Dance Center
About Us
The Tango Room Dance Center is where the Tango lives ...a dance studio in Sherman Oaks, California, dedicated to Argentine Tango. We offer Argentine Tango classes for beginners through the most advanced dancers, as well as practicas and milongas with some of the best social tango dancing in Los Angeles.
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The Tango Room Dance Center opened its doors on December 11, 2004, an important date for tango communities around the world as it is the official International Day of Tango and the birthday of Carlos Gardel, the icon of Tango.
Because The Tango Room Dance Center is the home and heart of Argentine Tango in Southern California and has been the premier studio dedicated to the teaching of authentic tango since 2004, the Tango Conservatory of Los Angeles (TCLA) is a natural extension of those years of tango classes. TCLA offers a step-by-step, well-structured approach to learning the art of social Argentine Tango.
The Tango Room Dance Center also offers classes in Zumba & Zumba Gold, Global Dance, Salsa, Gentle Yoga and Greek dancing.
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Anyone who is looking for dance classes in Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Studio City, Encino, Tarzana, Burbank, Glendale, San Fernando Valley or Greater Los Angeles in general, will find that The Tango Room is a unique studio where everyone becomes part of the family.
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The Tango Room Dance Center studio is available to rent for rehearsals, auditions, table reads, lectures private parties and special events.
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When you visit The Tango Room, you will feel as though you have stopped by a friend's place. For the owners, Julie Friedgen and Angel Echeverria, The Tango Room is as important to them as their own home.
So, open the door to a great dance experience. Come inside and join us...
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The Tango Room Dance Center
4346 Woodman Ave.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
(818) 981-6500
MEET THE OWNERS
ANGEL ECHEVERRIA - A true “porteno” (one born in Buenos Aires), Angel Echeverria remembers watching his aunt and uncle dance tango on the patio of the family home as he was growing up. Tango music filled the days and nights of his life since the neighborhood he grew up in was home to many famous tango musicians.
As a teenager in the early 60’s he began his dancing career studying with the true tango masters, the old milongueros of the famous clubs such as Sunderland, Sin Rumbo, Sans Souci, 17 de Octubre, El Huracan and more. Living in Buenos Aires when the great tango orchestras were still playing at milongas, Angel had the good fortune to dance every week to the legendary orchestras of Pugliese, DiSarli, Basso and Troilo.
Famous for his distinctive and authentic style of tango, his extraordinary musicality, his subtle lead and classic footwork, Angel is affectionately referred to as the “godfather” of tango in Los Angeles. Although he knows hundreds of complex combinations, his teaching is rooted in technique and improviation. These qualities, plus decades of dancing experience, make Angel an unparalleled teacher who relishes sharing tango history and stories with his students.
For many years, Angel hosted the Sunday night milonga at the Los Angeles Argentina Association and for the last twenty years has hosted the very popular Saturday night milonga, El Encuentro, in Sherman Oaks.
JULIE FRIEDGEN - Motion picture and television writer Julie Friedgen is a native of Los Angeles. A former ballet and flamenco dancer, Julie grew up listening to the music of Carlos Gardel and watching her parents’ Argentine friends dance tango at parties. When she began dancing tango twenty-five years ago she knew this was the dance for the rest of her life. Her years of ballet and flamenco training taught her how to express one’s feelings within a framework of technique. This ability and the passion she has for teaching make her a unique teacher. Her enthusiasm for and love of tango are infectious and all her students catch tango fever.
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Together she and Angel produced some of the most successful live tango events in Los Angeles, i.e. “Tango in Hollywood” at the historic Hollywood Athletic Club; “Tango Confessions” at a landmark Southern California church; and in 2003 introduced the first celebration in Los Angeles of The International Day of Tango each December 11th by creating an Annual Award night to coincide with the celebrations held by tango communities the world marking the birthday of Carlos Gardel. In 2002, they created and organized the first tour of tango dancers ever to perform on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. In 2014 Angel and Julie were honored to be asked by the Anibal Troilo Foundation to produce the Los Angeles gala celebrating the centennial of the Great Bandoneon of Buenos Aires.
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Julie and Angel have appeared on stage in many tango productions but their first love is the social floor.
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Their home is always open to their tango friends from all over the world who consider being invited to one of Angel's famous asados (Argentine bar-b-que) as the highlight of their visit to Los Angeles.