Dancing tango since the early 1990s, Luciana Valle is regarded around the world as one of the most dynamic and articulate teachers of Argentine Tango. In her popular tango school “El Motivo” in Buenos Aires, Luciana offers a compendium of thematic workshops and inspires dancers with her remarkable insight, energy, and clarity. Through her teaching, a prodigious number of great dancers have themselves become touring teachers over the years. Luciana has been a regular visiting teacher to SF for over two decades, and we are glad to welcome her back to the SF Bay Area for the first time post-pandemic!
Luciana was part of the Tango Investigation group of Gustavo Naveira and Fabian Salas, a project that produced what is nowadays known as the tango language used all over the world to teach tango.
She is both an expert leader and follower and has garnered widespread recognition as one of the best female teachers. She teaches with fantastic energy and exuberance, has a wonderful eye for detail, and uses descriptive movement images, making complex actions accessible. Her classes focus on the structure of the dance, the technical keys to moving comfortably and expressively, and the strong connection between leaders and followers challenging and benefiting both leaders and followers alike.
With a deep understanding of the biomechanics of tango movements, Luciana has the ability to transmit that understanding to her students. She not only teaches a sequence, but also elucidates the finer details of movements so the students can develop a framework to lead, follow, and practice. Her expertise both as a leader and as a follower allows her to teach and demonstrate to students and teachers at any level and in either role.
Local teacher Gary Weinberg, partnering with Deirdre Conley and Nirmala Dillman, were the main organizers for Luciana in SF since 2008. Local avid dancers May Luke and Tim Yoshida, who had been studying with Luciana at every opportunity ever since stepped into the roles of Luciana’s organizers in SF in 2016.
May and Tim have this to say about why they appreciate and support Luciana’s continued teaching:
…I love Luciana’s tango style. It is clean, natural, powerful, and not overly adorned. Her teaching style is always positive, engaging, and fun, giving students homework while inspiring them to strive…
…I have taken a number of private lessons from Luciana, it’s truly an eye-opening and exhilarating experience to feel her embrace, power, and clarity firsthand. To me, a private lesson with Luciana expanded my tango experience to a different dimension.
…We (and many of our Bay Area friends) have also attended Luciana’s week-long, “Intensivo” workshops in Buenos Aires. Students attend the workshops partner with a rotating group of Luciana’s assistants, many are local professional dancers. I realized after several of these events that training several hours a day helps; that not only the quality of training, but the quantity (of quality training) also matters.
Workshop Info
For the intensive workshops over the next two weekends (Aug 12-13 & 19-20), check out Facebook events and see www.sfbaytango.com for registration details and pricing.
For pre-milonga classes, Luciana will be at Milonga Malevaje on Thursday, Aug 10 and Milonga Genesis on Friday, Aug 11.
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