About
ABOUT
AUROVILLE TANGO
Who are we?
An aspiring collective
Auroville Tango is a collective of varied individuals with diverse approaches to Tango, to organisation, to work… We aim to create an environment in which each can find their place: whether coming to dance, studying or giving classes, organising events, DJing, holding practicas or intensives, preparing potlucks, or initiating creative projects and new explorations…
Each person brings something of their own flavour, and part of the ongoing adventure is discovering how we can contribute, bring in joy and make space for others. It is also a place where we encounter the inevitable challenges of being human—our egos, differences, expectations and vulnerabilities—and try, sometimes rather imperfectly, and a little clumsily, to work through them.
The joy is that we get to do this through something we all love, which is Tango.
Faces of Auroville Tango
Faces of Auroville Tango is an ongoing series of conversations with the people who shape this collective, sharing the many stories, perspectives, and ways of belonging that give it its character.
“Floating on clouds…”
Anyone who knows Jorge is touched by the natural softness, ease, and dreamlike quality he brings to the dance. Find out about his origin story in Auroville Tango!
Radha started Tango in Auroville in the summer of 2024.
The structure and form were not the easiest! And to dance in close embrace with another person…
Shalini—singer, songwriter, and artist. Tango started at a point in her life when the need to connect with her body was urgent. Over the decade, it has become a mirror to check in with what has changed.
“I come to Tango as a temple.
I leave my troubles outside, put on my dance shoes, and enter.
When I finish, I take off my shoes, pick up my troubles again, and leave.”
Sometimes we forget that Tango was made by young musicians for young dancers, a century ago and half a world away. Meet the 17-year-old Isha, who stepped into heels for the first time, and sometimes struggles not to fall asleep in the embrace!
“Tango music carries an aspiration toward something hard to define, yet holds a certainty that it can be reached. Tango calls us to bring the best of ourselves, to meet another person at the best of themselves, in the embrace.”
With a background in Indian classical dance, parts of Tango came intuitively to Sai:
“Do what my body knows to do naturally” when coming into the embrace. Dancing Tango is like speaking multiple languages at once.
A stalwart of our organising team, Rima was brought into Tango by a close friend and captivated by the natural grace of the dancers around her—a quiet femininity with nothing to prove. What she looks for is a path to progress.
One of the imponderables… “How could walking be so difficult?”
There’s a Tamil saying “One stone, two mangos.”
He hit five in Tango: movement, mental wellbeing, social life, music, and community.
Meet Mint, who moved from Korea to Auroville in 2018. With heels in her luggage, she made the miraculous discovery that not only was there Tango in India—Auroville was the place to be!
Sridhar catches Tango, and then Tango catches him.
An accidental encounter becomes a dance that slowly reorganises his life—from travelling between Chennai and Auroville as he lays foundations and builds bridges.
Phases of Auroville Tango
A little history…
Coming soon.