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PAOLO Y ELENA TANGO
PAOLO Y ELENA TANGO
A LITTLE ABOUT US
Paolo and Elena both discovered tango in two completely different parts of the world,
but it was tango bringing them together.
They both have training in various art and music areas, as well as individual professional and artistic experiences.
Find out about their professional training and refinement as tango teachers and dancers.
ELENA BERTAGNA
Managing Director Luna Negra and
and visionary with a creative energy
PAOLO LOMBARDO
Managing Director Luna Negra and
far-sighted empath and ambitious dreamer
As an active and adventurous person, I started ballet and jazz dance as a child and later devoted myself to artistic gymnastics. My love of music was born through my music-enthusiastic family, listening to Swiss jazz on the radio daily, which eventually led me to the vocal department of the Swiss Jazz School of Bern. The bookworm in me quenched its thirst for knowledge by studying German and Italian Linguistics at the University of Bern, the place where I discovered tango and has been an integral part of my life ever since. Completely devoted to this dance, I let it guide me to various maestros in Europe and Buenos Aires. At the "Accademia di Eccellenza Metro Tango" in Rome I was able to obtain my technical qualification as a tango teacher and then work mainly in Turin as a tango teacher. Teaching is the most beautiful thing for me. I obtained my teaching diploma at secondary level II at the University of Teacher Education in Bern and now I can also enjoy working with young adults and helping them to take their first steps towards integration in Switzerland, learning the German language, and discovering a piece of their culture at the same time.
The opening of our tango school and the Luna Negra cultural center is a dream come true for me: as a (tango) teacher, eager to share my joy of teaching and imparting knowledge, and as a visionary with a creative drive to implement cultural projects and share them with people from all different backgrounds.
As a musically inclined person, I had the privilege to successfully complete the ten-year composition course at the "Giuseppe Verdi" Conservatory of Music in Turin. I grew up with the political and socially critical songs of the Italian Cantautori and during my university career, I had the honor of working with renowned composers and musicians such as Paolo Conte. After obtaining my Master in composition, I initially worked as a professional pianist and composer, including in cabaret productions.
In order to give my artistic self an appropriate balance, I competed in competitive martial arts for several years. However, when I came across tango in France, I soon decided to minimize the risk of injury and dedicate myself completely to my training as a tango dancer in Europe and Buenos Aires. I obtained my technical qualification as a tango teacher at the "Accademia di Eccellenza Metro Tango" in Rome and, together with Elena, we then ran a tango school in Turin for a year.
Back in Switzerland, we opened our tango school and cultural center Luna Negra: a place where I can share my professional and artistic experience together with my great passion and love for music, theater, and dance with people of all ages and backgrounds.
FORMATION & REFINEMENT
We are certified federal tango argentino instructors with the national diploma of technical qualification issued by FIDS/CONI (Italian National Olympic Committee). We completed our professional formation as Tango Instructors at the "Academy of Excellence Metro Tango" in Rome with Vanesa Villalba and Facundo Piñero as technical directors and Javier Rodriguez as artistic director. Our formation was patronized by La Academia Nacional del Tango de Buenos Aires, CETBA (Centro Educativo del Tango de Buenos Aires) and AMBCTA (Asociatión de Maestros, Bailarines y Coreógrafos del Tango Argentino). Our artistic paths are founded on the study of music; therefore, musical creativity holds a central place in our tango teaching.
We are constantly refining our formation with different maestros and dancers in various locations. In 2021 we were selected in the audition to study and complete the annual closed training of the Tango Ballet "El Cxuce Tango" under the direction of Vanesa Villalba and Facundo Piñero. In the same year, we were coached for several months in an intensive training program by Gianpiero Galdi and Lorena Tarantino. In 2022 and 2023 we refined our formation in many of Gianpiero Galdi and Lorena Tarantino's invitation-based seminars alongside other professionals.
The main tango maestros who influenced our formation were Vanesa Villalba and Facundo Piñero, Lorena Tarantino and Gianpiero Galdi, Agustina Piaggio and Carlitos Espinoza, José Fernández, Martina Waldman.
