The Argentine Tango Club encourages students to join its dance workshops to learn more about the Argentine culture. The club also hosts festival and classes on campus. | Courtesy of Rodclix.com
The Argentine Tango Club can become a favorite spot to experience Argentine culture and tango lessons.
Founded in 2008 at UH, the club conducts its classes at the University of St. Thomas and is open to everyone in the Greater Houston community. Artistic director and choreographer of the student performance group Mauro Marcone and director and administrative assistant at the College of Technology Elizabeth Wingfield are dedicated to providing essential leisure activities within a socially-connecting environment.
“We’re founded on a mission to promote and preserve Argentine tango and all of its forms — the dance, the music, the poetry. Anything that has to do with Argentine culture, we try to be a part of and bring that to the students and the staff and faculty here,” Wingfield said. “It’s just something that I thought was missing and would be interesting to the students, because tango is a social dance.”
Although the club has been expanding without heavy advertising, the organization aims to bloom further by impressing students and getting them pumped about learning the art of tango.
“Our roster is around 50 members; since 2008, we’ve had over 600 people come through our dance classes,” Wingfield said. “It’s pretty popular; we don’t charge membership fees, and our classes are always open and by donations only. Students come as they can and as their schedule allows.”
Students can look forward to quarterly dance lessons as well as a weekend of Argentine carousing.
“This semester, we’re offering group lessons, and we are just about to finish,” Wingfield said. “Unfortunately, we finish on Dec. 3 for the fall, but we will start again in the spring with a beginner-level class that’s great for beginners and dancers of all levels, singles and couples — it doesn’t matter; you don’t need a partner.”
The Argentine Tango Club is also hosting a day of tango with a weekend of music and dance on Dec. 14. A major upcoming event hosted by the club is the Tango Fest Houston from May 15 to 18 on campus.
“We’ll bring in teachers from Argentina, musicians from New York and Grammy Award-winning musicians,” Wingfield said. “For the students over 21, we’ll have wine and malbec from Argentina.”
The festival will be in the New University Center ballroom on May 17 and 18 as well as in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.
“It’s about meeting people. It’s about getting together and having a good time, and that seems to be what all people are looking for these days,” Wingfield said.
For more information about upcoming events, visit argentinetangoclub.org.
