Gotta Tango
The Argentine tango is enjoying immense popularity around the globe, and a new generation of social dancers is joining the Latin dance craze. Throughout the U.S., dance studios, websites and courses are emerging to keep in step with the growing popularity of the tango. Gotta Tango (Human Kinetics, April 2007) by Alberto Paz and Valorie Hart offers a new generation of dancers a chance to learn the moves that are sweeping the nation.
The only instructional package of its kind, Gotta Tango offers a book and DVD that teaches participants the authentic form of the Argentine tango in a progressive and easy-to-follow format.
"When we started dancing there were no books, or magazines or movies, or even Argentine tango music on CD," says Paz. "This exceptional book and companion DVD are an excellent primer and teaser that will make you want to seek more and more personal experiences."
The book explains and illustrates the fundamental concepts and techniques while the DVD visually demonstrates lessons first as individual technique exercises, then in real dance situations with a partner. The combination of learning experiences provides tango lessons that are more effective than a stand-alone book or video.
"This dance is a longevity form. This is something you can enjoy your whole lifetime, and it will help you be a better dancer and person for it," says Paz.
Alberto Paz and Valorie Hart own Planet Tango, a school and tango salon located in New Orleans, where they also produce the widely successful New Orleans TangoFest each year. Together, Paz and Hart conduct master Argentine tango classes as well as lectures and workshops in cities across America and the world. They also publish El Firulete, an online international Argentine tango magazine with a quarterly publication in English, and they have been featured dancers on the Buenos Aires TV show Tango Around the World. With their Web site, www.planet-tango.com, Paz and Hart provide dancers the opportunity to network on an international level.
Paz is a native of Argentina and grew up in the streets of Buenos Aires, while Hart was born in the United States and is ballet trained with experience in both off-Broadway and summer stock. The two met in 1995 during a tango conference and workshop at Stanford University. Since then, the pair has become internationally reputable Argentine tango masters and historians, known for their smooth, creative, and elegant improvisational dancing style.
Both authors are disciples of the legendary grand master Mingo Pugliese, who said, "Alberto possesses one of the most impressive powers of improvisation in the world today." They teach and dance the traditional and modern authentic concepts of improvisation originally developed by the masters in the 1930s, revamped in the 1990s, and practiced by dancers of all ages in the social settings of the Buenos Aires dance halls to this date.
For more information on Gotta Tango, call Human Kinetics at 800-747-4457.
Gotta Tango
Alberto Paz and Valorie Hart
April 2007 • Paperback with DVD
• 200 pp
ISBN 978-0-7360-5630-4 • $27.95