MINNESOTA TANGO MUSIC FESTIVAL 2025
MINNESOTA TANGO MUSIC FESTIVAL 2025
THURSDAY MAY 8: PARKWAY THEATER
SHOWCASE CONCERT. 7:30PM (DOORS 6:30PM)
Our biggest event kicks off the weekend: the showcase concert at Parkway Theater in South Minneapolis. Don’t let the Thursday night throw you off, this will be one of the largest and most varied local tango events in North America, not to be missed!
This event features:
ORQUESTA TIPICA KINGFIELD feat. Marco Tabacman
HAVANA QUARTET
NORTHWOODS TANGO ENSEMBLE
CARO BERNARDINI
COMMUNITY TANGO ENSEMBLE
CHARLES GORCZYNSKI TANGO QUARTET
FRIDAY MAY 9: SOKOL HALL
QUARTET MILONGA 8PM-MIDNIGHT
Our Friday night dance event at the CSPS Sokol Hall in St Paul.
Featuring:
Charles Gorczynski Tango Quartet
Tangoso
and DJ Rachel Moon
DANCE CLASSES: MUSICALITY
with ALEX KREBS (Portland OR) and SABINE IBES (Minneapolis)
Musicality class 6:00-7:30pm at Center For Performing Arts.
Private lessons available. Click below for details about dance classes.
SATURDAY MAY 10: SOKOL HALL
GRAND MILONGA 8PM-MIDNIGHT
Our biggest dance event of the festival, with DJ Alex Krebs
Featuring:
Orquesta Tipica Kingfield (feat. Marco Tabacman)
Northwoods Tango Ensemble (feat. Caro Bernardini)
Community Tango Ensemble
Live music performance by Alex Krebs and Sabine Ibes
Live music performance by J Abling and Rachel Moon
DANCE CLASSES: MUSICALITY
with ALEX KREBS (Portland OR) and SABINE IBES (Minneapolis)
Class 11am and 1pm at Center For Performing Arts.
Private lessons available. Click below for details about dance classes.
DANCE CLASSES: MUSICALITY
with JAY ABLING and RACHEL MOON (Minneapolis)
Musicality Presentation 3-4:30pm at Center For Performing Arts.
Private lessons available. Click below for details about dance classes.
SUNDAY MAY 11: CFPA MINNEAPOLIS
PERFORMING ARTS MILONGA 7PM - 11PM
Closing milonga and live music performances at Center For Performing Arts,
with DJ Paul Lohman.
Featuring:
Small Ensembles TBA
DANCE CLASSES: MUSICALITY
with ALEX KREBS (Portland OR) and SABINE IBES (Minneapolis)
Class 11am and 1pm at Center For Performing Arts.
Private lessons available. Click below for details about dance classes.
ALEX KREBS
CLASSES THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND
PERFORMANCE GRAND MILONGA
Alex has been dancing Argentine Tango since 1997 and teaching worldwide since 1998, including performances in Buenos Aires. He has partnered with tango legends Melina Brufman, Luciana Valle, and Florencia Taccetti. He has run his all-Argentine tango studio, Tango Berretin, in Portland, Oregon since 2001 and has also studied the bandoneón since then. Alex directs his own tango orchestra, Conjunto Berretín, and has performed with Alberto Podestá, Ariel Ardit, Duo Fuertes-Varnerin, Claudio Mendez, Maria Volonté, grammy-winning artists Pedro Giraudo and Pablo Estigarribia, the Oregon Symphony, and Tango Pacifico among many others.
Alex is a complete fanatic about the dance and shares his passion with his students. He teaches for the social dance floor emphasizing the improvisatory nature of tango through strong communication between lead and follow while also connecting with the music. Alex gives his students the vocabulary necessary for each person to find their own unique way of dancing -- dancing the tango of their own body.
SABINE IBES (MINNEAPOLIS)
TANGO & I PRESENTS:
CLASSES THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND
Sabine danced her whole life; Argentine Tango captured her imagination at an early age. She's been to Buenos Aires on many occasions. In 2014 she was awarded a study grant by MRAC and spent over a month in Buenos Aires, similar in 2015. In addition to her travels she has studied with many masters of Argentine Tango. Teaching Tango since 2004, garnering a deep interest in learning and teaching techniques, and a person’s ability to process information through body movement, control, and expression.
J ABLING and RACHEL MOON (MINNEAPOLIS)
FUEGO TANGO CLUB PRESENTS:
MUSICALITY PRESENTATION / PRIVATE LESSONS
J & Rachel have been partners in life and in tango since 2016. Both have been partner dancing since college, and both have thoroughly explored other social dances, including lindy hop and salsa. J draws on his knowledge from fields such as martial arts, body mechanics, and music to create a metaphor that fits every situation and every student. Before becoming a tango teacher, he was a classically trained vocalist and musician, which gives him valuable insight into tango musicality. Rachel draws on her knowledge of motor-learning and educational strategies from many years as a speech-language pathologist. She also brings a deep knowledge of tango history and culture, gleaned from spending six months in Buenos Aires, extensively researching and presenting on tango history and orchestras, and translating the lyrics of many tango songs into English. Together, they bring a wealth of experience in various types of dance and education, and combined, have spent 34 years teaching tango as their livelihood and calling.
J and Rachel have traveled to teach and DJ across North America and in Europe. During and shortly after the pandemic, they focused on Tango Music Trainer, an online musicality training program. After several years teaching tango in the D.C. area and teaching tango musicality online, they founded Fuego Tango Club in the Twin Cities in early 2024, and it has been thriving ever since!
ORQUESTA TIPICA KINGFIELD
SHOWCASE CONCERT / GRAND MILONGA
14-piece orquesta tipica based in Minneapolis, comprised of independent and wide-reaching creative musicians in the Twin Cities. Kingfield Ensemble plays the music of Osvaldo Pugliese, Anibal Troilo, Juan D’Arienzo, Miguel Caló, and contemporary tango composers Julian Peralta, Pablo Jaurena, and more.
Vocal: Marco Tabacman
Violin: Devan Moran, Hansel Perez Carrero, Ana Frómeta, Suzanne Damberg
Viola: Amaya Fuentes Sarria, Chi-Chi Bestmann
Cello: Denise Hernández Rabeiro, Meghan McGuire
Bandoneon: Charles Gorczynski, Bob Barnes
Piano: Alex Woods
Contrabass: Sarah Lahasky
MARCO TABACMAN
Marco Tabacman is a long-time singer and tango lover. He started singing in choirs in Argentina at the age of 10 and promptly fell in love with it. Marco continued singing and was a part of MMEA’s All-State TTBB ensemble, Angelica Cantanti under Philip Brown, and the University Singers Ensemble at the University of Minnesota with Kathy Romey and Matthew Mehaffey. Marco recently took the position as featured singer with Charles Gorczynski Tango Ensemble, a working group dedicated to tango music in the Twin Cities.
HAVANA QUARTET
SHOWCASE CONCERT
Founded in 2017, the Havana Quartet has established itself as a leading ensemble in classical and contemporary music, proudly representing the richness and diversity of Cuban culture. The quartet is composed of Hansel Pérez Carrero (director, violin), Ana Caridad Frómeta (violin), Amaya Fuentes Sarria (viola), and Denise Hernández Rabeiro (cello), all talented musicians and graduates of the University of the Arts in Havana. Beyond their work within the quartet, its members have performed with renowned Cuban orchestras such as the Havana Chamber Orchestra, the Liceo de La Habana Orchestra, and Música Eterna, contributing to their country’s vibrant musical landscape.
NORTHWOODS TANGO ENSEMBLE
Northwoods Tango Ensemble is a group in Twin Cities Tango Collective dedicated to studying music for the milongas. The group meets weekly during our seasons, performs for milongas and concerts, and specializes in deep dives into the music of composers like Carlos Di Sarli, Rodolfo Biagi, Juan D’Arienzo, Miguel Caló, Enrique Rodriguez, Aníbal Troilo, and many others from the golden age of tango music.
Vocal: Caro Bernardini
Violin: Suzanne Damberg, Erin Strauss, Suki Sun
Cello: Randall Davidson
Clarinet: Katrina Mundinger
Flute: Natalie Seger
Bandoneon: Bob Barnes
Guitar: Michael Stiffman
Piano: Malcolm Kelly, Bill Johnson
Contrabass: Robin Shurmer
CARO BERNARDINI
Caro was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her love of music began at the age of 3 when she learned her first chords on the guitar from her brother. By the age of 7, she was already performing regularly at church, school events, on the radio, and on TV. A teenage fascination with blues guitar led to seven years of study and a 5,600-mile journey to Chicago, where she immersed herself in the blues scene as a guitar player. Being far from home made her long for the sounds of her childhood, and she discovered a newfound love for Argentine tango and folklore music. Today, Caro is part of the tango community in the Twin Cities, where she continues to build meaningful connections through her music.
CHARLES GORCZYNSKI TANGO QUARTET
Minneapolis-based composer and bandoneonist Charles Gorczynski works in contemporary tango, new music, and studio production. He leads the acclaimed modern tango outfits Charles Gorczynski Tango Quartet and Redwood Tango Ensemble, and is the director of the Twin Cities Tango Collective.
The quartet features violinist Devan Moran, pianist Alex Woods, and bassist Sarah Lahasky.
COMMUNITY TANGO ENSEMBLE
SHOWCASE CONCERT / GRAND MILONGA
Minneapolis-based local tango ensemble for all, now in our fourth full year. Community Tango Ensemble is the central group of Twin Cities Tango Collective. This ensemble functions as both a band and as a class, because it is a completely open and welcoming way into the music.
Featuring:
Violin: Ingrid Radio, Maria Blaesing, Beth Henningson, Lisa Gibson, Gary Rauk
Viola: Aishwarya Varma
Cello: Natalie Kowalke, Uli Koester
Flute: Elizabeth Cutter, Beth Davies
Bandoneon: Paul Lohman, Mary Jane Setterberg, Nancy Brass
Accordion: Shelby Setnikar
Guitar: Marisa Bhargava, Isaac Marsolek, Carlos Tolmasky
Piano: Nick Aguilar, Kathya Dawe, Andre Phillips
Vocals: Maria Dussaut, Ana Vilche-Hintz, Vivi Ortelli
TANGOSO
Tangoso is a Minneapolis-based tango orchestra dedicated to playing dance music from the golden age of tango. The members of Tangoso met while honing their craft in the Northwoods Tango Ensemble, an orchestra part of the Twin Cities Tango Collective. Tangoso is comprised of 3 violins, guitar, bass, clarinet, and bandoneon.
DONATIONS / SUPPORT
Minnesota Tango Music Festival is an annual festival event of Twin Cities Tango Collective, an organization dedicated to cultivating local tango music culture in Minneapolis and St Paul. Year-round we host three orchestras: a community ensemble open to all, an audition based ensemble, and a professional orchestra. We create scores, events, concerts, milongas, and host guest teachers to learn the style and technique of Argentine tango music. We create positive and inclusive environments: welcoming rehearsals, engaging classes, and regular performance opportunities. These shared resources and scores are open for anyone to cultivate their own small projects, and since our inception in 2021 our community has hosted over 100 musicians.
This festival is a grassroots production, funded entirely through ticket sales and donations. Our organization is deeply grateful for any donation of any size, each goes a long way towards our goals of rooting tango music into the fabric of our cities. The funds are used to cover costs of venues, equipment, guest artists, musicians, score production, live sound, and production, which in turn supports the outreach and events necessary for attracting/cultivating new musicians, bands, dancers, and teachers at the local level. Twin Cities Tango Collective is fiscally-sponsored by Springboard For The Arts, and all donations are tax-deductible. If you appreciate what we are building and have the means to contribute, please consider making one!
Additional thank you to our wonderful and collaborative Twin Cities Tango organizations:
Bataclan Tango
Tango Society of Minnesota
Sabine Ibes
Fuego Tango Club
Thank you to Dan Browning for the stellar photography.
Thank you to those who have supported this program already, in the twin cities and beyond, this is possible because of you!