francisco Canaro: very successful as a bandleader from the 10′ s to early 60′ s ( around 5000 recordings) and as a composer. In his early years he brought innovation into the tango. We use his music of the mid 30′ s: marked, light hearted and poetic.
We offer two courses in this Tango-Orillero style at the same level with different material:
Canaro A and B.
- Osvaldo Fresedo: he has made his mark with 1250 recordings over 63 years. In 1927, he kept going five orchestras. Three big names like Di Sarli, De Caro and Caló started with him. The Fresedo music has a refined sound with bound notes and soft nuance. In this course we will pay attention on rhythmic and lyrical themes of the orchestra.
We offer two courses at the same level with different material:
Fresedo A and B.
- Miguel Caló: known for his ‘ Orchestra of the Stars ‘. His music contains rhythm, but also a good dose of lyricism.
- Carlos Di Sarli: slow, lingering music, introverted and elegantly danced. Many violins. We use his music of the 50 ‘s.
- Osvaldo Pugliese: music rich in contrast with lots of subdued tension and changes in dynamics. Is widely used in performances, but the course is focused on dancing in the salon. We use his music of the 50 ‘s and 60 ‘s.
We offer three courses at the same level with different material:
Pugliese A, B and C.
- Aníbal Troilo: The grandmaster on the bandoneón. We use both the punchy, rhythmic period of the late ’30s/early ’40s and the later, more lingeric, period of the ’50s and ’60s. Basically this is the former extra advanced course, but there are a few changes.
OTHER THEMES
Milonga
The milonga is danced staccato, is more cheerful by nature and is danced differently than the tango as it has developed since the late 30 ’s. Traspies (small balance changes) and small fast steps are getting full attention.
A lot of material from our maestro and ‘ King of the Milonga ‘ Pepito Avellaneda is taken up in the courses.
We offer courses with different material on three levels:
– milonga A, B and C.
Tangowals
In the tango Waltz the waltz rhythm is assimilated, as a result the dance is danced with other energy: smoother, but with accents and double beats.
We offer four courses at the same level with different material:
– tango waltz A, B, C and D.
Tango Canyengue
‘Back to the roots’. In this course, the old style tango from late ‘20s / beginning ’30s is offered, a tango which was danced also outside on canvas from the ports. The music is quiet but strongly marked, the dance is more playful and danced with more humor.
The dance posture differs from the usual one now. The course is also suitable as a support for the milonga. Moreover, knowledge of the past increases the understanding of the tango today.
We offer two courses at the same level with different material:
– tango Canyengue A and B.
La Baldosa
In the tango course La Baldosa (paving stone – from the format in Buenos Aires) the emphasis is entirely on the compact yet relaxed dancing in a very limited space. That is often the case during the crowded hours of the salon.
Tango by Pepito
Pepito Avellaneda (real name José Domingo Monteleone – 1996 †) is a dancer of the ‘Orillero’, the poor neighbourhoods. He is known as ‘the King of the Milonga’. He is a renowned maestro and was our teacher from ’91-’96. In Tango of Pepito we learn our students his way of dancing. Pepito lives on!
We dance in this course on his beloved music: the spicy music of Troilo.
