I’m
Monica Paz
My name is Monica Paz, my life and experience with Tango is in my blood and memory since I was born. My father was a milonguero. My journey began with him.
As a social dancer, even before my 23 years of being a tango professional, I have had the weekly opportunity to dance in the milongas of Buenos Aires. Through the years, my Tango became enriched and my partners improved until I was able to dance with the best milongueros of Buenos Aires. Dancing with them is the highest aspiration for any woman who dances Tango.
My current classes are exclusively focused on transmitting what I acquired from so many years of dancing with these masters: “Tango es un sentimiento” (Tango is a feeling). Unfortunately the way Tango has developed today has become more focused on how it looks, not how it feels
When I began Tango (1996), I took all the classes I could and did so continuously every day for 2 years without break. Much later, when I studied in higher education, I earned my diploma as a recognized Instructor of Tango Dance and History.
When I started teaching Tango, I taught what I had learned from the classes that I had attended. However, gradually my teaching evolved and was enriched over time by incorporating what I had learned by dancing with the milongueros, the true milongueros.
My current classes are exclusively focused on transmitting what I acquired from so many years of dancing with these masters: “Tango es un sentimiento” (Tango is a feeling). Unfortunately the way Tango has developed today has become more focused on how it looks, not how it feels.
When milongueros dance they don´t think on what they do, they “simplify” do what music tell them to do. This is the key! But how does one get to this point in their dance?
It’s been a long process to obtain this knowledge and to be able to develop a clear, instructional, and precise explanation of everything.
I was and I am very lucky. The experience I have had in all these years is not possible for the vast majority of the global tango community. You have to live in Buenos Aires, you have to dance with milongueros, you have to listen to them, and you have to understand what they say between lines when they talk and when they dance. Unfortunately, so many of these men and women, “dinosaurios” of tango have passed on. However, their legacy can still endure if we listen.
This is the Tango I pass on in my classes, because not only is it my passion, but it is my commitment that this understanding of Tango not be lost. Hopefully that this heritage can benefit and enrich Tango generations to come!
Monica Paz