About us

Mission Statement

"La Milonguera" is a student organization at Purdue University devoted to the promotion and enjoyment of everything related to Argentinean Tango.

As part of our interest in Tango, we offer three levels of classes in tango, milonga, and Argentine vals. Classes are open to everyone in the greater Lafayette. Singles and couples are welcome.

In addition to scheduled classes, we organize workshops, field trips, movies, milonga parties, performances, etc.

The Founders

The Club was originally founded in 2002 under the guidance of Sang Hyun Chang. Sang had learned Argentinean Tango while doing post-doctoral studies in Japan, and he was eagerly looking for new dance opportunities at Purdue. He met with Deniz Husrev, an undergraduate student from Turkey, and a true tango enthusiast.

Sang started offering beginner classes at the International Center, while Deniz helped recruit new students, and oversaw the Club's organization. Thanks to both for your vision and your leadership!

 

Club Officers

President Sofya Zemlyanova	Asst. President Ahmed Mohamed	Event Coord. Aparna Sarasam	Treasurer Lisa Bartkowiak
		Aparna has been a member of La Milonguera since spring of 2008. She loves music and dance , but never took formal training in any dance prior to joining the tango club. Both the club and Aparna got a lot out of this union as she found lots of friends outside work, and enjoyed dressing up more often, while the club got one of the most enthusiastic event coordinators and an eager dancer.
Secretary Myriam Larose	Asst. Secretary Kendra Unruh	Asst. Treasurer Dana Gary	Webmaster Barron Gillon
*pending*	Kendra joined La Milonguera in the fall of 2007. She loves to dance and has been doing swing and salsa for a few years, so when she heard about La Milonguera, she decided to try tango. Little did she know that the friendly tango community will hook her up. Her great form and calm character makes her a favorite on the dance floor. Ask her for a dance and you?ll be glad you did.	*pending*	Barron's quiet ascension to club officer started in Summer 2006. Don't let his silence on the dance floor fool you. His grace and technique shine through as he assists in our club activities.
Officer at Large	Officer at Large Nadya Pimenova	Officer at Large Dan Leaird	Officer at Large Jeni Leaird
*pending*	Nadya started dancing tango in Fall 2007. She immediately fell in love with the dance and very soon took it upon herself to help La Milonguera. She compares Tango with writing a letter as both ?have one beginning, periods, commas, stops and one ending.? If you want to improve listen to her: ?Every minute spent on the dance floor helps me improve.?	Dan is the man and the unofficial bouncer of our club. Though he may look like the Presidential Secret Service, he is a smoothe dancer and modern tango enthusiast. Dan is always in the mood for Celtic tango or other obscure nuevo genres. Every ready with his toolbelt and tango shoes, our club wouldn.t be the same without him and his better half (Jen).	*pending*
Faculty Advisor Dr. Daniel Aliaga	Daniel is an Assistant   Professor in Computer Science. Daniel is a strong tango lead and very fun to dance with at milongas, workshops and performances.	Faculty Advisor Prof. Rabi Mohtar	Rabi is a Professor in Agricultural Enginering. Rabi is reputed for his mastery of belly-dancing and for his eternal smile. We are delighted to have him join our milongas, workshops and performances.

Guest Instructors

Joe Grohens & Carlota
We've enjoyed Joe and Carlota's classes for over six semesters. Both have years of experience teaching tango at all levels in Champaign-Urbana. For more information and for a great deal of resources, visit Joe's website.

Fred & Yermen Romero
Fred and Yermen have studied extensively with numerous Argentine masters, including Carlos Gavito and Marcela Duran, Nito and Elba Garcia, and Osvaldo Zotto. They have been teaching tango at all levels in Chicago since 1994, and have been invited instructors in Minneapolis, St. Louis, at the University of Illinois, and at Purdue University. They have also given numerous tango demonstrations and performed in numerous tango shows in the Chicago area. In their teaching of tango they emphasize techniques for effective communication between leader and follower, development of an artistic style of dance presentation, and musical interpretation. Fred and Yermen teach monthly Tango Society workshops in tango, milonga, and vals.

Volunteer Instructors

Stefan	Evie	Liang	Sid
Stefan has been with the club since Summer 2004. He is a great dancer, performer, instructor and help to the club. Stefan is a graduate student and he is also one of our ex-Presidents!	Evie has been assisting Stefan & Sid with teaching practica & classes. An active tanguera - She is one of our senior members, performs in almost every event since the inception of La Milonguera and an excellent instructor!	Liang has been with the club for 3 years already. She is one of our most elegant dancers. This year she will be assisting Sid and Stefan with teaching. She has come up with new ideas blending her ballet background with Tango. Ladies: Watchout for the announcement of classes with her to learn a cool footwork!!!	Sid has been with the Club since Summer 2004. This is his third term as an officer and he has always been helpful in performances and milongas. Sid is a graduate student and has a delicate grace and lead on the dance floor.
Jill	Amir	Javier	Luca
Jill has been with the Club since Spring 2005. She is a great dancer and a very articulate teacher. She enjoys traditional Argetine Tango style as well as more modern expression and welcomes everyone to explore their creative side.	Amir is an enthusiastic learner who enjoys exploring new concepts and nuevo musicality. Don't forget to attend his Monday classes!!!	Javier joined the club in Summer 2007 with new ideas on the dance floor. He will be teaching open classes on Monday and intermediate classes on Friday.	Luca has been with the club since Spring of 2005, gracing the dance floors of classes, workshops and milongas. He likes to share his passion for music, and is very enthusiastic about teaching musicality classes.

Duties & Responsibilities

This is an excerpt from the Club's constitution.

• President & Asst. President
  E-mailing, website maintenance
  Produce class schedules, primary contact person with guest instructors
  Coordinate the work of other officers
• Secretary & Asst. Secretary
  Handle room reservations (for classes, workshops, and milongas/events)
  Produce and coordinate advertising, fliering, postering, etc.
  Communicate about out-of-town events like milongas in Urbana/Chicago (car pooling)
  Manage the Club resources (lending of music and videos)
• Treasurer & Asst. Treasurer
  Collect membership fees at the beginning of every semester
  Pay instructors after each class
  Oversee all purchases (food, drinks, music, videos, etc..)
• Special Event Coordinators
  Conceptualize and coordinate shows, performances, and demos.
• Officers at Large
  Besides these officers, 4 other officers are responsible for representing the Club members when it comes to making decisions like... how many classes per semester, which rooms to choose, how much to subsidize at workshops, which instructors to invite, when to hold milongas, etc.