Groups
Workshop groups
The camp offers five different teaching groups: beginner, advanced, intermediate, advanced and double role group. You can find out which group is best for you on the level descriptions page.
When you register, you choose which group you want to participate in. You need to register for the camp with a partner. If you don't have a partner yet, you can find one, for example, in the discussion section of the Summer Camp Facebook event. An exception is the double role group, which you can register for without a partner.
There is a strong recommendation for changing of partners during the lessons, and the changing is organized by the teachers. One of the purposes of the camp is to make new acquaintances – even in milongas it is easier to go on the floor with dancers you have already met during the lessons. Of course, you can also participate in the lessons with your own partner if you wish.
Beginner course
The beginner course, held on Saturday and Sunday, is intended for those who are learning Argentine tango for the first time, as well as for those who need to refresh their memory or strengthen their basic technique to create a good dance foundation. The course consists of five 75-minute lessons taught by Seita Keloluoto and Ari Sirén.
The beginner course also includes a basic introduction to dancing in a milonga before the Saturday evening milonga, a big dance party – after this class you will be ready for your first evening of dancing full of Argentine tango (as well as vals and milonga!)! The Saturday evening milonga with teacher performances is included in the course price, as are of course the Saturday and Sunday daytime milongas.
All beginner course infos are gathered at the course event page.
Improvers, intermediate and advanced
These three level groups each have one 60-minute lesson on Friday and a total of four 75-minute lessons on Saturday & Sunday. A more detailed schedule of each level group's lessons can be checked on the Program page closer to the camp date – it's possible that group-specific schedules will change if the size of the groups in relation to the size of the teaching facilities requires it.
The teachers of the level groups are Daniel Valenzuela & Anaïs Virenque, Luis Rojas & Meeri Friman and Maria & Pasi Lauren. Each pair teaches each level group for 1–2 lessons. The themes of the lessons are coordinated so that each level group has an interesting and balanced set of different themes.
Double role group
In addition to the traditional level groups, the camp has a special workshop group for double role dancers. The group will be taught by Malin Backström from Stockholm, assisted by Saana Kalliokoski. The teaching is in English.
This time in the double role group we’ll focus on developing the musicality of the dance and the couple dynamics. We'll work with the musicality in both tango, vals and milonga, exploring the different characteristics for each dance.
We will focus more on HOW we do things than on WHAT we do. This means that we'll mainly use steps/figures that the participants already know, to be able to concentrate on the musicality, accurate technique and refining the quality of our dance. The excercises will be challenging, even for very experienced dancers, but since everyone can use the repertoire they have, also those who have less experience are welcome to take part in the course. One should nevertheless have solid basic skills in both roles.
The double role group brings together people who are enthusiastic about learning both roles and who want to develop their overall view of dance and enjoy the joy of changing roles. Some of us have more experience in leading, others in following, so everyone can share their experience and learn together while helping each other. Roles and couples will be actively changed during classes, so you don’t need a partner to register.
There will be one 60-minute lesson on Friday and a total of four 75-minute lessons over Saturday & Sunday.