Ariadna Naveira & Fernando Sanchez

Everyone was a novice in tango, even those who set terms on a dance floor today. Being a professional means never stop exploring and mastering chosen craft and answers to some of the questions would differ today. However such articles and interviews are good in showing the invisible yet strong connections between the generations of tango dancers, giving the impression of tango as a complex and continuous phenomenon despite the dance itself is something momentary and vague. They give those who live outside Argentine cultural context the ability to submerge into it and feel connected.

  • How did you take up tango?

Fernando: As for me it was a pure chance. My friend danced tango and I was meeting her after classes. I felt interested and took up dancing too. It’s been 9 years since.

Ariadna: To be honest I can’t really remember. Me and my brother we were quite young then, about 3 or 4 years old. Gustavo Naveira and Olga Besio, our parents, led a theatrical troupe and we were regularly visiting their rehearsals and milongas. To us it was a some kind of a game.

  • Have you ever thought of tango as a profession?

Fernando: No, never. I planned to be an architect, worked in a law firm.

  • Who are your tango idols?

Fernando: Alfredo Maldonado was my teacher. I don’t have any idols, just the dancers I like.

Ariadna: I don’t have any too. I just love to watch certain people dance: Milena Plebs, Roberto Herrera, my mom and my brother.

  • Which style do you dance?

Fernando: I don’t think there are any styles. As for me, nuevo tango simply does not exist, as nowadays people strive for the techniques more than they used to in the old days. However there is a difference between tango salon and scenic tango and I personally like salon more, it makes me feel free and improvise.

Ariadna: I prefer salon, like to dance on milongas.

  • You’re both young teachers. Do you feel responsible for continuing the tradition, giving it to the new generation?

Ariadna: If you’re teaching, you’re responsible regardless of age.

  • What does it mean to you to dance tango?

Fernando: Tango is our cultural identity, from the music to the lyrics. It helps me find the connection to my own self, it is a form of self-expression. When I dance I’m free, it is a pure pleasure.

Ariadna: It is beautiful when two people dance as a whole and this is what makes tango different from other dances.

  • How do you prepare for a performance?

Ariadna: Around a quarter of our performance is choreographed but most of the time we improvise. We practice a couple of times in a week for a few hours.

Fernando: We dance a lot on milongas. It is a form of practice for us.

  • How do you choose the music for your performance?

Ariadna: Depends on the mood. I like Enrique Rodriguez a lot now.

The interview was published in “La Milonga Argentina” magazine (November 2009 issue). Translated into Russian by Alexandra Trofimova.

Due to the unique style, revealing their musicality and virtuosity, Ariadna and Fernando know how to combine techniques with sensation in an embrace. They complement each other in harmony of a dance, which combines modern view of tango with its traditional approach. By the means of a tuition Ariadna and Fernando spread the tango they love. The couple travels around the World, takes part in seminars and festivals, milongas and plays, leaving their footprint and making means for others to meet their tango.

Today Ariadna and Fernando keep working on their technique, seeking not only the form but the very means to dance better and feel tango deeper.

Ariadna and Fernando are the tango!

La Vida Musica Y Tango