In Memoriam: Pablo Fontana

What a year 2011 has been. So many good events and so many bad ones, such as this one: the death of my friend and fellow tanguero Pablo Fontana. Two nights ago, Pablo somehow lost control of his car and drove off the road. He was 31 years old. It is so hard to believe because, although he drove fast, he was an incredibly skilled driver. I remember teaching with him at the Charlotte tango festival one year ago. He was always joking and his smile would light up the milonga. I look at the pictures from that event now and I cannot believe how the bright light that was his life was extinguished so suddenly. I am still in shock as I write this. The irony of it all is that Pablo was Anne-Sophie Ville's tango partner for a long time. Anne-Sophie passed away after losing her battle with lung cancer last month. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUxOXXaIVfU

In Memoriam: Anne-Sophie Ville

Yesterday, a great friend, and an important figure in the tango scene in the US, lost her battle with lung cancer and passed away at a young age. I will miss Anne-Sophie dearly. She had such an impact on so many in such a short amount of  time on this earth. Anne-Sophie Ville, a Belgian native, was one of the main organizers in the Washington, DC tango community as well as a highly sought after dancer and instructor. She was the founder and organizer of the Washington DC Tango Marathon, one of the best and most highly attended tango festivals in the United States, attracting over 300 dancers from the US and Europe each year for 4 days of non-stop dancing and organizer of the Baltimore Tango Fest that brought to the East coast Mariano Chicho Frumboli, Mariana Dragone, Sebastian Arce and Mariana Montes .

In 2007, she decided to leave the United States and travel the world to dance and teach tango.

She will be missed. Here she is, in a commercial for tango shoes.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLRbQLWfONs&w=560&h=315]