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Teacher Spotlight: Erin & Doruk

May 5, 2015

There are some tango teaching couples that are so fun, artistic, talented and sweet that you just want to follow them everywhere. Erin and Doruk are one such couple.

Erin and Doruk moved to the Bay Area from New York over five years ago and quickly become popular in the tango community as they are both lovely dancers and good at both leading and following. It was only more recently that they decided to make Tango more of a priority in their lives and have become involved in multiple facets of the Bay Area Tango scene. Not only do they teach regular classes and host practicas at both La Pista and Studio 210 in San Francisco, they are also offering an upcoming 4-week beginners workshop at ODC Dance Commons. Both Erin and Doruk are performers with Debbie Goodwin Dance Company and have a show coming up at the end of May, plus Erin is also a team member of the all woman tango company, Tango Con*Fusion. All this and they still maintain time (and energy) for their other artistic activities. Outside of Tango, or perhaps I should say, along side Tango, Erin is also a dance film and video artist. Check out her work here: erinmalley.com.  And Doruk is quite an amazing illustrator specializing in concept art and character design: dorukart.blogspot.com.

DorukandErin-web

Their dancing is clean, musical and delightful. Here’s a clip of their performance from November 2014, so you may see for yourself.

As usual, for a SF Loves Tango interview, I asked them about how tango found them, how it influenced their art and life and what plans they have for the future.

SF Loves Tango: How did Tango find you?

Doruk: I was quite intrigued and inspired by Tango through Carlos Saura’s film, Tango, which came out the year I finished high school. However, at the time it came out, it wasn’t quite enough to get me started as I was focusing on learning fencing instead. A few years down the line, a lady friend of mine, whom I had a huge crush on, started taking lessons, which tipped the balance for me. I ended up getting an even bigger crush on Tango very soon after.

Erin: I was a junior in college pursuing my BFA in Dance and French at Western Michigan University. Both a close friend and my choreographic mentor suggested that I make a piece to Astor Piazzolla’s Preludio Para El Año 3001 (Rinasceró). Since the recommendation came from two strong influences, I thought I’d better do it! In retrospect, the resulting piece, Poem for a Woman, (View here) incorporated far more Tango than I knew at the time (which was none). Making this piece got me curious about Tango. A few years later, I moved to NYC, began auditioning for shows, and promptly got injured. But, I figured I could still manage walking, so I used that break from contemporary dance to learn Tango.

SF Loves Tango: How did you two meet?  Did you meet dancing Tango or did Tango come along later?

Doruk & Erin: It was while dancing Tango, at the All Night Milonga of NYC. Doruk likes pointing out that the first time he asked Erin to dance, she refused him (in her defense, it was 4 am).

SF Loves Tango: You both are artistic people, Erin with your dance and film and Doruk…. an illustrator (wow!) Do you ever integrate your artistic passions with Tango?

Doruk: So far the most I did was paint us as Tango-dancing superheroes for a flier. However, I wasn’t quite as confident in my painting skills back then, so the Tango-dancing aspect doesn’t come through as well as I liked. This all means that I will tackle a similar subject again soon, probably, to do a better job.

Erin: Obviously, I got into Tango through my other artistic pursuits in the first place. While my current work in dance and film doesn’t have the look of Tango, my underlying thematic interest is the space within us and between us. I suppose you could say that to some extent, all of my work is a Tango.

SF Loves Tango: You have an upcoming Workshop Series for Beginners at ODC plus a show with Alma del Tango, any other performances, workshops or news that you’ like to share?

Doruk & Erin: The thing we are most excited about right now is a “mini-tour” we have coming up early in the summer where we will be teaching and performing in England, Ireland, and Turkey. We are hoping to travel more as tango teachers in the coming year. We are also hosting the great Carolina Del Rivero and Donato Juarez in SF at the end of May, and are quite looking forward to that.

Intrigued? Learn more about Doruk and Erin and their upcoming events here: www.erinanddoruktango.com

Tango Jumpstart Workshop at ODC

When: Thurs May 7 – 28, 2015 8:15-9:45PM

Cost:  $54 Full series
, $16 Drop-in, 
Register online or call 415-549-8519

About: Erin & Doruk offer a 4-week accelerated course to jumpstart your journey into Argentine Tango. If you’ve ever been curious to give tango a try, this is the workshop for you! It’s a great way to explore this intricate and sensual dance form that has captured the imagination of millions worldwide.

 Erin & Doruk will teach fundamental vocabulary, the structure of the dance, proper leading and following, and musicality over the course of 4 weeks. Each class will build upon material covered in previous weeks, so it is recommended to take all classes in the workshop!

Me Llamo Tango (My Name is Tango,World Premiere)

When: Friday, May 22 9:30pm

Where: San Francisco International Arts Festival – Festival Central, Bldg A, Fort Mason Center

Tickets: $15-$30 Reserved Seating & General Admission

About: Me Llamo Tango explores the soul of tango, not simply a lover’s tryst, but a venerable embrace of cultural solidarity and self-expression. This is the premier performance of the Debbie Goodwin Dance Company (DGDC), sponsored by the long-running, successful non-profit arts organization, Alma del Tango. Guest artist Eduardo Saucedo (Buenos Aires, Argentina) brings the cultural heritage of Argentina to the presentation through both drama and dance. Seth Asarnow y Su Sexteto Tipico are one of the premiere tango orchestras in the United States, dedicated to preserving the authentic style of Golden Age tango. Learn more here.

Filed Under: Learning Tango, Teacher Spotlight Tagged With: Argentine Tango, Bay Area Tango, Doruk & Erin, Tango classes, Tango San Francisco, Tango workshops

Tango scenes in SF

sflovestango

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

sflovestango
✨ 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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