Dance Workshops, Live Music Milonga, & Community Potluck
with Joaquín Amenábar
Milonga: Tea & Tango
featuring Cuarteto Scott O’Day
April 11–12, 2026
1680 Bryant St,
Palo Alto, CA
Joaquín Amenábar is a globally recognized Argentine bandoneón player, educator, and author dedicated to deepening the connection between tango music and dance. A graduate of the Manuel de Falla Municipal Conservatory in Buenos Aires, he has performed a diverse repertoire spanning classical, contemporary, and folkloric music. As a professor at prestigious institutions, he has also pioneered musicality workshops worldwide, helping dancers interpret tango more intuitively. His book, Tango – Let's Dance to the Music!, is a key resource for understanding tango's structure without formal musical training. Through his performances, teaching, and writing, Amenábar continues to shape the global appreciation of tango music.
Beginner Level Experience and beyond
Just show up. Partners typically rotate
Make friends from different backgrounds
Dress comfortably. Dance shoes are recommended
1:00 to 6:30 pm
Learn tango musicality from the source—Joaquin, author of Tango Let's Dance to the Music, a globally recognized book translated into 8+ languages. These workshops dive into the rhythm, melody, and style of tango, also exploring concepts from his Volume II, launching in California with this workshop! Discover rhythmic units, melodic phrasing, and stylistic contrasts to refine your musicality and expression of the art.
1:00 to 2:30p
Rhythmic units of Tango music. Simple, double and half-time step: Using these units while dancing tango.
3:00 to 4:30p
Dancing the melody in tango. The “melodic rhythm”. What is it? How do we dance to it? Differences between dancing the basic rhythm and the melodic rhythm – Specificity of the dance, changes on the leading-following.
5:00 to 6:30p
The "Tango Style": Elements that conform "Tango style"—"cadencia," "arrastre," etc. How do we move with the different dinamics of the style. Changes in the Style depending in eras and orchestras.
6:30 - 9:30p........ Milonga w/ DJ Ashvin
7:00 - 7:40p........ Set - I Live Tandas
8:00 - 8:30p.........Set - II Live Tandas
Cuarteto Scott O’Day is a Bay Area tango ensemble led by guitarist and arranger Scott O’Day, who studied in Buenos Aires and directs the tango program at the San Francisco Community Music Center.
1:00 pm to 6:30 pm
Sunday continues with a deep dive into Tango Vals, exploring how predictability, specificity, and orchestral style shape the balance between rhythm and melody. The Milonga workshop then clarifies its unique rhythmic structure, including the role of traspié and distinctions from tango phrasing. The day concludes with an intimate Bandoneón master class, combining live music and visual insights to deepen your connection to tango’s essential voice..
1:00p to 2:30p
Predictability of the leader’s movements by the follower. Specificity of the dance. Changes in the roll of the leader depending if he is following the rhythm or the melody. Importance of the orchestra style if we dance the rhythm or if we dance the melody.
3:00p to 4:30p
Differences between Milonga and Tango. The rhythmic units of milonga. The traspié as a rhythmic unit. Differences between double time and “traspié”.
5:00p to 6:30p
A class on the instrument illustrated with pictures and live music.
Limited Spots — Register Early (2025 Workshop Sold Out)
Early Bird: First 10 Full Weekend registrations—or by April 4 (whichever comes first)—receive 15% off and include Milonga Tea & Tango with live music & DJ.
We have regular breaks and practice sessions, with Tea & snacks like mandarins, Clif bars, and trail mix. Great lunch options at Town & Country, Palo Alto. And a delicious POTLUCK on Day II, Sunday, of the Musicality Weekend, the venue, an old historic heritage house, is perfect and beautiful for a community potluck.
Joaquín Amenábar
Joaquín Amenábar is a globally recognized Argentine bandoneón player, educator, and author dedicated to deepening the connection between tango music and dance. A graduate of the Manuel de Falla Municipal Conservatory in Buenos Aires, he has performed a diverse repertoire spanning classical, contemporary, and folkloric music. As a professor at prestigious institutions, he has also pioneered musicality workshops worldwide, helping dancers interpret tango more intuitively. His book, Tango – Let's Dance to the Music!, is a key resource for understanding tango's structure without formal musical training. Through his performances, teaching, and writing, Amenábar continues to shape the global appreciation of tango music.
Feeling Flow The mission of Feeling Flow is to help people experience flow through dance, yoga, meditation, and related arts, and to give them basic tools to translate this experience into other areas of life. Flow is a state of awareness where we are completely immersed in what is right in front of us. It is a highly satisfying state that facilitates well-being and growth. Art, in essence, is a form of self-discovery and a connection practice. It is said that the best way to know yourself is through the mirror of relating to others, and what better way to do this than through music and movement while having fun.
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or email: teacher@feelingflow.org
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