Meet in the Middle Sept 16-18, 2011, Instructors

We are pleased to announce Daniel Trenner and Maria and Gustavo:

Daniel Trenner is a dance pioneer. From the late 70s until the early 90s he was a mover and shaker in the Jazz, Modern, and Post Modern dance worlds. He happened on Tango in Buenos Aires in 1986 while he was there teaching Jazz and Improvisation at the State School of Contemporary Dance in the San Martin Theatre. He was one of the first dozen young people involved in tango's revival. He studied with, interviewed, filmed and organized for many of the "Milongueros", the older generation dancers. He has been called a “Johnny Appleseed of Tango” for his 25 years of touring as a tango teacher, visiting more than 100 cities on 4 continents. He was one of the early proponents of teaching tango by its elements, he created the first Tango tours to Buenos Aires (Bridge to the Tango, eventually bringing more than 1500 people dancing tango in 7 countries), and the first Tango store in North America (The Tango Catalogue). He produced more than 80 volumes of Tango Instructional Video, with more than 40 artists (BttTV). In 1998-2000 Daniel ran an intercultural exchange in Havana Cuba, where he learned the Cuban Salsa. Before tango Daniel was a tap dancer for more than 10 years with Brenda Bufalino and Leon Collins. He settled in the Pioneer Valley in Northampton, MA in 2002, and is presently teaching at Smith College, Amherst College, Mt Holyoke College, Hampshire College, and the Performing Arts High School (PVPA). Read more about Daniel Trenner at www.danieltrenner.com

Visit Daniel's newest venture, itangocafe.com , where you can find archival video of tango, tango instructional videos, and more....

At Meet in the Middle, Daniel will be offering his popular lecture and archival video presentations, Tango: History and Mythology, & Tango:
Characters from its modern revival. He will also offer a variety of Tango classes, including Tango's Language of Default Expectations, Tango's Technical Fundamentals, The Tango Embrace: Open, Closed, and Flexible, Squares and Spirals, & Comparing Generations of Tango Flash.

Daniel pictured with Carmencita Calderon in the 1990s, the partner of the legendary Catchafaz from the 1930s.  His teaching assistant for Meet in the Middle is TBA.
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Gustavo Benzecry Saba and Maria Olivera met in 2003 in the occasion of a class Gustavo was teaching at a small dance Studio in Palermo.
Shortly after Maria became  his assistant teacher at Salón Canning, there they started enjoying the  pleasure of dancing together and sharing experiences they wouldn¹t ever forget.

They learned how to know  each other as dancers, teachers and human beings.
Little by little, they  discovered the love.

Today, they enjoy working together, they share their  experiences and concepts, teach, and most important, they learn together from  what they live, from their dances and from their students.

They have taught regular classes at Salón Canning -the most prestigious dance venue in Buenos Aires- for seven years and they tour the world participating in Festivals and International Tango events.
In their classes, good spirit, kindness and warmth  are the highlights. This way, they lead their students throughout a pleasant  learning process.
Gustavo brings wisdom and thoughtfulness as he projects  serenity and patience. María  injects energy, liveliness, passion and dynamism.
This way, they are the Yin  and the Yang of an active and enjoyable teaching method.

When they dance, they show their love for each  other, the happiness of sharing the warmth of a cozy embrace and the fantasy of  a movie where the audience is nothing but an active member of the story.

Gustavo is the author of the book, "Embracing Tango", Techniques and Metaphores between Tango and Life.

At Meet in the Middle they will teach:
1) Tango: Fundamentals of Gustavo & María's techniques
2) Tango: Elegant walks for the social dance.
3) Vals: Spinning around the line of dance.
4) Milonga: Variations in the speed and pronunciation.
5) Milonga Traspié: Gustavo & María's Criss - cross.
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Price for the weekend is $165, after Aug 16 is $195.
PayPal at kglass02@centurytel.net
Or Check to Karen Whitesell, 202 S Hickory, Mt Vernon MO, 65712

Price includes classes, milongas, meals, drinks, and more.

Schedule coming soon, Karen...

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Another great happening at Meet in the Middle Sept 16-18, Mt Vernon MO.
Remember Good price ends Aug 16.

As reported earlier, Janey Smith is teaching a Beginner Boot Camp both Sat and Sunday.  She is bringing the famous Eli Leserowitz of New York.
Together at KC's Spring Fling I saw them teach the best beginner classes I have ever seen in my 14 years of taking beginner classes.  (I always take the beginner classes because at the local level, that is what we teach.) Here are their bios:




Janey Lynn Smith’s love of dance was born of her zeal for music.
Classically trained on three instruments, she was also known to dabble in another nine, both string and reed.  Janey began dancing in earnest in 1990, and has since learned ballet, point, jazz, and modern dance.  In September of 2003, Janey started studying Argentine Tango with world renowned instructor Korey Ireland.  Realizing the importance of going to the source, she went to Buenos Aires in January of 2008 and took daily classes and private lessons from various instructors.

Back in the United States, Janey had the opportunity to teach with Henry Finkelstein for group classes and private lessons at Yale University from August 2008 - June 2009.  This experience culminated in a workshop weekend in Kansas City. Eli Leserowitz and she then formed a partnership, and began teaching group classes and workshops in Kansas City, Lawrence, St. Louis, and Princeton University.  Never idle, Janey studied under the world renowned Robin Thomas in April 2010, and also had the opportunity to assist Robin Thomas in his regularly scheduled classes at Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Dance Manhattan.

Teaching has become Janey’s forté.  She ran studio sessions and conducted classes at Swing Salsa Tango from March – Oct 2009; Coda from Dec 2009 – March 2011, and is currently teaching at and hosting the Tango night at the Marquee Lounge in the AMC Downtown Kansas city.  She has taught regular boot camps for 80 people at Kansas University since 2010 in an effort to grow the Tango community in Kansas and Missouri.  Janey’s teaching style carries inflections of Robin Thomas’, as he has been both mentor and sage to her since their meeting at Meet in the Middle 2004.





Eli Leserowitz began to dance Argentine Tango in New York City, launching him to what would become his life's passion. From the day he started dancing, he has not stopped for an instant. Eli is an exceptionally creative and sensitive dancer who is in a constant state of fascination with the structure of tango moves and music. Eli's unmistakable presence and unique style of dance made him one of the most recognizable figures in the milongas of New York.

After dancing for some time in New York, Eli began searching for new tango experiences. He began touring the United States taking classes with the best local teachers and Argentine masters who were visiting the US, and in 2008 Eli made his initial journey to Argentina, where he deepened his understanding of the tango in the milongas of Buenos Aires. Eli's particular style of dance was borne out of these experiences combined with his extraordinary autodidactic ability.

Eli is a thorough teacher, going to great lengths to convey the fundamental techniques and musicality of a movement to his students.
He has an uncanny ability to incorporate the newest moves into traditional dancing. Eli's attitude of being a constant learner makes him an approachable and a widely popular teacher. His enthusiasm for tango is contagious. He has taught in cities across the US including New York, Los Angelis, Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis, Saint Louis, Kansas City and at Universities such as Princeton University (NJ), Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Hunter College (NY), and the University of Minnesota.
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www.elileserowitz.com
(m) 347-224-4493
www.facebook.com/elileserowitz




Hope to see you in Sept, 
www.karens-murrays.info