Hi Dancers,

Hart Tango Connection is still at the studio of Circle of Life:Arts for All, Inc.  Hart Tango Connection began Argentine Tango lessons in 2002.  Our first teacher was Sandra Gotti from Buenos Aires, Argentine.  She was an exciting teacher who spoke very little English, but was able to introduce the Greater Hartford ballroom dancers the art of the original Argentine Tango.  She longed to go back to her own country and open her own dance studio and moved back to her native country in 2003.  She has opened her own studio with her new husband in Argentina.

Over the years we have had some of the most talented teachers here at our studio to unravel the mysterious, sexy Argentine Tango moves.  In 2004 we had Nadel Drizi who was from Columbia and had some interesting advanced steps to add to our tango.

In late 2004, Ben Bogart a young man from Rhode Island who was primarily a musician who played the bandoneon brought us musicality and improvisation.  Ben became so fascinated with the complexity of Argentine Tango music he moved to Buenos Aries in order to learn from the masters.

After Ben left for Argentina in 2004, we held seminars with some of the gurus of Argentine Tango such as Judy Phelps, and Daniel Trenner.  We were introduced to Jackie Ling Wong, primarily a DJ who also studied and taught Argentine Tango close embrace.  She was able to stay with us for a year and introduced us to famous Argentine tango teachers such as El Pulpo.  She decided that she could no longer hold Milongas due to family commitments and concentrated her teaching in Massachusetts where she lived.

In 2005 we had guest instructors from New York such as Willie Feure.  In 2006 to 2008 we were very fortunate to lure Willie Feur from Dance Manhattan to become our teacher for two years.  Willie’s daytime dance commitments became more and more demanding at the University he was teaching at and he no longer could keep up with a weekly class and Milongas in East Hartford.  In late 2008 Argentine Tango workshops were taught on Saturday afternoon with advanced instructors such as Kana Kubota and Mary Ellen Fossey.

In 2009 Jacqueline Escobar from Columbia brought to our studio the flamboyant, passionate feeling of the dance with her performance moves and attitude of both the leader and followers in the social setting of Milongas.  Jacqueline is now in Lowell MA.

Judy Phelps returned in the summer of 2009 to teach fundamentals to beginners and to reinforce the basics and improve on them for the intermediate dancers.  She emphasized lead and follow and connection.

In August of 2009, Diana Lyn Cote became our in house dancer instructor.  Diana is a well known area artist who became excited about dance when Circle of Life built its dance studio in 2002 in the same building as her painting studio.  Her first introduction was with West Coast Swing, then eventually expanded into her life long desire to learn Argentine Tango.  She has been pursuing dance passionately ever since.  Diana brings to the dance community a natural approach to dance.  She is an avid student, social dancer, instructor and performer.  Diana decided to give up group lessons in 2011.

Classes for Argentine Tango are taught by Matt Murray and are held on Sunday afternoons from 3:00pm to 4:00pm with a 30 minute practice session until 4:30pm.  Basics and Authentic Argentine Tango technique is the format.  Beginners and more advanced dancers come together to explore the beauty of the Argentine Tango in a relaxed atmosphere. Singles and couples are welcome.  We change partners so every one has a pleasurable dance experience.

Our classes are ongoing and any interested dancer is welcomed into our circle of dancers.  We join together sharing our knowledge in our pursuit of the art of dance which enhances our quality of life.