About...

Hello, our names are Jennifer & Vincenzo Merlo, from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. We had never danced seriously or heard of Tango Milonguero until we attended one of the October 2004 Milongas run by the Tasmanian Club de Tango at the Australian Italian Club in North Hobart. It was love at first sight, we were swept off our feet and we immediately enrolled in the tango classes for beginners. In December 2004, we saw Karina & Fabian Conca performing during the Tasmanian Tango Festival; we fell in love with their style and the graceful flowing of their dance. We were fascinated by the elegance and the magical, almost spiritual, connection between the couple. We attended every class and workshop organised by the Club, first under the guidance of Fernando Della Pasqua, then every time Fabian & Karina came to Hobart, we enrolled in their workshops and never missed the chance of private lessons. Since from our first exposure to tango, we realised that Tango Milonguero was something special and we searched for it everywhere we travelled both interstate and overseas. The teachers Fabian & Karina Conca, Maria Plazaola, Gabriela Elias & Eduardo Perez, Sergio Cortazzo & Loredana Di Brasi, Hugo Daniel, Aurora Lubiz,  Oscar & Mary Ann Casas, Damien Garcia & Laura de Altube, Jorge Firpo and  Graciela Gonzalez helped us along the path, searching for the style of our choice. A three-week sojourn in Buenos Aires in October 2007 was the height of our journey of discovery. Thanks to an unexpected twist of fate, Fabian & Karina were there too and guided us through their great city, helping with the choice of classes, teachers and the best Milongas. We loved every moment of it, the company, the dance, the music, the lessons, the Tango Bar’s atmosphere and... the great food. This trip and a second one the following year, with many more lessons under various tango teachers at the Escuela Argentina de Tango, reinforced our determination in pursuing the Milonguero style as experienced in Buenos Aires and as taught by Fabian & Karina. On our return to Hobart we thought that it would be nice to have a venue specifically for Tango Milonguero, with the traditional music and tandas setting and may be one day, even food. Just a corner of Buenos Aires re-created in Tasmania, where we can dance tango amongst friends. Thanks to the hospitality of the Australian Italian Club, for four years we were able to organise our Milonga specifically for Tango Milonguero dancers. We then moved to the Eastern Shore Tango Bar at the Masonic Hall in Bellerive holding weekly classes and monthly Milongas. Our Milonga is now held on the second Saturday of every month at Mathers House 108 Bathurst Street Hobart and we also use this hall for our Monday Classes For special occasions we may use other venues around Tasmania. We annually organise Hobart Tango Encuentro, a celebration of Argentine Tango, bringing together social dances from across Australia for Milongas, workshops and exhibitions with Karina & Fabian Conca as our special Guests. Our aim is to promote Tango Milonguero through performances at public & private functions, fund raising & charity events. We are available for private or group classes, workshops and practica (practise sessions) for people interested in learning this particular style. We also created this web site to share our love for the Tango Milonguero.