Rebecca
Rebecca began studying Argentine Tango in 1999, while pursuing her BFA in Eugene, OR. Quickly realizing Tango was the Art she had been searching for she adopted a nomadic dance-driven lifestyle and began instructing at the local Tango Center. From 2001 Rebecca has lived and taught within numerous young communities in Oregon as well as in St louis, MO and Juneau, AK . She has worked at many institutions such as MIT, Yale, University of Oregon & Michigan, PSU, SOU, Catlin Gable and Linfield College. Her teaching has taken her abroad to Great Britain, Canada, and India where she taught in Mumbai, Bangalore, and New Delhi. Rebecca has been fortunate to teach along side the best of North America's professional dancers at numerous festivals and also spend ample time studying in Argentina. Rebecca has always believed in the transformative capacity the structure of Tango provides and displays her own artistry through her carriage, creativity, and fiery grace. She offers her students accessible compassionate guidance combined with a deep understanding of both following and leading, movement, music, and technique.
Eric
Eric Lindgren's passion and ambition for Argentine Tango has been apparent from the moment he started dancing. Within weeks of his first class, he had moved to Buenos Aires. Over the following few years he made frequent trips to Argentina becoming increasingly certain of his desire to teach the dance professionally. In 2007 he began teaching full time at the renowned Dance Manhattan in New York. Since then he has worked extensively throughout the United States. Having lived and taught in many of the largest tango communities in North American (including New York, San Francisco, and Portland, OR), Eric decided to spend a full year touring with his partner, Rebecca Rorick Smith. Their teaching has taken to locations as distinct as Juneau, AK, Ashville, NC, and Devon, England, with many stops in between.
Eric's teaching philosophies stem from his understanding of the dance as both a physical discipline and as an art form. He feels it is fundamentally important to develop and explore both of these facets to truly progress as dancers. Seeing it is necessary to train our bodies to gain access to greater expression in our dancing, while at the same time understanding that technique is always ultimately in the service of our creative fires.
Together
Rebecca and Eric began teaching together regularly in January of 2009. Since then they have taught in many major US cities and are quickly becoming popular instructors at festivals around the country. Coming from very different tango upbringings, Eric and Rebecca offer a unique blend of modern ideas about technique and vocabulary while maintaining a strong emphasis on traditional aesthetics and values in the dance.