TangoIntensivo™ FAQ

A: Of course most students prefer booking accommodations close to the training facility to minimize daily commute time. We are excited to confirm we’re returning to the fabulous Velasco Fabrica Studio for May/June 2023 sessions C&D, located at Juan Ramirez de Velasco 1481 in the Villa Crespo district of Buenos Aires. In general, the most convenient neighborhoods (barrios) within easy walking distance to your session/s include Villa Crespo, Palermo Soho, Palermo Viejo and Palermo Hollywood.

In 17 years of successfully delivering 61week-long programs, we hosted only 2 sessions outside this area and that was over 15 years ago.

A: Yes! Directly following completion of tuition payment, we initiate an e-registration process tailored for each individually registered student. These e-registration messages, in addition to serving as your receipt, contain vital details about the session/s (session location, daily training schedules, practicas, milongas, shoe-shopping, travel and city tips, etc.). We also provide a link to a private web page (accessible to registered students only) that contains an orientation section with a list of Buenos Aires resources to assist students with trip planning (see additional details under TRAVEL INFO).

A: Tuition does not cover professional travel assistance, but as described above (also see TRAVEL INFORMATION below), registered students receive travel resources as an added benefit to help you get started. Some accommodation options are provided by people we know personally. We’ve made arrangements to motivate them to make our students VERY happy, so be sure to let them know Dance of the Heart referred you when or if you book.

A: Once you become a registered student, expect to receive e-mailed communications providing access to our “required reading” Orientation Info section. This often includes session updates, BsAs social gatherings or activities, notices about airline sales, cool places to dance/eat/shop/tour/enjoy, info about weather, exchange rates, exclusive access to our list of travel tips, recommendations and reminders – especially useful for students visiting Argentina for the first time.

The required-reading Orientation webpage (accessible to registered students only) includes details such as:

GETTING THERE – GETTING HOME

• Ezeiza International Airport (EZE) orientation
• What to expect Upon Arrival/Upon Departure Transportation from/to EZE
• Public Transportation in BsAs

WHERE TO STAY

• A little about Palermo
• The Housing List

WHAT TO PACK

• Clothing for Airline Travel…the Street…our Sessions…Practicas & Milongas…etc.
• Cell Phones & Lap Tops
• Money (ATM’s…exchanging dollars for pesos…etc.)
• Taxis & guidelines for on-the-street tipping etiquette
• Security & Documents

THINGS TO DO

• Tango Resources (BsAs Milongas, Practicas, Performances, Clothing/Shoes, etc.)
• Other Amusements (Theater, Museums, Shopping, Tourism, etc.)
• Food, etc.

Many have urged us to publish a book based on our Orientation/Resources private webpage but information changes constantly so we are content to continue updating it while offering it as a gift to all registered students.

A: As the website recommends, our sessions are best suited to advanced intermediate through advanced level dancers, performers and teachers or teachers-in-training.

A: We recommend for maximizing your benefit and pleasure at our TangoIntensivo™ sessions that, at minimum, leader students can execute/lead and follower students can respond/follow:

• walking in and/or transitioning between the two systems (parallel & cross)
• lead/follow the walk to the cross (la cruzada)
• lead/follow full and/or partial turns (molinette’s)
• dancing in and transitioning to/from open to close embrace
• dancing in all 3 rhythms (tango, milonga, vals)

For students at a more advanced level (teachers/teachers-in-training/advanced dancers/performers), regardless of your prowess, prepare to grow in every way – with respect to your understanding of the dance, increasing your grasp of vocabulary, musicality, quality of connection, movement, dynamics, balance, etc. Wherever you are in your tango, expect to be profoundly thrilled, challenged, provoked and supported to move to your next level because of the deep technical, musical and mechanical refinements and fascinating variations you will be exploring with FABULOUS Luciana and your INCREDIBLE staff partners!

Most of our talented staff have the skill set to switch between leading and following to clarify a particular training detail or resolve a question. To accommodate students interested in training both roles equally, please contact us to make specific arrangements (additional fee may apply).

We’ll be glad to assist you in determining if our sessions are appropriate for your level. We’re happy to prepare you in advance for getting the most out of our TangoIntensivo™ sessions, including following up after you’ve taken a program to help you retain and integrate all you’ve learned. We’re available in our private lesson studios – Luciana Valle in Buenos Aires at lv@lucianavalle.com and/or Deb & Brian in Boulder, Colorado at tangolessons@danceoftheheart.com. 

A: Because students are partnering with and rotating to our trained staff, as a customer you can expect to receive better than 1 on 1 attention. That is NOT a typo! We also place a limit on the number of students we admit per session to avoid over-crowding and to place the focus on YOUR improvement. There are so many factors contributing to this singular factor – YOUR IMPROVEMENT – the level and quality of instruction from Luciana – the skilled dancers we hire to partner with you so you can work at YOUR highest level – that the programs are staged in Buenos Aires – that for the price of one airline ticket you can opt to take 2 sessions with different topics in a condensed 2 week period for maximum immersion – the list of advantages goes on and on.

A: You will rotate every 2 or 3 songs (tanda-style) to another professional staff partner each training day of each week based on our systematic rotation.

A: Our inspiration for developing this program was based on our own desire to continue pursuing our fullest potential as dancers and teachers. We assumed by training with dancers better than us under the instruction of the best teachers in the Argentine tango world (if you don’t know yet, you’ll understand SOON why Luciana Valle is among the best of the VERY best), that magic transformation would result – and we’ve been proved right for 61 weeks and still counting!

It’s hard to describe until you experience it for yourself, but for most customers it’s a dream come true situation. The main complaint we receive from our post-session evaluation questionnaires is that the program ENDS. We consistently sell out and we believe it’s because we’re committed to student growth by basing our programs on pure quality – bringing You the Student the best teacher, partners, training curriculum and setting available.

A: Each session delivers 20 hours total, Monday through Friday, morning sessions from 11am to 1pm, afternoon sessions from 2 to 4pm.

A: While each of the letters represents a specific set of topics, the level is the same (advanced intermediate to advanced) in all four sessions. This means you can register for any or all four sessions in any order that works for you. You’ll discover many return customers among your fellow students. Alumni often insist repeating our trainings is not unlike the necessity to schedule regular dental cleanings (but FAR more fun!) or bringing your car in for regular oil changes and new tires (but much more magical!).

A: Organizing social activities is not covered in the cost of your tuition. You are free to use your evenings as you wish. It’s common practice for fellow students to make informal evening plans together. We also provide networking opportunities once you register. During the week of a given session, there are multiple opportunities to socialize outside of class time with fellow students.

A: While we cannot guarantee (who could have predicted the impact of this crazy pandemic for example?!), in our 61 sessions delivered in 17 consecutive years, we had 1 cancellation when registered students were alerted 6+ months in advance (Luciana was pregnant!) and refunded fully. Our refund policy in the event of a cancellation is listed on our registration page as follows: “In the unlikely event of cancellation of any TangoIntensivo™ session, registration fees will be refunded in full.”

A: Our reimbursement policy is likewise on our registration page under the PayPal buttons as follows:

“Refund Policy: Fifty percent of the Registration Fee will be refunded if a refund request is received by four weeks before the start of the first day of a given session. No refund requests will be accepted after this deadline. However, if you find your own replacement or if we are able to fill your spot from a waiting list, refund requests (less $20 administrative fees) will be honored at any time. Refunds will not be generated until AFTER payment from your replacement has been confirmed. In ALL refund cases, PayPal or any bank fees are not refundable after your initial payment has cleared.”

We urge students to consider travel insurance to mitigate expenses due to an unexpected trip cancellation.

A: Full tuition payment to our USA Dance of the Heart office in Boulder, Colorado is required to reserve your place in any given session. While an email or phone call is useful to express your intentions and to temporarily save your “place in the queue” we cannot confirm your space without your full tuition payment.

The most popular payment options include snail-mailing a personal US check through the US post (least expensive) or paying on-line at our website via our PayPal buttons (most convenient). After we receive payment, we respond typically within hours to confirm. If we’re sold out, your payment will be refunded in full (minus PayPal or associated bank transfer fees).

A: Typically we receive payment via credit cards on our website PayPal buttons. Others send a personal check or we also accept cash and bank transfers (preferred by our European customers). Please note you’re responsible for any associated PayPal, credit card or bank transaction fees.

A: Registration Instructions are below for both options.

Option #1: Pay for your tuition by personal USA-based check (steps 1 through 5):

Step 1: To send payment via personal check:

• make your (USA-based) check out to “DoTH LLC” or “Dance of the Heart LLC”
• To qualify for our early bird discount on your tuition, please adhere to pricing and date deadlines at: https://danceoftheheart.com/tangointensivo-registration/

Step 2: In your envelope, please include a note along with your check containing the following “student info” details:

• identify which session/s you are paying tuition to attend
• full name (first & last) and email address
• identify which role you plan to study – lead or follow (choose only one)

Step 3: Mail your check and “student info” note (see Step 2) to:

• TangoIntensivo™ Sessions
• Dance of the Heart LLC
• 2890 Shadow Creek Drive #E-304
• Boulder, CO 80303

Step 4: Before sealing/dropping the envelope in a mailbox, please make ABSOLUTELY certain your check is made out to “DoTH LLC” and the address is complete, especially the #E-304 designation. After dropping your envelope in the mailbox, please send an email to tangolessons@danceoftheheart.com informing us that your check is in the (snail)mail. We appreciate a quick overview of your “student info” as outlined in Step 2. Upon receipt of this email, we will reserve a place for you in anticipation of receiving your check (via snail mail).

Step 5: When we receive your check, we’ll send an e-confirm notifying you that your e-registration process is initiated.

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Option #2: Pay for your tuition by credit card via PayPal (steps 1-4):

• Step 1: Log onto our registration page: https://danceoftheheart.com/tangointensivo-registration/
• Step 2: To enroll for the “A”, “B”, “C” and/or “D” session/s, select the appropriate PayPal button – if you are new to PayPal, this may require additional steps. If you are purchasing more than one session, simply select the appropriate PayPal button and repeat the process for each individual session you wish to purchase.
• Step 3: Once payment is accomplished, PayPal will generate and send an e-confirmation to you and to our USA Dance of the Heart office. Please note PayPal will charge you a non-refundable fee above the cost of our tuition.
• Step 4: We’ll confirm by separate email that we received PayPal’s e-notice, at which point we’ll proceed with your e-registration process.