Argentine Tango With Karen Jaffe

We are excited to be welcoming Karen Jaffe back to Sapphire! This weekend full of workshops, a practilonga and private lessons will offer both an introduction to this wonderful social dance as well as oppportunities to take the dance further. Check the schedule below for details and mark your calendar! Friday, Feb 5, 7-9pm, Path to Tango A workshop designed to help newcomers take their first steps in Tango OR for more experienced dancers to refresh and refine. Information, practical application, and feedback will focus on technique for the embrace and walking, with a strong emphasis on comfort, connection, musicality, and navigation. Saturday, Feb 6, 1-4:30pm, Next Steps in Tango: Ochos! Ochos, and more ochos! While focusing on technique, comfort, and efficiency, let's have some fun exploring the dynamic connection and overall beauty of both front and back ochos. This workshop will start at a fundamental level with technique and exercises to both fine tune more experienced dancers and build a foundation for newer dancers. We will then progress quickly, based on the needs and desires of the group, adding more varitations and possibilities for ochos involving close and open embraces, tools for navigation, and musical variations to include in your social dancing. Sunday Afternoon, Feb 7, 2-5pm, Practilonga/Tea Dance With Pre-Dance Lesson on Vals Discover and play with the rhythm and feeling of the romantic Vals: one member of the family of Argentine Tango music that is danced at the Milonga. This lesson will show you how to adapt movements from your current vocabulary to Vals rhythm, adding to your repertoire and giving you another dance to enjoy. The practilonga is a relatively new social dancing event that combines the relaxed etiquette of a practica with many of the same elements you will find at a more formal milonga. Everyone is welcome to attend - workshop participants and the folks who couldn't make it for the workshops as well. In addition to providing the pre-dance lesson, Karen Jaffe will also DJ mostly traditional golden age music. She will be available to offer feedback, answer your questions about class material and other topics. Private Lessons Friday, Feb 5, 3pm, 4pm Saturday, Feb 6, 10am, 11am, 5pm, AND Sunday, Feb 7, 11am, 12pm, These sell out fast - book yours now! Prices Friday, Path to Tango, 2hrs - $28 per person Saturday, Next Steps to Tango: Ochos, 3.5hrs - $48 per person Sunday Practilonga - $15 per person - everyone welcome! Or get the whole weekend for $76! (Not including Private Lessons) Private lessons are $85 for 50min. If you would like to organize a group private lesson, contact us for pricing. Karen Jaffe, Bio Karen has been dancing and studying Argentine Tango since 1997. She began teaching classes in Asheville, NC in 2003. Committed to sharing this beautiful social, she has taught Tuesday fundamentals class consistently since 2006, as well as weekend Intro courses and higher level workshops. She enjoys working with a variety of partners, striving to bring new ideas and creativity to the dance itself, as well as to teach in a way that makes the dance accessible and enjoyable to all who are interested. Her reputation in both the SE region and wider Argentine Tango community is that of a skilled and engaging partner with well-refined technique. Karen continues her own "tango journey", traveling to Buenos Aires 2 months of each year to enjoy the process of refining her own dance and teaching, with intensive practices, private and group classes and enjoying the experience of her many years hard work, dancing in the milongas in Buenos Aires. More Info below.