Meet Our Instructors
I am Irena. I’ll be coaching the follows.
The reason why I dance is because I was born clumsy.
I remember when I was a little girl I danced as Snowflake in a kindergarten play in Vladivostok, Russia, a city far, far away from Bellingham. When I was about 11 – 13 years old, I tried folk dancing for a semester, but somehow that didn’t click, so I did figure skating for three years.
But then, in 1982 in the port city of Magadan, there was a ballroom dance studio led by a charismatic couple, Oleg and Larra, where I became fascinated with ballroom dancing and for the first time in my life I took dance learning seriously. Within a few months, the newbies with two left feet were turned into dancers who could glide the floor embracing partners, treating each other with exaggerated courtesy, and good humor.
In 2005 I discovered and joined the USA Ballroom Dance group in Bellingham that had an Argentine Tango chapter led by Dave Imburgia, and I registered for my first tango class. The seeds of the trial germinated and grew into a strong desire and dedication to learn Argentine tango. Then, in 2006, tango classes were offered by Captain Monty and Rebecca Niemier also in Bellingham. In Seattle, I took tango instructions from Tony Fan & Ilana Rubin, Carlos Barrionuevo & Mayte Valdes, Leonardo Barrionuevo & Miriam Larici, and the magnificent dancers and outstanding teachers, Patricio Touceda & Eva Lucero. Each time I visited Honolulu, Hawaii, I would take classes from George Garcia. In Vancouver, Canada, my attentive instructors were Santiago Yanez and Deborah Lynne.
I think that Argentine Tango really stands out from all other styles of dances. It is a sophisticated creature that can catch you in its net, force you to focus, and dedicate your time giving joy of an unbelievable connection to a partner, music, the moment, and yourself.
This is how I started and I would be delighted if you would join us every Monday evening to learn urban salon-style Argentine tango.
I hope to see you on the dance floor!
Irena Mirovski
I'm Larry. I’ll be training the leads at Urban Salon Tango.
I was once a shy farm boy from the Midwest who became a muscle-bound Division 1 college football player and, I have to say, dancing was certainly not something I ever thought of doing back then. Nope. No way. Not me. But… over time my outlook on life changed and so did my taste for music. Later on, I was drawn to music of the 40s and 50s played by the likes of Benny Goodman, Glen Miller, Elvis Presley, and well, to dance music really. So, in 1993 I signed up for my first East Coast swing dance lesson which eventually led me to learn other ballroom dances, then teaching them over a span of six years. It was fun while it lasted, but then my perspective on life changed yet again and dancing had to take a back seat for a while.
That “while” lasted 14 years. That’s when I got up the gumption to take my first Argentine tango lesson in Bellingham. My thirst to embody the dynamics of salon-style Argentine tango, though, spurred me on to take three years’ worth of tango instruction in Lynnwood from dynamic Argentine tango performers, Patricio Touceda & Eva Lucero. Soon after Covid restrictions were relaxed, I ventured across the border into Canada to enhance my tango dancing skills with Santiago Yanez and Deborah Lynne at The Tango Studio in Vancouver, B.C. Their style of dancing was smooth and artistic, expressive and well-defined, playful and passionate, dense, and very much alive. Exactly what I was looking for.
For me, tango is not only a performing art, a discipline, a form of meditation, and a reasonable way to escape the outside world for a few hours, but it also allows me to be present and playful one moment in spirited and rhythmic tempos, and poetic and poised when the music is slow and melodic. This type of latitude comes from hours of practice alone or with a partner, studying videos and keeping notes, focusing on musicality and timing for the axis to evoke the desired movement and emotion…all for the love of a deep connection with a partner while dancing to enticing Argentine tango music.
Larry Kalb