The melodic strains and syncopated rhythms of Tango music fill the air. The dance studio is dressed up with long colorful curtains, along with paintings and photos of tango dancers. Students step into an atmosphere of a
Caminito Street in Buenos Aires. The teachers, in stylish tango-style dress, set the tone for an authentic Argentine Tango dance experience.
Tango Caminito Dance School, an international dance company based in Fallbrook, is now offering authentic Argentine Tango dance instruction to the Temecula Community. Elena and Dr.Victor, directors of the School, are
offering lessons in this expressive form of dance at Svetlana’s Dance Academy in Temecula on Friday evenings at 6:30 p.m. Several couples have already enrolled in a series of lessons as a weekly “date night” with a purpose.
Artistic Director Elena P, along with her husband Victor, make it easy to start learning this complex and mysterious dance. Elena says, “It’s simple to dance the tango. My motto is, Tango is just a walk with love in
your heart.” Lessons are offered to beginners with no dance experience to experienced dancers wishing to develop their own artistic style in Argentine tango.
The hope is to build a community around tango dance in the Temecula area, including regular lessons as well as monthly milongas, which are social tango dance parties.
Featured as a sexy dance in many popular films, tango allows dancers to improvise as soon as they master the basic elements. First lessons focus on “the embrace” and “the walk” of tango, and the dance expands into an
infinite variety of combinations and improvisation. Elena sees tango lessons as a form of “couples therapy” which enhances relationships through subtle physical communication between partners. A challenge for most modern
couples, women must allow men to lead, and men are challenged by having to plan the steps and navigate the dance floor among other dancers.
Dr. Victor sprinkles the dance lessons with historical background. He explains how authentic Argentine tango evolved among European and African immigrants in Argentina and Uruguay in the late 1800s. Men had to line up
for the rare opportunity to dance with a woman, in a society in which men outnumbered women ten to one. Elena also stresses the health benefits of tango dance. She says, “when students dance the tango, they relax,
lose weight, improve strength, and increase longevity.” Research confirms that authentic Argentine Tango has been shown to help heal neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, even greater than the same amount
of other forms of exercise. Tango uses several forms of movement such as balance, turning, moving at a variety of speeds, and walking backwards, that are especially relevant to improving both physical and
neurological health. It has also been suggested that tango makes people feel more relaxed, sexier, and less depressed, and to increase testosterone levels.
Tango Caminito Dance School is recognized as an honored member of The Stanford Who Is Who for the outstanding leadership and
achievement in education, teaching people of great values, developing appreciation for an Authentic Tango Argentine, and Community
work.
Student Enicia Fisher says: " We have been taking private lessons from Victor and Elena. They are true artists and we’re thrilled they
are offering their gifts to the Temecula Community. It will be great fun to share the experience with new friends in the community."
CONTACT Tango Caminito Dance School at Svetlana Dance Academy: 41760 Rider Way, Temecula, California, USA
Tango Caminito Dance School is a nonprofit organization formed in 2004. Its mission is to nurture
compassionate social action through performance, arts education, and dance lessons, and to teach high quality
traditional authentic Argentine tango, which differs from American or ballroom style tango. Tango Caminito
Dance School has actively participated in community work, offering production shows in different venues,
including Del Mar Fairgrounds, Balboa Park, Celebrate Dance Festival, and many others.
