Carmen Maret
began dancing tango and performing tango with the Kansas City,
MO based group, Tango Lorca in 2001. Later, she studied tango
as an ethnomusicology Master’s student at Michigan State
University, and produced a Master’s thesis in 2005 that
looked at tango in the Michigan Argentine Tango club based in
Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Carmen Maret
is a co-founder of the Grand Rapids Tango Community where she
works as a tango teacher and tango musician. She co-founded a
tango quartet called Tango Folias that performs danceable Golden
Era arrangements for dancers at the Mezze's Cafe's weekly milonga
in Grand Rapids. Carmen Maret's main pedagogical influences as
a dancer include Tom Stermitz, Brigitta WInkler, and Christopher
Nassopoulos & Caroline Peattie.
She has been
performing live tango music for dancers since 2003 when she joined
with her husband guitarist Andrew Bergeron to form their duo called
Folias. |
Andrew
has taught tango in the Grand Rapids tango community since co-founding
it in 2005. His classes focus on finding an ease and flow in Argentine
tango through a deep connection to the music.
Originally
from Holland, Michigan, Andrew Bergeron splits his musical efforts
between composition and performance, specializing in tango arranging.
During his Master’s degree in composition at Michigan State
University, Andrew Bergeron composed music for a variety of ensembles
including, solo guitar, guitar and flute, electro-acoustic music,
chamber music, and tango.
Andrew has
performed tango music for dancers since 2003 when he joined with
Carmen Maret to form their duo called Folias. |
As a tango
teacher, Avik specializes in social tango emphasizing connection,
musicality, and navigation all of which inspire improvisation.
His instruction has helped to develop the Ann Arbor community
of Argentine Tango dancers, one of the largest social tango communities
in North America.
Avik's classes
are designed to help you enjoy the process of finding your own
tango while respecting the traditions of this century old dance.
In addition to his regular classes in Ann Arbor, he has also been
a featured instructor in Denver, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Urbana-Champaign,
New York, San Diego, and Mumbai, India. Despite his experience,
he continues to have a vivid memory of what it was like to start
learning this dance and this aids his teaching in a profound way.
More than anything else, his wish is to infect students with his
passion for this dance.
Many talented
teachers have helped Avik in his tango quest including Cacho Dante,
Robert Hauk, Alex Krebs, Hsueh-Tze Lee, Susana Miller, Christopher
Nassopoulos & Caroline Peattie, Tom Stermitz, Robin Thomas,
and Brigitta Winkler. And in great measure, Avik has been guided
by his experiences with his many talented students.
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