Tango is the art of connecting with another person on a very fine wavelength without using word in the context of emotionally powerful music. It has a unique power to bring people together in strong communities.

It is a social dance that evolved in Buenos Aires, Argentina, around the end of the 19th Century. It has drawn elements from many origins (African, European, Native) and continues to evolve even today, in cities around the world, as dancers strive to simultaneously recreate the old traditions and push the dance forward into uncharted territory.

Please note: Tango is a practice, like Yoga or Kung Fu. if you come expecting quick results or entertainment, you will likely be disappointed. We invite you to come with an open mind, a curious heart, a lot of patience, humility, and a sense of humor.

The Global Tango Mar Vista Center for Tango Arts & Extremes is a local effort to build community through quality Tango instruction.

We work with The 8th Style School of Tango in Seattle, collaborating on the development of a teaching curriculum that efficiently provides total beginners with a solid grounding in the structure of Argentine Tango. Currently, this entails:
- Starting with a simple, chest-to-chest style that can be used in any crowded dance hall around the world
- Moving to a more flexible and elegant salon style, which opens way to the more modern evolutions of the dance
- Musicality and connection are constant themes throughout the curriculum

In working with community members, we adopt a very personal approach, mentoring each person to grow in the dance according to their own realities and needs. We strictly limit class size so that we can develop a relationship with each new member.

We emphasize “inner game” principles of allowing the body to discover methods that work for executing effective and relaxed movement, instead of creating tension by “telling” it what is “correct/incorrect.” In this manner, learning becomes more active and pleasant.

Also, we organize Tango practices and a lot of other things on a voluntary and donation basis.

The Center’s headquarters are in historic Mar Vista. The “Tango Concepts Lab and Arboretum” stands proudly at 12759 Caswell Avenue, a classic LA “back house” guarded 24/7 by an exuberant and sometimes irate cactus. By appointment only.

Portrait by Andre Andreev

Mitra began dancing Argentine Tango at La Viruta, in the heart of Buenos Aires, in 1998. She then immersed herself in Tango on the streets of New York City for six years. Over the past nine years, she has performed with some of the finest and most subtle leaders in North America. She seeks to constantly refine and uplift her connection to the world around her through Tango. She is known for her bold stride; her passion for twists; her musicality; her controlled amplification; and her embrace.

While she has studied with virtually all the big-name teachers in Europe, the US, and Argentina, her main personal influences in Tango have been Jaimes Friedgen for his passion and ferocity; and Eric Finke for his precision and control. She also studied Alexander Technique with Anne Waxman and Contact Improvisation with Stefan Fabry as a means of polishing and broadening her Tango. In Los Angeles, Mitra teaches with Stefan Fabry.

A social dancer first and foremost, today Mitra is teaching Tango and building a community in Los Angeles, where she also creates and DJs events.

Mitra holds a B.A. from Princeton University with honors, where she was extensively involved in campus performing arts and received a Certificate in the Program in Theater and Dance.

Stefan Fabry has been dancing and studying dance for over a decade, building organically on his early training in martial arts. He began his intensive 3-year modern dance training with Tanz Projekte Köln, where he trained full time for three years under the guidance of James Saunders, Rob McWilliams, and Frey Faust. Today, he studies, assists, and collaborates with Rudy Perez, his modern dance mentor since 1997, and has performed with Perez at Orpheum Theater. In 2007 he was Assistant Choreographer at the North American Dance Festival at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

A versatile, committed performer with a powerful presence, Fabry has performed at venues across Southern California including REDCAT, Pasadena City College, and Highways Performance Space. His evolving body of original choreography includes the critically acclaimed solo "Gonna Stay" (2003) and the full-length piece "We Will Go Outside Where The Wild Wind Blows" (2006). Fabry draws on improvisational dance as a key inspiration.

Stefan started dancing Tango after seeing it danced on the street by Mitra Martin and Moti Buchboot. He has been influenced by Jaimes Friedgen and worked with Mitra Martin as companion in Tango, teacher and dance partner since 2004. He has been performing Tango in numerous local venues since 2006.

Glenn Campbell Photography

Mitra and Stefan met at a Contact Improvisation jam in Santa Monica in 2004. Their partnership is a collaborative work of art focused on through stretching Tango into new spaces while maintaining a deep respect for its roots. As performers they seek to effectively bring across the power of their internal experience of Tango.