Nicholas Tapia & Stephanie Berg (Phoenix, Arizona) [Video 1] [Video 2] became a dance couple and a “couple-couple” in 2012. Both with professional backgrounds in other dances, they were a natural match, and you can occasionally catch them dancing salsa, swing, or NC 2 step to some of the longer cortinas! Through hard work and many-many hours of training they achieved the honor of becoming the USA National Salon Champions in 2014. After winning they enjoyed the opportunity to continue expanding their physical studies and dabbled in aerials, acro yoga, aerial yoga, and parkour. In late 2015 they made the hard decision to say good bye to the SF Bay Area and moved to Phoenix. In early 2016 they signed the paperwork and became the official owners of the Z Room Dance and Fitness Studio. It is rare to find a couple with such a passion for both teaching and dancing. Not only are they always working on improving their dancing, but how to better facilitate the learning process of tango. Some students seek to dance with confidence and ease, others to compete, and some just want to be able to follow a dang gancho at their local practica. They take great pride in seeing their students succeed, no matter their goals. Nico and Stephie count their blessings every day that they get to work as full time tango instructors.
John Hernan Raigoza & Yaisuri Salamanca (Colombia/New York) [video 1, video 2] are a professional Tango couple with more than 15 years of experience. Their style is based on traditional tango, enriched by modern dancing techniques. Awards include: Third Place World Tango Championship, Buenos Aires, 2008, Fifth Place World Tango Championship, Buenos Aires, 2007 and First Place World Tango Championship, Colombia, 2007. They have performed in theaters from the West End, in London to Tango Houses and Milongas in the heart of Buenos Aires. In addition, Yaisuri owns a line of tango shoes for men and women which you can see at New York Tango Shoes, and John Hernan has a delightful taste for DJing.
Jorge Nel & Milena Giraldo (Colombia/Miami) [video] Jorge Nel’s dance career spans over 30 years and reflect his love and dedication to dancing and teaching tango. In 1985 he won the first National Tango Championship in Colombia and he continues to teach all over the U.S. and sell his well known Mr Tango Shoes.
Kenny and Daseul are both avid dancers and DJs in Sacramento and the Bay Area. They actively work together to deepen and mature their dancing prowess as well as their knowledge of both the Argentine tango music and culture. Their teaching reflects their core philosophy of the dance: Focus on dancing from the inside-out; first, connect with your partner, the music, and the floor around you, then allow the beauty of the dance to radiate outward from within.
Lee Morgan has studied many somatic and bodywork modalities including Feldenkrais, Body-Mind Centering, Yoga, and Gyrokinesis. Lee is a Canadian trained Osteopath in Manual Therapy and maintains a private practice and teaches in San Francisco. She also works every year in India with children who have disabilities. She has been dancing Argentine tango for many years and loves designing movement exercises for body awareness, alignment and mobility to support tango dancing with grace and ease.