Many of you may remember TangoVida, the Argentine Tango studio run by Ney Melo and Jennifer Bratt.
It was a lovely studio in Nob Hill with regular classes, milongas, Comme Il Faut for sale and rotating art work on the walls. In 2011 they closed the studio’s doors and left the Bay Area, and after a quick stint in Miami, returned home to the East Coast. (They also managed to create three beautiful tango children since then). Even though quite a few years has past since they left, TangoVida and their presence here in the Bay Area is remembered fondly.
Upon doing some research I came across this video of TangoVida from 2007-2010. Do you recognize a few of our local tangueros?
So beyond reminiscing, the point of this post is to welcome to the Bay Area the return of Ney Melo and the first visit of Melina Mistral of Montreal. It is quite a treat to have them here offering a multitude of workshops.
They will be offering workshops at Sacale Punta in Berkeley July 11-13.
If you don’t know Melina Mistral yet, you are in for a treat. She is a stunning dancer and a great match for Ney Melo.
Here is a little excerpt from her bio:
“By 18 years old Melina Mistral discovered the tango world at Montango, a tango studio in Montreal, owned by Wolfgang Mercado Alatrista and Andrea Shepherd, her first teachers. She has taken classes with many teachers such as Francisco Forquera, Damián Esell, Tomas Howlin, Tate Di Chiazza, Marika Landry, Bernard Caron, Eugene Kritchevski and Roxana Molinié. She currently teaches at Montango in Montreal and travels throughout North America, Europe and Martinique to give workshops. She takes great care in transferring her passion and knowledge of tango to her students and is known for giving instructive and fun classes.”
Ney Melo teaches a style of tango referred to as Villa Urquiza. Its been said that ‘The salon Villa Urquiza style is a very elegant style that gives a lot of space for the woman to adorn.’ The atmosphere in Ney’s classes is relaxed, personable and lively, and he places equal emphasis on the lady’s role as the man’s. Technique and the essence of tango, both fundamental to dancing well, are stressed in whatever step is being shown. Ney is dedicated to inspiring students to dance tango with feeling, musicality, cadencia, and connection – the way it is danced in Buenos Aires.
Here is a clip of Ney and Melina performing in Montreal:
Workshop details:
When: July 11 – July 13 , 2014
Location: Milonga Sácale Punta, 2133 University Ave, Berkeley, California
Friday, July 11th
8:00-9:30pm – First Workshop w/ Ney & Melina (“Love & Passion” – the tango walk) Milonga follows.
Saturday, July 12th
Workshop 2: 2:00 – 3:30pm
The Complete System for Understanding Vals
Workshop 3: 4:00 – 5:30pm
Drama, Drama, and More Drama: Dancing Pugliese
Sunday, July 13th
Workshop 4: 2:00 – 3:30pm
Corrida-style Milonga
Workshop 5: 4:00 – 5:30pm
Combinations Using the Milonguero Dip
To preregister or sign up for privates email: milongasacalepunta@gmail.com. Pre-register by JULY 4th for preregistration prices!
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/770011639698601
Ney will also be teaching the pre-milonga class on Thursday, July 10th at the Milonga Malevaje (at the Metronome) from 8-9pm. The topic will be “Tango cadencia”.