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WORKSHOPS & SPECIAL EVENTS
Workshops will take place in the Main Festivlal Venue - "Cracovia" and in the Hyatt Hotel.
WORKSHOPS TOPICS
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Marcela Duran & Dante Sanchez
Where tango begins: connection, embrace and the essence of the Gavito/Durán style
Tango does not begin with steps — it begins with contact. In this workshop we will explore the foundations of connection between partners and the unique style developed by Marcela Durán and the legendary Carlos Gavito. Participants will discover what a true tango embrace really is — not as a technical form, but as a living dialogue between two bodies.
Apilado: The architecture of the embrace. From head to toe.
Apilado is one of tango's most distinctive and demanding styles — built on mutual inclination and a shared axis. This workshop is a detailed analysis of posture, balance and bodily tension from the top of the head to the tips of the toes. Participants will learn how to build a stable, harmonious and beautiful apilado embrace that becomes the foundation of every step.
The geometry of desire: Circularity, axis and play within the embrace.
Tango is a dance of lines and circles, tensions and resolutions. In this workshop we will examine the geometry of movement — how a couple creates a shared axis, how the circulation of the body builds musicality, and how the space between partners becomes a field of play and expression. The workshop reveals tango as an architecture of emotion written in space.
Time in tango. The pause: tension and variations of tempo.
Tango lives in silence just as powerfully as it lives in movement. This workshop is dedicated to one of tango's most difficult and most beautiful elements — the pause. Participants will explore how stopping at the right moment builds tension, how variations of tempo create the dramaturgy of the dance, and how musicality is born not only from steps, but from what happens between them.
The woman's voice in tango: Strength, poetry and freedom in the role
The follower's role in tango is not passivity — it is an enormous creative force. In this workshop Marcela Durán, one of the greatest authorities in this field, will guide participants through the discovery of their own voice in the dance. Technique, expression, freedom of movement and the poetry of femininity in tango — a workshop for every woman who wishes to find herself through tango.
Giros in Milonga
The giro is one of tango's most elegant and versatile movements — but when danced to milonga, it takes on an entirely new life. Fast, rhythmic and joyful, milonga demands that the giro be light, precise and deeply musical. In this workshop Marcela and Dante will explore how to adapt this fundamental circular movement to the unique character of milonga — its rhythm, its playfulness and its energy. Participants will work on the mechanics of the giro, the coordination between partners, and the art of fitting circular movement into the fast, syncopated pulse of milonga without losing either clarity or connection.
Gabriel Missé & Maru Rifourcat
Caminata, Displacements, Zig-zag & Vaivenes
Every great tango begins with a great walk. This workshop returns to the very foundation of the dance — the caminata — and builds from there into the rich vocabulary of displacements, zig-zag patterns and vaivenes. Gabriel and Maru will show how these fundamental elements, often dismissed as "basics," are in fact the most sophisticated tools a dancer can master. When the walk is truly alive, everything else follows naturally.
Vals — The Most Famous Steps for the Social Dance FloorVals is tango's most joyful and flowing expression — a dance of continuous rotation, lightness and melodic phrasing. In this workshop Gabriel and Maru guide participants through the most essential and beloved steps of vals, with a focus on how to dance them beautifully and confidently in a social setting. The goal is a vals that feels effortless, musical and completely at home on a crowded dance floor.
Milonga — The Most Famous Steps for the Social Dance Floor
Quick, sharp and full of personality — milonga is the dance that reveals a dancer's true rhythm. This workshop covers the most characteristic and widely used steps of milonga, taught in a way that makes them immediately applicable on the social floor. Gabriel and Maru's approach brings clarity and joy to a dance that can often feel rushed or mechanical, turning it into something playful and deeply satisfying.
Giro de la Mujer, Enrosques, Lápiz & Agujas
This workshop dives into some of tango's fundamental elements. The woman's giro — fluid, precise and endlessly expressive — is explored alongside the leader's enrosques, the elegant tracing of the lápiz, and the sharp, architectural lines of agujas. Gabriel and Maru break each element down with precision, showing how they connect, how they emerge from the music, and how they can be woven seamlessly into an improvised dance.
Advanced Tango Structures
For dancers ready to go beyond vocabulary and into architecture. This workshop explores the deeper structural logic of tango — how complex sequences are built, how weight shifts and axes interact, and how leaders and followers can navigate advanced material together with clarity and intention. Drawing on Gabriel's extraordinary background rooted in tango's golden age masters, this is a workshop for those who want to understand not just what to dance, but why.
Tango Technique for All Levels
Before style, before vocabulary, before performance — there is technique. In this workshop Gabriel and Maru open the doors of technical understanding to dancers of all levels, addressing posture, axis, balance, the quality of the embrace and the fundamental mechanics of movement. Whether you are building your foundations or refining years of experience, this class offers something essential: the tools to dance with greater ease, beauty and depth.
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Ariadna Naveira & Fernando Sanchez
Tango Music. The understanding between movement and music. Not everything is the same.
Tango without music is merely movement — tango with music is a conversation. This workshop is dedicated to one of the most important and most overlooked aspects of the dance: how to truly listen to the music and translate it into movement. Ariadna and Fernando, celebrated for their exceptional musicality, will show that not every beat, phrase, or pause means the same thing — and that this sensitivity is precisely what separates a good dancer from a truly moving one.
Soltadas. The real embrace and how to play with the spaces.The soltada — a momentary release from the embrace — is one of tango's most poetic moments. But to play with space, one must first truly understand the embrace. This workshop explores the boundary between connection and freedom: when to let go, how to return, and how to make every separation and reunion in the embrace a gesture full of meaning.
Boleos. The structure of the movement.
A workshop focused entirely on the anatomy of the boleo — from its origin in the body's axis, through the pivot mechanism, to the free release of the leg. Ariadna and Fernando break this movement down to its foundations, showing how to build it correctly so that it is not only expressive, but safe, natural, and deeply musical.
Possibilities with Boleos. Sequences to practice and understand the movement.
A boleo is one of tango's most expressive elements — but only when it arises from genuine connection rather than habit. This workshop is a deep exploration of the possibilities that boleos offer: how to lead them, how to respond to them, and how to build sequences that reveal the inner logic of the movement. Practical exercises, step by step.
Ganchos, Boleos & Sacadas. Everything together! Possibilities for social dance.
A workshop bringing together three of Argentine tango's most distinctive elements — ganchos, boleos, and sacadas — and showing how to weave them together naturally and improvisationally on the milonga floor. Because these elements are not merely performance — they are a language through which two dancers can speak to each other in a crowd.
Technique for dancers. Everything we need to understand before we move. SOLO.
Before the first step, there is the body. This workshop is a return to fundamentals — posture, axis, balance, muscular tone, and the quality of connection with a partner. Ariadna and Fernando, known for their deeply structural approach to teaching, guide participants through what is invisible yet decides everything: the architecture of the dancer's body.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Charla: Inside the Tango
– Roles, Challenges & Milonga Culture
Join us for an open and thoughtful discussion on the evolving roles of leader and follower, the emotional journey of learning tango, and the unspoken codes that shape the milonga experience.
Led by Yanina, a respected milonguera from Buenos Aires and a trained psychotherapist, this charla will explore the struggles, joys, and dynamics that dancers face both on and off the floor. Expect insights, laughter, and maybe even a few truths you've been waiting to hear.
A space to reflect, connect, and deepen your understanding of the tango community.
Santiago Buonomo
Join us for a unique tour of Kraków led by Santiago Buonomo – a Uruguayan tangero who has been living in Poland for years and sees this city from a truly special perspective.
Santiago will take you on a journey through Kraków’s streets, revealing both its famous landmarks and hidden corners filled with fascinating stories. This will be a walk full of tales – about the city, tango, the blending of cultures, and the magic that connects Kraków with Buenos Aires.
But this won’t be just any tour! In the spirit of tango, we will pause to soak in the city’s atmosphere, listen to its rhythm, and discover places that resonate with the soul of a dancer.
The tour will be conducted in English.
Don’t miss the chance to see Kraków through the eyes of our Polish Uruguayan!
See you on Friday, 11:30, meeting point: Barbakan (https://maps.app.goo.gl/nE5DTE5sUNeMZCPU6)
Sunday Breakfast – A Taste of Poland
Ease into the final day of the festival with a cozy and delicious Polish-style breakfast. We’ll share a sampler of local breakfast favorites—cottage cheese, regional hams, and famously amazing bread—served in a relaxed setting perfect for lingering conversations and new friendships.
