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ABOUT US

We are Ricardo & Jenny Oria.
We love tango - its music, its song, and its dance, particularly it's dance; It's wonderful, social, creative, intimate, playful, serious dance.

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We have been dancing together professionally since 2002. We have our regular tango classes in Edinburgh and we travel a lot, giving workshops and performances for lots of different tango groups in the UK, Europe and also in Argentina.

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We dance and pure Argentine Tango, the tango that Ricardo grew up with in Buenos Aires - tango for the dance floor. Each tango we dance is moved and inspired by the music and the subtle yet powerful conversation within the embrace.

OUR APPROACH TO ARGENTINE TANGO​

We teach pure Argentine Tango - tango for the dance floor. Tango is a very Argentine dance that originated in Buenos Aires, and that is now danced around the world. 

 

Argentine Tango is music, dance and song. It is a culture. We will welcome you into it and help you to navigate this wonderful world. Learning tango dance is an enriching experience: through the process of learning the dance; through the embrace; through the music.

 

Tango can teach us to listen, to understand, to give our attention to

the other, without losing sight of ourselves. We dance for ourselves and for our partners, but always with respect to those outside the couple. We search for our own freedom, while taking care of the freedom of others. 

Approach
OUR AIMS

Our aims are to help you to: Dance socially; interpret, understand & enjoy the music; Dance with balance, elegance & technique; Embrace and be embraced comfortably; and Improvise in your dance.

We give an equal emphasis to both roles in the dance and we keep our classes relaxed, so that students can enjoy learning all the details and complexity that tango can involve

We are interested in helping tango dancers to find comfort and confidence in their embrace and their dance.

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WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE CLASSES
Expect us to smile.

Expect exercises to work on general technique and techniques specific to the workshop.

Expect clear and detailed explanations of everything we teach.

Expect equal emphasis on the leader's and follower's roles.

Expect to improve your floorcraft and musicality skills.

Expect to be stretched.

Expect to enjoy yourself.

PERFORMANCES

We have performed in many different places, venues and events since 2002. We have performed for tango and non-tango audiences; In milongas, in theatres, in halls, in hotels, in parks and on TV.

 

Each performance is different ... in a different place, a differnet space, different audiences, and most importantly, different music. What stays the same for us is that we dance real tango - embraced, musical, intimate and elegant. In the flow of improvisation, everything is danced with immediacy and yet stillness. We search for serious and playful aspects of the dance.

 

Every tango is unique.

CV

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Workshops & Performances

England (Totnes, Torquay, Camber Sands, London, Eton, Leamington Spa, Cambridge, Hereford, Norwich, Hemsby, Leicester, Birstall, Hemel Hempstead, Market Harborough, Bedford, Bramshaw, Coventry, Warwick, Lytham-St-Anns, Huddersfield, Manchester, Billingham, Carlisle, Leeds, Southport, Newcastle, Annan)

Scotland (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Lockerbie, Dunfermline, Firbush, Stirling, St Andrews, Pittenween, Perth, Aberdeen and Inverness),

Wales  (Cardiff, Llandudno)

Northern Ireland (Belfast, Lisburn)

Ireland (Cork, Dublin),

Sweden (Malmo, Nörrskopping, Uppsala),

Denmark (Copenhagen),

France (Chassignole & La Fraysinette),

Italy (Sardinia),

Spain (Mallorca, Menorca, Valencia, Altea),

Germany (Berlin),

USA (New York & Philadelphia)

Argentina (Buenos Aires).

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Tango Festivals

Edinburgh International Tango Festival (Edinburgh, UK); 

England International Tango Festival (Brighton, UK)

London Tango Extravaganza (London, UK);

Bailongo! (Edinburgh, UK)

Reading Tango Festival (Reading, UK)

Cork Tango Festival (Cork, Ireland)

International Tango Meeting (Sardinia, Italy);

Copehagen Tango Marathon (Copenhagen, Denmark); 

Berlin Tango High (Berlin, Germany);

Berlin Tango Europa (Berlin, Germany)

Tango Esencial (Valencia, Spain);

Rockbottoms (Torquay, UK);

El Abrazo (Skipton, UK)

 

Performances in Milongas in Buenos Aires

Salon Canning, Milonga10, Porteño y Bailarín and La Milonguita

 

Shows

2003 & 2004  - The Tango Spell - with Pasodos Dance Company in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and in Theatres in Dublin, Palma de Mallorca and Lisburn, N. Ireland, where our dance was described as ‘stunning work of elegant movement and feeling’ (Fringe Report).

2007 - Raul Garello’s Orquesta de Tango de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires in the Teatro de la Rivera - Buenos Aires

2007 - Taconeando - Cena Tango Show - Buenos Aires

2009 - BBC Proms in the Park event in Glasgow. Performance for 20,000 people with the Scottish Symphony Orchestra (also broadcast live throughout the UK)

2012-  Last Tango in Edinburgh ..." The pair of professional dancers are clearly at the top of their game" Fest Magazine. - Edinburgh

2013 & 2014 - Star Crossed, an exciting project combining tango, capoeira, ballet and contemporary dance, commissioned by the Edinburgh Mela and directed by the wonderful, Pasodos Dance Company. - Edinburgh & Palma de Mallorca

2018 - Tango y Libertad  - with Compañia Dinzel and musicians. A fantastic project working with a group of talented dancers. - Athens

2019 - The creative Spirit of John Curry -  A collaborative project with ice dancers from ITV's Dancing on Ice. - Billingham

2022 - Brass in Concert - with Brighouse & Rastrick Band (winners 2023) - Sage Gateshead Theatre

2023 - Argentine Tango Performance - Billingham International Folk Festival

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TV & Media

2003 - 2006, Ricardo appeared regularly on British TV in the BBC1 tango ident.

2004 - Canal 4, Mallorca, performing Nochero Soy (Pugliese)

2007 - Choreographers for Miss Scotland contest - tango section.

2009 - BBC Proms in the Park interview and performance coverage

2011 - Clase Turista - Telefe (Argentina)

2014 - Lorna Reid Music Video - 'Doggone Good'

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Our Teachers

We continually develop our dance, practising and also still taking classes to learn and to remember the experience of being a student.  We have been really fortunate over the years to have been able to learn from some really wonderful maestros: 

 

Gloria & Rodolfo Dinzel - always an inspiration, Jorge & Liliana Rodriguez, Julio Balmaceda & Corina de la Rosa, Claudia Codega & Esteban Moreno, Damian Esell & Nancy Louzan, Adriana Dure, Blas Catrenau, Tanguito Cejas & Genoveva Fernandez , Angel Coria and all the other milongueros and dancers who have inspired us over the years

Back Story
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Jenny started dancing tango while she was a student at Edinburgh University. It quickly took over her life and she has spent a lot of time in Buenos Aires studying and dancing and also now, seeing friends and family. She has studied with many great maestros and has been dancing/teaching with Ricardo since 2002.

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Ricardo is from Buenos Aires. He started dancing tango while at secondary school and it quickly became a passion. He spent his teenage years listening to tango music, and studying with tango maestros. He studied at the University of Tango (CETBA) and started dancing tango professionally in Buenos Aires, performing and teaching. He was invited to teach in London in 2001 and then in Edinburgh, where he met Jenny.

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