THE ABRAZO PHILOSOPHY
WHY "EL ABRAZO"?
In Argentine Tango, you can have perfect technique. You can have beautiful footwork, elegant posture, precise timing. But without the embrace — without that real, living connection between two people — there is nothing.
No musicality. No feeling. No tango.
The embrace is not just a starting position or a physical hold. It is the language through which two dancers become one. It is how the leader communicates, how the follower listens, how the music moves through both bodies at once.
For Anibal & Valeria, this is not a philosophy they teach — it is the philosophy they dance. And it is the reason they named their school El Abrazo.
OUR METHOD
At El Abrazo, technique is not the destination — it is the key.
We believe that technical work gives you control over your own body. And control is what allows you to truly connect with your partner. And from that connection, the music becomes something you don't just hear — you feel it, you dance it, together.
More technique doesn't mean more rigidity. It means more freedom. The freedom to let go, to listen, to enjoy the dance fully.
That is why every class begins with 15 to 20 minutes of focused technique work — not steps, but body awareness, alignment, and movement quality. From there, we introduce figures that we revisit two or three times throughout the class, giving students the space to truly absorb and make each movement their own.
We also work with a theme each trimester. Over the course of ten classes, we go deep — not broad. Because in tango, depth is everything.
OUR STORY
Nos conocimos en 2004, en una clase de tango. Desde el primer momento quedó claro que bailar juntos no iba a ser sencillo: la diferencia de altura entre nosotros convertía cada abrazo en un pequeño desafío. Lo que para muchas parejas es algo que se resuelve solo, para nosotros fue el punto de partida de una búsqueda que duró años.
Esa búsqueda nos llevó a estudiar con decenas de maestros — de distintos estilos, distintas generaciones, distintas escuelas. Cada uno nos enseñó algo. Y con el tiempo, de todo lo que absorbimos, fuimos construyendo algo propio: una forma de entender el tango que pone el cuerpo, la conexión y el abrazo en el centro de todo.
Por eso cuando llegó el momento de darle nombre a nuestra escuela, la respuesta estaba clara. El Abrazo. Porque creemos que es ahí, en ese punto de contacto entre dos cuerpos, donde el tango realmente sucede.
OUR TEACHERS
ANIBAL LAUTARO & VALERIA MASIDE
Argentine tango teachers based in Belgium since 2005. Over 20 years of international career, Anibal and Valeria have become one of Belgium's most respected tango couples — both on stage and in the classroom.
Born and trained in Argentina, they brought with them not just technique, but a deep love for tango as a living culture: its music, its history, its connection.
Today they teach weekly classes in Gent, Antwerp and Brussels, organize milongas (La Chapelle, La Cellule, Holy Milonga), and lead international trips to Buenos Aires. They are also the founders of the Antwerpen Tango Festival.
