We are Mariela Franganillo and Dagny Miller, and it is with great excitement that we present to you the 2024 edition of the Abrazos Tango Festival! Our intention in curating this festival is to offer the New York City community a transformative experience. Prepare to embark on a journey of exploration and find yourself inspired by these great artists and your fellow tango dancers!

Abrazos Tango Festival in NYC, April 2024! We have thoughtfully crafted a weekend of workshops and milongas with the world renowned maestros Gaston Torelli & Gri Montanaro, Ricardo Calvo & Sandra Messina, and esteemed musicologist John Turci-Escobar. We worked closely with each teacher to create a progressive program spanning the weekend that represents their style and way of seeing Tango. We chose two different styles and perspectives, and we highly encourage you to take one track each day to take advantage of the progressive nature of the content. Of course, you are welcome to take whichever workshops you would like! By the end of the weekend, our goal is for you to be fully immersed in the world of one pair of these amazing artists.

Schedule of Events:

April 26, 2024

Day 1- El Abrazo: Gaston Torelli & Gri Montanaro
11:00am-12:15pm -  1 El Abrazo: We will address the construction of the Embrace from the "ground push" to its final expression in arms and hands.
12:30pm- 1:45pm - 2 Movimientos Desfasados: We will study the elasticity of the Embrace to allow each partner to step on a different part of the rhythm (asynchronous movement).
2:00pm-3:15pm - 3 Combinaciones de Abrazos: How to transition between open and closed embrace. Complex sequences with combinations of closed to open embraces or with different points of contact.
Day 1- Milonguero Style: Ricardo Calvo & Sandra Messina
3:30pm-4:45pm: 1 Milongueros Yeites: Smalls sequences for immediate application on the dance floor
5:00pm-6:15pm - 2 Milongueros Giros: Small space? No problem. Turns that contain dynamic timing, and how to apply their structure to the music.
6:30pm-7:45pm - 3 Milonguero Giros y Contragiros: Feeling rushed in the music? How to regulate changes in acceleration/ deceleration of the movement.
7:45pm-8:30pm - Dinner Break
8:30pm-9:30pm - Musicality with John Turci-Escobar: Tango Maps: Class teaches how to subdivide a tango into its component phrases and parts. Through solo, couple, and group exercises, we will move through maps of 2- and 3-part tangos, identifying and expressing the important articulation points in the musical organization.
9:30pm-2:30am - Milonga with DJ Rod Relucio

April 27, 2024

Day 2- Turns: Gaston Torelli & Gri Montanaro
11:00am- 12:15pm - 4 Structure of the Turn: Understanding it as the base from which all the other elements derive. Dissociation from the correct position of our body.
12:30pm- 1:45pm - 5 Turns Sequences: We will work with different Sequences. Become aware of the structure of the turn in the dance, and how it can help us to correct mistakes and be more creative in our Tango.
2:00pm-3:15pm - 6 Pierna Libre: We will address Boleos, Ganchos, Enrosques and Adornos. We will study them within the turning structure. And we will build them from the projection of our axis and ground pressure.

Day 2- Rhythms & Melody: Ricardo Calvo & Sandra Messina
3:30pm-4:45pm - 4 Milonga with Traspie: The musicality of "the stumble" and its application to figures.
5:00pm- 6:15pm - 5 Milonga Lisa: Feeling overwhelmed by fast milongas? Learn the tools you need to have fun with the fastest milongas.
6:30pm-7:45pm - 6 Vals: Exploring circularity of movement and suspensions. Apply the musicality of the vals in the turns.
7:45pm-8:30pm - Dinner Break
8:30pm-9:30pm - Musicality with John Turci-Escobar: Marcatos and Sincopas
Classes focusses on marcatos and sincopas-the most common rhythmic patterns in tango music and the idiosyncratic ways they were articulated by Golden Age orchestras. Inspired by video clips of celebrated tango dancers, and through solo, couple, and group exercises, we will explore how to bring these patterns to life in your dancing.
Marcatos and sincopas are the most common rhythmic patterns in tango music. After defining these patterns, we will discuss how Golden Age tango orchestras articulated them in idiosyncratic ways. Inspired by video clips of celebrated tango dancers, and through solo, couple, and group exercises, we will explore how to bring these patterns to life in your dancing.
9:30pm-2:30am - Milonga with DJ Gio II Fuz

April 28, 2024

Day 3 Dynamics: Gaston Torelli & Gri Montanaro
11:00am- 12:15pm - 7 Quality of Movements: Playing with our weight to create different dynamics.
12:30pm- 1:45pm - 8 Soltadas: With a conscious dance of turning structure and a y-axis body available. New possibilities open up. We will address the Soltadas as a creative tool when it comes to improvising.
2:00pm-3:15pm - 9 Complex Sequences: Exploring Boleos & Ganchos.

Day 3 Fluidity- Sharing an Axis: Ricardo Calvo & Sandra Messina
3:30pm- 4:45pm - 7 Centrifuges: A guide to the centrifugal spin.
5:00pm- 6:15pm - 8 Volcadas: Learn to share the axis, secrets of the correct posture, and guiding structure to execute Volcadas smoothly.
6:30pm-7:45pm - 9 Colgadas: Get in and out of the "colgadas" in motion. The technique, structure, and application to the dance floor.
7:45pm- 8:30pm - Dinner Break
8:30pm- 9:30pm: Musicality with John Turci-Escobar: Fraseo, the Key to Dancing to the Melody
This class challenges the prevailing dichotomy between dancing to the rhythm and dancing to the melody. Through the concept of fraso-the distinctive ways in which tango musicians phrase melodies-we will discuss what makes tango different from other musical styles. And, inspired by video clips of celebrated tango dancers, and through solo, couple, and group exercises, we will explore how to express fraseo in your dancing.
9:30pm-2:30am - Milonga with DJ Cigdem Tanik

Date and Time:
April 26, 2024 at 11:00am
April 27, 2024 at 11:00am
April 28, 2024 at 11:00am

Location:
Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine Dance Studio NYC, 320 W 37th St 2nd Floor,
New York, NY 10018

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