HOME

REGULARLY SCHEDULED CLASSES WITH LINDA VALENTINO

PLACES TO DANCE / SPECIAL EVENTS

TOURS TO BUENOS AIRES

TANGO MUSIC

 

 

Text Box:

Text Box: Learn Argentine Tango as it's                really danced in the clubs of              Buenos Aires 
with LINDA VALENTINO 
Teaching both 1950s-style rhythmic tango (estilo confiteria) and 1940s-style smooth, salon tango, as they are danced in the milongas of Buenos Aires.
No tricks, no lifts, no drops, no show steps, NO NONSENSE! Just good social tango.
CLASS SCHEDULE (As of June 2009)   Thursdays in LOS ANGELES  8:15 - 9:45 pm: Tango Fundamentals  For Beginners (This class is for beginners, or anyone who wants to work on the basic elements of the dance)  $15 per person, or buy ten classes for $135
Thursday Class located at : Hollywood Dance Center, 817 North Highland Ave. in Hollywood  (1-1/2 blocks north of Melrose; plenty of free street parking)
Fridays in HOLLYWOOD  8:30 - 10 pm: Tango Technique Classes Plus Practica (10 to midnight) (Rotating series of classes addressing various aspects of tango technique, such as leading and following, connection, dancing on a crowded floor, improvisation, musicality, milonga, tango waltz etc.)  May 15 through June 26th: VALS CRUZADO (Tango Waltz)! Don't sit down when you hear the beautiful waltzes played at the milongas and practicas. Vals Cruzado isn't difficult, but you do need to understand the rhythm and how to use it. We'll also look at what kinds of tango steps work with waltz rhythm (and which don't!), plus some figures that are especially fun for vals cruzado. $15 per person (includes practica), or ten classes for $135; 
PRACTICA from 10 pm to midnight: FREE for those taking the class; $5 for practica only
Friday Classes located at : Hollywood Dance Center, 817 North Highland Ave. in Hollywood  (1-1/2 blocks north of Melrose; plenty of free street parking)
Saturdays in HOLLYWOOD                                        2 - 3:30 pm: Tango Fundamentals  (This class is for beginners, or anyone who wants to work on the basic elements of the dance)  $15 per person, or buy ten classes for $135
Saturday Classes located at : Hollywood Dance Center, 817 North Highland Ave. in Hollywood  (1-1/2 blocks north of Melrose; plenty of free street parking)
Sundays in HOLLYWOOD 1 - 3 pm: Intermediate/ Advanced Tango  $15 per person, or buy ten classes for $135  (PLEASE NOTE: There will be NO CLASS in Hollywood on the following Sundays: Jan. 11, Feb. 15, Mar. 15))         
Class located at : Hollywood Dance Center, 817 North Highland Ave. in Hollywood  (1-1/2 blocks north of Melrose; plenty of free street parking)
Sundays in PASADENA                                                 5 - 6 pm:  Tango Fundamentals for Beginners                      6 - 6:30 pm:  Practice for All Levels                                         6:30 - 7:30 pm:  Intermediate/Advanced Tango   $15 per person, or buy six classes for $69 
Classes located at:  The Dance Family Studio, 1795 East Colorado Blvd., Pasadena (NEW LOCATION!) (at the corner of Allen; lots of free parking in the lots behind the studio; enter the studio through the double doors off the parking lot)
Linda Valentino has been dancing tango for 19 years and teaching for 13 years. She began studying tango in the U.S. with Michael Walker and Luren Bellucci and Danel and Maria Bastone.  She has made 10 trips to Buenos Aires to study with many of the most renowned master teachers in the dance.  
In 1995, when Michael and Luren relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico, Linda was invited by the studio owner to take over their classes in Los Angeles.  She trained to teach tango in Buenos Aires, observing and studying with the best teachers of social tango. 
One of Linda's particular mentors was the late Nestor Ray, one of the legendary, great milongueros of Buenos Aires. Linda taught with Nestor for two years in Los Angeles, up until his death in 2003.  She now teaches his rhythmic style of close embrace tango. 
Equally proficient in leading and following, Linda emphasizes good technique for social dancing, including posture, position, effective leading and following, improvisation, floorcraft, and understanding and dancing to the music. Linda was the first resident teacher in Los Angeles with a solid background of training over several years in Buenos Aires. She was the first Los Angeles teacher to regularly take groups of students to Argentina so that they could observe and dance tango in its "natural habitat" --the milongas of Buenos Aires.