Master Argentine Tango DancersCarolina Leonardelli and Gabriel Salvi in Connecticut

Connecticut Tango Festival 201710th Anniversary Editionwww.CTTangoFest.org

(203) 584-4480

Friday July 21, through Sunday July 30Milford, Norwalk, Danbury, Middletown

A Festival Celebrating Argentine Tango with Master Dancers Carolina Leonardelli and Gabriel Salvi

Emiliano Messiez, piano, Javier Sanchez, bandoneon, Pablo Lanouguere, bass dancers/instructors: Dale Ellison and Gem Duras, and Grupo Folklorico Rio de la Plata

Program Summary:Friday, July 28: Tango Passion Show (Milford), 8:00 pm, Tickets $38/$42

Presented by the Milford Arts Council and the CT Tango FestMusicians:

Emiliano Messiez Trio, Emiliano Messiez, piano, Javier Sanchez, bandoneon, Pablo Lanouguere, bassDancers:

Carolina and Gabriel, Grupo Folklorico Rio de la Plata, Tango Sueño Performance Group

Tickets/Info: (203) 584-4480, www.CTTangoFest.orgMilford Center for the Arts, 40 Railroad Avenue South, Milford

Friday, July 21: Opening Tango Social “Milonga” with guest Dale Ellison (Middletown), 7:30 pm – 11:00 pm, $15 Social, $25 with class 7:30 – 8:30 pm.

First Church of Christ, 190 Court Street, Middletown

Saturday, July 22: Tango Boot Camp for beginners with Dale and Gem (Milford), 2:30 pm – 5:30 pm, $50Milford Center for the Arts, 40 Railroad Avenue South, Milford

Saturday, July 22: Tango Workshops with Dale and Gem (Danbury), 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, $40Vitti's Dance Studio, 10 Precision Road, Danbury

Sunday, July 23: Intensive Tango Workshops Dale and Gem (Norwalk), 1:00 pm – 5:30 pm, $75Dance Dimensions, 15 Cross Street, Norwalk

Saturday, July 29: Workshops with Carolina and Gabriel (Milford), 1:00 pm – 5:30 pm, $75Milford Center for the Arts, 40 Railroad Avenue South, Milford

Sunday, July 30: Workshops with Carolina and Gabriel (Norwalk), 1:00 pm – 5:30 pm, $75Dance Dimensions, 15 Cross Street, Norwalk

www.CTTangoFest.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMay 18, 2017

Press Phone: (203) 543 8099, e-mail: CTTangoFest@gmail.com

Tango Sueño Academy and the Milford Arts Council (MAC) present the 10th Connecticut Tango Festival with Argentine

Tango Masters Carolina Leonardelli and Gabriel Salvi, visiting from Buenos Aires. Their activities will include tango

workshops on July 29 and 30 as well as a performance at the Tango Passion Show –presented by the MAC- on Friday July

28 at the Milford Center for the Arts. The other activities will include tango intensive days with Dale Ellison from

Charleston SC and Gem Duras from Connecticut’s own Tango Sueño Academy as well as a boot camp for beginners and

tango socials at the Milford’s Center for the Arts. The Festival will open with a tango social in Middletown, First Church

on July 21. The other locations include Vitti’s Dance Studio in Danbury and the Dance Dimensions Studio in Norwalk.

For detailed schedule please visit www.CTTangoFest.org.

Artist BiographiesCarolina Leonardelli and Gabriel Salvi have been dancing together since 2008 performing at various tango festivals and stage shows in Argentina and the world. Their training and intensive artistic experience at numerous tango companies and shows has enabled them to create a unique artistic style with a strong presence, technical perfection as well as impeccable artistry.

In 2016 Carolina and Gabriel were finalists at the most important tango competition in the world, the “Mundial de Tango”, in the stage tango category. They are currently invited guests at the international show “Tango Buenos Aires” on the Royal Caribbean cruise line in addition to regular appearances at the most prestigious Buenos Aires stage shows Señor Tango, Esquina Carlos Gardel and Piazzolla Tango.

They teach master level tango in Buenos Aires as faculty members of the “Escuela de Danza Tradicionales Argentinas de Lomas de Zamora.”

Emiliano Messiez was born in Argentina and began playing the piano at the age of 3. He has presented a wide range of musical styles in important venues worldwide and made numerous radio and TV appearances. He performed with groups and prestigious musicians such as Celeste Carballo, Alan Plachta, Raul Jaurena, Dino Saluzzi, JP Jofre, Pablo Aslan and Infantino Group, with whom he recorded his first album for which he received the UNESCO Trimarg Prize. Emiliano has been part of the show created by Mario & Daniel Celario "Tango Buenos Aires" as a music director and pianist. He is also the creator, arranger, and musical director of the Buenos Aires show "Barolo Tango.”

Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Javier Sanchez has been playing the bandoneon for 25 years. He toured the globe with large well-known orchestras and performance groups, such as Rodolfo Mederos Orchestra Tipica, Tango Pasion, Tanguera - Mora Godoy, Tango Emotion (returning to Japan for five consecutive years). He also played in many well known tango shows in Buenos Aires, such as “El Viejo Almacen”, “Esquina de Carlos Gardel”, “Cafe Tortoni”, “Piazzolla Tango Theater”, and many more. He won First Place of the prestigious “Che Bandoneon International Competition” in August 2016 judged by Victor Lavallen.

Pablo Lanouguere is an active Argentine musician and composer. He has participated in many and diverse musical projects over the past ten years, including: Tango, Folklore, and Jazz music. He has played at some of the most important venues in NYC, such as Carnegie Hall, Zinc Bar, Bryant Park (music festival), SOB'S, Rockwood Music Hall, among others, with artists such as Raul Jaurena, Daniel Binelli & Astoria Tango Orchestra, Fernando Otero, Adam Tully, Emilio Solla, Federico Diaz and many others. He has also toured around USA with Alejandro Ziegler Tango Quartet. He regularly plays around the city with different Tango, Jazz, Latin-Jazz, Swing, Salsa, Classical and World Music artists and bands. Since 2016 he is founding member of Abaddon Tango Sextet. He has been also part of theater productions: in the show Five Senses (Tango Show,2015, Thalia Spanish Theater); in Macbeth (classic Shakespeare play, 2015, Fox Wolf Production), and Afrotango ( Musical, 2016, Thalia Spanish Theater).

Grupo Folklorico Rio de la Plata was created in 2009 by Adrian and Silvana Correa, with a mission to keep Argentine and Uruguayan dance traditions alive through performances and educational activities. Adrian Correa, the director of the group, first started dancing in 1994 in his native country Uruguay, becoming an expert in folk styles such as Zamba and Chacarera. With Silvana, his wife, they have taken their Folklore to NY, NJ, CT and PA, dancing at numerous festivals. They are based in Danbury, CT performing Uruguayan and Argentinean folk dancing exclusively.

Dale Ellison, known in Buenos Aires as Delia, has been dancing Argentine tango for more than 22 years, and teaching for more than 14. She has developed a reputation as a dynamic Argentine Tango teacher and performer in salon, milonguero, nuevo and performance styles of tango. Originally a San Francisco resident, Dale received her tango training from the stars of the famous show “Forever Tango” most notably Carlos Gavito and Marcela Duran. Initially a salsa dancer and club style salsa instructor, Dale was drawn to tango for its sensuality and passion, later winning the first prize in the first San Francisco Tango Competition in 1998. She has traveled to Buenos Aires numerous times to study with Gustavo Naveira, Osvaldo Zotto, Oscar Mandagaran, Chicho Frumboli, Geraldine Rojas, Graciela Gonzales, Marcela Duran, and women's technique with Lorena Ermocida. After teaching in CT for five years with Gem Duras, Dale Ellison moved to Charleston SC, where she teaches and runs tango activities as the director of Tango Rojo.

Gem Duras started his tango training in 1995 initially with the original cast members of the famous show Forever Tango in particular the legendary Carlos Gavito. After incorporating his technique, elegance and musicality into his own dancing and teaching, he visited Buenos Aires numerous times to study ballet as well as advanced technique and stage tango with younger Forever Tango stars Jesus Velazquez and Francisco Forquera becoming a certified tango instructor and dancer. During his partnership with Dale Ellison, they founded Tango Sueño and traveled to Buenos Aires numerous times to perfect their technique by studying with Gustavo Naveira, Juan Carlos Copes, Osvaldo Zotto, Oscar Mandagaran, Chicho Frumboli, Geraldine Rojas and Susana Miller among others. Gem recently performed and taught at the Stardust weekend upstate New York, and participated as a performer in the New Year’s Celebration event organized by Akademi Tango, in Ankara-Turkey. As a professional tango instructor he runs Tango Sueño Conencticut Argentine Tango Academy in Connecticut and holds regular classes throughout CT as well as Westchester, NY.

Artist Photos - High Resolution versions at www.cttangofest.org/press.html

Carolina and Gabriel

Carolina and Gabriel

Carolina and Gabriel

Carolina and Gabriel

Emiliano Messiez

Javier Sanchez Pablo Lanouguere

Grupo Folklorico Rio de la Plata

Dale and Gem

Dale and Gem

###Not for publication: Please visit http://www.cttangofest.org/press.html

for high-resolution versions of these and other photos for print publication