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Open to Possibilities

October 26, 2013

Most people will agree that the best dances happen when both the leader and follower are both leading and following each other. In other words, Tango is a conversation in which both partners contribute to the dance.

Abrazo Queer TangoThere is something magical that happens when the music flows into our bodies and is expressed as a dance via a shared connection between two people. This is why queer tango makes sense. It really should not matter what gender is leading or following.

But not everyone believes this to be true. I have taken classes by Tango teachers that have lectured on the sanctity of Argentine tango; that it must be danced by a man and a woman.  They explain that the masculine and feminine dynamics are what make the dance so special and unique.

In all honesty, I have been hesitant to write about Queer Tango. I was not sure what I could say about the topic.  As a woman, I very much enjoy my role as a follower in Tango. However, I also enjoy learning how to lead, not because I want to become a great leader, but because it helps me to better understand the dance. Plus, it’s a fun challenge. I also enjoy dancing with anyone who is a good lead, no matter their gender.

But does this mean I understand queer tango? Not really. I decided to ask someone who knows a lot more about the subject than I do.

Karen, author of Abrazo Queer Tango and local promoter of Queer tango events in the Bay Area kindly agreed to do an interview for SF Loves Tango.

SF Loves Tango: How did you get interested in learning Tango and for how long have you been dancing?

Karen: Well, it was salsa that led me to tango–salsa was definitely my gateway dance. I was taking queer salsa classes with Amy Little and Mila Salazar at the metronome in SF and then Amy and Mila and a few other students in the class started talking about this tango dance, then they stopped teaching salsa and went to tango. I hung on to salsa for a bit, but by the fall of 2008, I broke down and followed them.

I remember my first tango class with Amy and Mila very clearly—I can picture exactly where I was in the room when I got that first tango hit, that rush of being in an embrace with your partner and walking with them, that exchange between the leader and the follower. I haven’t taken a salsa class since. I felt right away that tango was my dance—I just didn’t know how to dance it yet.

SF Loves Tango: Have you danced any other dance styles?

Karen: In addition to salsa, which I still dance time to time (cross dancing!!), I really like two-step, country western waltz and contra dancing.

Abrazo Queer Tango Milonga
Abrazo Queer Tango Milonga at Finish Hall in Berkeley

SF Loves Tango: What does Queer Tango mean to you?

Karen: Oh this is a great question that comes up a lot in the queer tango community and you’d get a number of different responses. For me, Queer tango is tango, with all of its beauty, joy and emotion, danced without pre-established roles based on your gender. From there you can go many directions: women who want to lead, men who want to follow, dancers who want to meet and dance with other queer people, same-sex dancing, and dancers who change roles during the song. In other words, dance the dance you have inside of you, that to me is queer tango.

SF Loves Tango: Why did you decide to start the Abrazo Queer Tango website?

Karen: Well, I went to a queer tango festival in Hamburg, Germany and basically lost my mind. They’ve had queer tango for 20 plus years in Germany, much longer than anywhere in the US, and I found myself in a room with 300 queer, open-role dancers. Amazing dancers, skilled, beautiful dancers and I could see and feel how deep the tango was in them. I danced for four days all day and each night into the morning.  I was like an unsupervised 5 year old in a candy store—completely sugar high for days on end. I had never danced where I had that much access to tango. I was crazy happy. I came home from that festival very motivated to have that experience in the Bay Area. So I started volunteering for QueerTango San Francisco, the awesome group that was running the first two queer milongas here in the Bay Area and the SF International Queer Tango Festival. I later began to organize events with Marc SFqueertanguero, Evan (Redwing Tango) and other tango nut bars like myself. The website, Abrazo Queer Tango, came from that work and the goal of reaching more people interested in queer, open-role tango.

The couple Marlene Heyman (R) and Lucia Christe perform during the qualification round of the Tango World Tournament in Buenos Aires on August 20, 2013. Photo by AFP/Daniel Garcis
The couple Marlene Heyman (R) and Lucia Christe made headlines when they competed at the Tango World Tournament in Buenos Aires on August 20, 2013. Photo by AFP/Daniel Garcis

SF Loves Tango: What is the history of queer tango in the Bay Area?

Karen: That I’m aware of, queer tango in the Bay Area started between 2005 and 2006 thanks to queer tango dancers and organizers Amy Little, Winter Held, and Auriel, who eventually formed QueerTango SF, and Amalia Bergman of TangoFuego. They had amazing support and instruction from Christy Cote, Pier and Dan, and Lisette Perelle. The Bay Area now has the largest queer tango community in the US—but there is a large queer tango community in Seattle as well. They just had their first International Queer Tango Festival this past summer—it was awesome. There are also growing queer tango communities in Chicago, Boston and New York.

Tango class with Sharna Fabiano at Abrazo Queer Tango milonga.
Tango class with Sharna Fabiano at Abrazo Queer Tango milonga.

SF Loves Tango: Do you know of any other cities in Europe that are known for having a large queer tango community?

Karen: In Europe, the largest queer tango communities that I’m aware of are in Hamburg, Berlin, Paris, London and Stockholm.  Hamburg and Berlin in particular draw 300+ dancers to their International Queer Tango Festivals. I’ve met so many wonderful dancers there—getting to go there every year has really inspired me to keep dancing.

Queer tango is lighting up everywhere and there are queer tango communities in Brighton, Oslo, Barcelona, Madrid, Zurich, Rome, and all over the globe really with large queer tango contingents in the Middle East, Asia, Canada, Mexico and South America. Buenos Aires of course has a huge community. I was lucky enough to go there in 2009 for their International queer tango festival.

SF Loves Tango: Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Karen: I must say that I feel very lucky to live in the Bay Area with its huge tango scene that I feel very much apart of—I’ve met wonderful teachers who are very encouraging and awesome to me and other queer tango dancers, and I’ve met dancers at Cellspace and The Beat, all over actually, who are so much fun to dance with every week.

The tango fairy is looking out for me—always whispering to me, go dance, go dance! And I love it that I can here. Same-sex couples have been told to stop dancing, to leave the milonga floor in other cities, and that does not happen here that I am aware of.  I remember going to a straight milonga once in SF early in my tango life. The organizer, well, I’ll just say his name, Glenn Corteza told me to find him if anyone gave me a problem. It was very kind of him. I’ve found that response typical in the Bay Area especially the last couple of years. And I think it’s an indication of just how passionate many folks are about tango here and how much work the early organizers of queer tango did.

SF Loves Tango: What aspirations do you have for queer tango in the Bay Area?

Karen: Oh, more, really more more more. More opportunities for queer dancers to dance, to take classes with the great selection of teachers in the Bay Area, more practicas, more folks interested in open-role dancing, and also more cross-over between the queer and straight tango communities. It’s tango after all– straight, queer or purple, tango is tango.

SF Loves Tango: Thank you so much for sharing information and your thoughts on queer tango with us all.

In conclusion: after attending one of our local queer milongas, I began thinking about the saying, “Queer Tango is for everyone”.  I’d like to qualify it as “Queer Tango is for anyone“,  anyone who wants to dance tango in a safe, friendly, comfortable environment where gender and sexuality is not an issue.  Some people may choose to never experience queer tango, to never dance with a same sex partner nor learn how to dance the opposite role.  But for those who want to expand their options and possibilities, queer tango is a great place.

Looking for more information on queer Tango?  Here are a few resources:

International Queer Tango Festival

Queer Tango Argentino

Queer Tango SF Facebook Page

SF Bay Area Queer Tango Calendar

Abrazoqueertango.wordpress.com/

Filed Under: Learning Tango, Milonga Spotlight, Musings Tagged With: Abrazo Queer Tango, Argentine Tango, Bay Area Queer Tango, Bay Area Tango, Milonga, Queer Tango, San Francisco Tango, SF Queer Tango

Tango scenes in SF

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Celebrate #bayareatango community, support everyone involved & share ♥️ of #tango with San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

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✨ Vecher Tango at the Russian Center had another ✨ Vecher Tango at the Russian Center had another star-struck night!✨

@ariadnayfernando returned to San Francisco after their last visit in 2016 for @noras_tango_week.

On top of teaching all afternoon and performing four songs of their choice, they surprised us with an improvised encore to live music by Seth Asarnow (@sethasarnow on piano) and Adrian Jost (@fueyequerido on bandoneón), a first-time collaboration for the four artists altogether!! 👏👏♥️♥️🙌🙌 ¡Qué celebración del Tango!

Thank you Julia Schiptsova @juliasch999 and Davood Yazdani for bringing @ariadnanaveira and @fernet_sanz back to SF! We look forward to welcoming them back later this year in Thanksgiving. Stay tuned for details.

Check out our stories for video snippets from the amazing evening!
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#tango #argentinetango #tangoargentino  #tangoperformance #bailar #bailemos #bailando #tangoshow #tangoevent #tangoperformance #tangodancer #tangocouple #specialevent #onenightonly #tangophoto #sanfrancisco #tangoislife #sflovestango #livemusic #duo #bandoneon #piano #improvisation
That Saturday night ❤️‍🔥 when Duo Villarr That Saturday night ❤️‍🔥 when Duo Villarreal Crom, @juanvillarreal_13 and @patriciocrom joined forces with Orquesta Típico Domo at @thetangodome !🎶🎻🎸🎹🎤
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#tango #tangoargentino #argentinetango #tangoevents #tangomusic #tangoconcert #specialevent #onenightonly #tangomusicians #travelingmusicians #duo #guitarists #livemusic #milonga #contemporarytango  #bayareatango #sflovestango #oakland #weekendvibes #goodvibesonly #performanceart #tangoislife
Part 3️⃣ of Duo @juanvillarreal_13 & @patricio Part 3️⃣ of Duo @juanvillarreal_13 & @patriciocrom Crom at @thetangodome … a Chacarera! When the musicians extended an invitation to the audience to join them on stage, a few dancers spontaneously jumped at the chance! 👏👏👏👏
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#tango #tangoargentino #argentinetango #tangoevents #tangomusic #tangoconcert #specialevent #onenightonly #tangomusicians #travelingmusicians #duo #guitarists #livemusic #argentinefolklore #contemporarytango  #bayareatango #sflovestango #oakland #weekendvibes #goodvibesonly #performanceart #tangoislife
REPOSTING… because how could one resist missing REPOSTING… because how could one resist missing the standing ovation *and* an encore because earlier post got cut off due to unknown glitch🙈… Second half of part 1️⃣ the highlights from an amazing night at @thetangodome with Duo 🎸🎸 @juanvillarreal_13 and @patriciocrom ! And our very own @scottodaymusic made it a guitar trio for the encore! 
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#tango #tangoargentino #argentinetango #tangoevents #tangomusic #tangoconcert #specialevent #onenightonly #tangomusicians #travelingmusicians #duo #guitarists #livemusic #argentinefolklore #contemporarytango  #bayareatango #sflovestango #oakland #weekendvibes #goodvibesonly #performanceart #tangoislife
❤️‍🔥DJ @lebendiguna DROPS THE NEEDLE with ❤️‍🔥DJ @lebendiguna DROPS THE NEEDLE with the world’s fastest learning curve!❤️‍🔥

When Una’s laptop unexpectedly failed to connect to @thetangodome sound system, Daniel Peter’s vinyl collection and on-the-spot knowledge transfer to the rescue!! 😮🔥🧯❤️ After watching Dan just a few times dropping the needle between tracks, Una hit the track her FIRST TIME trying‼️✌️

🎥 @thetangodome 
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#tango #tangoargentino #argentinetango #tangoevents #milonga #tangodj #tangomusic #vinylrecords #newskillunlocked #tangoislife #oldtechisgoodtech #bayareatango #oakland
Part 2️⃣ from a fun Saturday night at @thetang Part 2️⃣ from a fun Saturday night at @thetangodome with Duo Villarreal Crom, featuring Tango Guitarists @juanvillarreal_13 and… Señor D'ARIENZO?! 👀🤨 Can you guess what was happening here? 😆😉
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#tango #tangoargentino #argentinetango #tangoevents #tangomusic #tangoconcert #specialevent #onenightonly #tangomusicians #travelingmusicians #duo #guitarists #puppet #bayareatango #sflovestango #oakland #weekendvibes #goodvibesonly #performanceart #tangoislife
Part 1️⃣ of the highlights from an amazing nig Part 1️⃣ of the highlights from an amazing night at @thetangodome with Duo Villarreal Crom, featuring Tango Guitarists @juanvillarreal_13 and @patriciocrom ! 💎 watch till the end to see SF’s very own guitarist @scottodaymusic joined them for an encore!

🎸ABOUT THE ARTISTS🎸
Juan Villarreal and Patricio Crom began working together in 2010 playing tangos in milongas and clubs in the city of Buenos Aires. From the beginning, the Duo Villarreal-Crom, tried to find a particular aesthetic and a unique style that they have refined with the passing of the years.

Today they are one of the most renowned duos on the tango scene in Buenos Aires and the world, having made countless tours in Latin America, Europe and the United States.

They have released 4 albums: "De corte romántico (2012)", "Cinco tonos (2015)", "En la luna de Valencia (2017)" and "D'Arienzo en guitarras (2022)". In May 2023 they will present their new album consisting entirely of original works.  In 2022, they were on the cover of the renowned German magazine "Tangodanza", the world's largest tango magazine.
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#tango #tangoargentino #argentinetango #tangoevents #tangomusic #tangoconcert #specialevent #onenightonly #tangomusicians #travelingmusicians #duo #guitarists #livemusic #argentinefolklore #contemporarytango  #bayareatango #sflovestango #oakland #weekendvibes #goodvibesonly #performanceart #tangoislife
♥️ 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩 ♥️ (link in bio🔗)

Did you know that the very first post on SF Loves Tango was published by @maikalanidesigns on 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟮𝟬, 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟮? And April 21, 2019, is when the brains and hands behind SF Loves Tango changed to us, @jxtango ? We would like to celebrate these anniversaries by recapping what we’ve accomplished post-COVID and start looking ahead!
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#bayareatango #tangoargentino #argentinetango #tango #tangocommunity #sanfrancisco #sflovestango #dancingislife #tangostories #beyondthedance
👋 Many of you know @aviksbasu and Mitra Martin 👋 Many of you know @aviksbasu and Mitra Martin as accomplished tango dancers and teachers. But did you know they are also professional researchers with curiosity and interest to understand tango better?

Check out this cool new research project they are working on: the 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗼 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆! (link in bio 🔗)

⏳ It takes about 20-30 minutes to answer some intriguing (anonymous) questions about what you experience as you dance - mental talk, images, sensations, etc.

🎯 Fill it out today and help them reach their goal of 1000 participants by April 30th! They’ll gather neat data to create more empathy and understanding and help the community grow.
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#tango #argentinetango #tangoargentino #community #tangocommunity #project #research #qualitativeresearch #communitybuilding #sflovestango
Abrazo, the queer milonga, happens every 3rd Satur Abrazo, the queer milonga, happens every 3rd Saturday of the month, and today, April 15, @abrazoqueertango welcomed @inesmuzzopappa for the first time and the pre-milonga class was sold out!
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#tango #argentinetangoclasses #tangoworkshop #tangoargentino #queertango #tangoevent #bayareatango #berkeley #bailemostango #milonga #learningisfun #dancingislife
✨SATURDAY NIGHT TANGO ✨ Che! Milonga is a con ✨SATURDAY NIGHT TANGO ✨

Che! Milonga is a conventional 4.5-hour long milonga with a cozy and casual vibe that happens on 1st and 2nd Saturday of the month at La Pista Tango Studio. 

Tucked away among storage and industrial spaces for local businesses, La Pista is a dedicated tango studio frequently used for classes and workshops. With lighting, seating, wall projection, and table decoration arrangements, our beloved hosts, Ramada and @tanguera_e , put thoughtful touches that give the space a nightclub ambiance.

Check out our February story drop featuring @che_tango_sf (sflovestango.com/che-tango-sf/) and tomorrow, Saturday, April 8, is your chance to dance at their Che Milonga with DJ @kostas_aretos ! 

📸 from Che Milonga on Saturday, April 1st with DJ @ayano.yoneda.tango 
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#tango #argentinetango #tangoargentino #tangodancers #tangolovers #dancecouple #socialdancing #tangoevent #milonganight #embrace #bailar #bailemos #dance #partnerdance #improvisation #dancingislife #sflovestango
❤️ 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩 ❤️
Women's History Month is almost over, but celebrating the impact of women is today and every day! 

Remember the Women's Gathering hosted by @ayano.yoneda.tango in the beginning of this year? Are you curious about the 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 and 𝙬𝙝𝙮 behind these events? 
"𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 – 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳-𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 – 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳." – Ayano Yoneda

More in our latest story drop (🔗 link in bio)!
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#tango #argentinetango #tangoargentino #tangoevent #tangostories #tangocommunity #bayareatango #tangosanfrancisco #womensupportwomen #communitybuilding #lifteachotherup #sflovestango
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