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Festival Teachers

Get ready to learn and be inspired by the incredible maestros of our 2024 festival.

Philadelphia Tango Festival

Rocio Lequio & Bruno Tombari

Bruno and Rocio have been working together since 2014. From the beginning of their partnership, they simultaneously worked as performers, teachers and organizers.

As dancers, they have performed around the world at the most renowned milongas (social dances), most illustrious festivals, and at numerous private events.

As teachers, they have gained a strong following worldwide due to their unique way of teaching, which is practical and accessible, but opens theoretical doors that make “the sky the limit” for their students. This combination of practical teaching, while also imparting tools and theory to support the students’ ongoing and endless creative exploration is the gold standard in tango teaching. For this reason, Bruno and Rocio are among the most sought-after instructors on the tango circuit today.

As organizers, they run La Mandrilera Milonga, a social dance space that has been growing for the last ten years, becoming one of the most important places for students of all levels. Beginners choose this space for starting their tango journey because of the relaxed and nonjudgmental environment, while intermediate, advanced and professional dancers keep studying at La Mandrilera to develop their technique and creativity.

Bruno and Rocio have studied together with the most important tango teachers of today, including Gustavo Naveira, Giselle Anne, Chicho Frumboli, Carlos & Rosa Forte, Dana Frígoli and Pablo Villarraza.

At the moment they are referents for the new generation of dancers.

When describing their dance, people talk about its freshness, and the enjoyment they see taking place between the dancers in every moment, as well as a deep sense of connection and presence. Bruno and Rocio understand tango as an independent union, in which each dancer contributes from their role in order to achieve comfortable, fluid and musical communication. Their classes follow the same path, combining dynamism and humor with technique and creativity. The result is a relaxed and enjoyable environment where learning and practicing tango become more effective, and simply more fun.

Philadelphia Tango Festival

Los Totis

Los Totis (Virginia Gómez & Christian Márquez) are renowned for their strength, maturity and defined tango style. They have been working together since 1997, participating in many important national and international shows, directed by prominent dancers and choreographers.

Since 2002, they have been traveling to different cities in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, to give workshops and participate in tango festivals. In 2006, they were invited to be the lead couple of the video clip ¨Diferente¨ by Gotan Project.

In Buenos Aires, they are invited to participate in the most important tango festivals such as CITA, Tango Salón Extremo, Argentina Tango Salón, and Mujercitas, among others. They also travel to different cities in the country to transmit their knowledge to new generations of tango dancers.

They are regularly invited by the Government of Buenos Aires to serve on the jury of the Metropolitan Tango Championship and World Tango Championship.

Their dance is characterized by the precision and quality of their movements. They are beloved for their elegance, musicality, and the way they distill and preserve the purest essence of tango.

Philadelphia Tango Festival

Felipe Martinez & Ayano Yoneda

Felipe & Ayano came together in the tango scene of the SF Bay Area, and embody the global nature of tango, traveling full-time throughout North America, Europe, South America, and Asia to teach, DJ, and lecture about the dance, music & poetry of tango. They also spend time annually in Buenos Aires studying and enjoying the dance and its history & culture.

Felipe’s background includes a degree in education and more than 25 years of experience in tango and is widely renown for his clear teaching strategy, enthusiastic personality, and ability to make real improvements in your dancing.

Ayano has been dancing tango since 2005. A milonguera herself, she believes anybody can dance tango. Her mission as a teacher is to help each person find your own unique way to dance tango by cultivating self awareness to find ease and freedom of movement.

She is also dedicated to her other passion projects, Women’s Gathering and Tango Poetry Project, to further enrich each dancers’ experience.

Together, their demonstrations are clear and precise, offering students an excellent model of movement and showing a deep knowledge and respect for the genre. Both Felipe and Ayano lead and follow interchangeably which is invaluable for teaching. Their series at Stanford University and their classes at The Beat in Berkeley are always in high demand, which is a tribute to their teaching excellence and wide appeal.

Philadelphia Tango Festival

Matias Mauricio

Matías Mauricio is a teacher, poet, editor, and a reference in current tango lyrics. He is a member of the National Academy of Tango and the Academia Porteña del Lunfardo, a member of the CETBA (Tango Education Center of Buenos Aires), and a researcher of the Tango Department of the Centro Cultural de la Cooperación. He works as a teacher in the Tango Diploma of the UBA (Faculty of Economic Sciences) in charge of the contemporary Tango chair, and of the Poetics of Tango I and II and Lyricists chairs of CETBA.

He has published the books: Bandoneón Blindado (2010), Julián Centeya: biography and unpublished poems co-authored with Roberto Selles (2014) and Homero Expósito: unpublished sonnets (2018), Tango post-2001: social outbreak and new poetics (2022). He writes regularly for El Cohete a la Luna. Among other distinctions, he was the winner of the “Hugo del Carril” Award for best tango song (2013), he works as a lecturer and jury in different tango contests, festivals, and contests in Argentina and abroad.