April at VivaTango starts with a European rock star quartet and ends with a second milonga with live music, and in between milongas and lessons featuring a world tango champion and two special DJs. Pictures and details of these events follow later in this newsletter. 

Do you realize how many Tango stars you can see at VivaTango this April. Now expand that by 12 months a year for more than a decade. If you are here every Thursday you will see the whole Tango world. Sadly, the many videos of past performances have not been organized to be shared. A YouTube channel has been started, but it needs a curator to load videos of new performances and to post past history performances. If you are interested please contact me Dennis

Ignacio Ondartz’s health recovery is progressing. Contribution can be made here https://gofund.me/57600166 .

The Magic Continues!
At VivaTango – You Will Dance!
ABRAZOS!

Thursday April 4th will feature Live Music by the Cuarteto Rotterdam Quartet. This quartet is regarded as one of the best Tango ensembles in Europe. This quartet is tango–full of passion, virtuosity and power. They perform the early and more cheerful kind of tango music from the Guardia Vieja era with such ease that it makes everyone want to dance, and they present the Golden Age of tango from the 1940s with the highlights of the grand orchestras a la Di Sarli, Troilo, D’Arienzo, Pugliese or Salgán. They also include the tango of the contemporary Argentine and European tango pieces in their performances. They are know for connecting their music to the dancers. The quartet’s classic structure, consisting of bandoneón, violin, piano, and double bass, provides a sound experience ranging between tradition and modernity. With their creativity, imagination, and experience, this small orchestra conjures up a world of tango for all kinds of emotions. Come dance to their music. Filling in between live sets will be DJ DimOn with skill of picking tandas and lively cortinas. Doors open at 7 PM with DimOn music. Live music starts at 8:30. $20.  EVENT LINK

Thursday April 11 will feature a milonga hosted by Jorge Fernandez and a lesson by Pablo Garcia Gomez & Iwona Ionescu. Pablo and Iwona are the instructors for the Princeton Adult School Tango classes, and they are popular instructors at VivaTango and other tango events. Their lesson this week will be “Embellished milonga turns”. After the lesson Pablo and Iwona will be available at the side of the dance floor to help any dancers wishing more help with the lesson. Jorge Fernandez will DJ the milonga. He is a guest DJ from NYC who comes with to us by popular demand. Come dance to his tandas. Lesson at 7 PM, Milonga at 8:15. Lesson $15 Milonga $15, Both $20. EVENT LINK

Thursday April 18 Inés Muzzopappa and Corina Herrera have taught and performed together in Argentina, Europe and the US. Their performances are powerful and graceful. They each perform at the highest level in either the leader or the follower role, and their ability to change roles in the blink of eye adds a new dimension to Tango performing. Come learn from these international tango stars and watch their amazing performance. Inés Muzzopappa won first prize in the World Tango Championship in 2007. She teaches and performs all over the world at the most renowned Tango Festivals and Tango events. Corina Herrera began her professional tango career when she was a teen. Since then, she has been invited to events around the world to teach and perform. Lesson at 7 PM, Milonga at 8:15. Lesson $15 Milonga $15, Both $20. EVENT LINK

Thursday April 25 will feature live music by Emilio Teubal and Sergio Reyes. Emilio, pianist extraordinaire, has performed in some of the most prestigious venues, including The Lincoln Center and The Kennedy Center.  Sergio Reyes is a violinist, composer, and arranger who lives in New York City and is one of the city’s most sought-after tango violinists. These extraordinary musicians will play for your dancing pleasure at VivaTango. Harvey Schwartz’s first appearance at VivaTango, June of 2023, was met with many complements and requests to have him return. Good news is he is back to DJ for the milonga. Milonga begins at 7 PM with DJ Harvey, Live Music starts at 8:30. $20 EVENT LINK

FREE EVENTS FOR VOLUNTEERS
VivaTango continues to need help to make events run smoothly. Setup only takes a little time and you do not miss any milonga time. The same is true about cleanup. Working on the welcome desk is a great way to get to know your fellow dancers. The hero of the night is the person who brings the food for the event. If you can help contact Sylvie

WATER
We urge dancers to bring their water bottle from home to cut down on single use bottles. There is a chilled water fountain next to the bathroom to refill your water bottles with chilled water and a cold/hot water dispenser in the entry to help keep you hydrated.

DIRECTIONS
VivaTango is located at 45 Stockton Street, Princeton New Jersey. There is a well-lit, off-street parking lot at the venue. The large dance floor is in the smaller of the two buildings. The venue is easily accessed by rail from NYC and Philly. Just get a ticket to Princeton (not Princeton Junction. You get off the train at Princeton Junction and take the connecting shuttle train to Princeton.) The venue is 8 blocks from the Princeton Train Station with a lovely walk through the Princeton University Campus (0.8 mi.) MAP

Thanks for dancing at VivaTango. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please email me at  Dennis