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Fardad Michael Serry dances tango emphasizing musicality and originality. He has perfromed with Julie Stillman and Yolanda Rossi (see below) in tango events and festivals by invitation at Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and San Diego. Together with Julie Stillman, he won the Gold Award in tango and in milonga at the World Council for Argentine Tango Events competitions in 2005, adjudicated by Miriam Larici, Hygo Patyn, Fernanda Ghi, and Gillermo Merlo.

Fardad Michael Serry was invited to teach at the 2004 Las Vegas Tango Festival, where he taught several group classes with Ms. Yolanda Rossi. In the past two years, Fardad has spent nearly 200 hours in private lessons with world-class tango teachers--not just excellent dancers and performers, but artists most of whom also have a gift and a passion for teaching tango. The result is that Fardad is able to teach his students with an awareness that is unique in its breadth and depth. As a Jazz artist, Fardad was used to improvising long before he danced the tango. He is a classically-trained musician and played the piano for 8 years, and the Jazz trumpet and the flugelhorn for another 10. He emphasizes musicality in his teaching, educating his students about different genres and styles of tango the dance and tango the music, and making them aware of how the dance has evolved with the mucis. Fardad is the creator of the class series Tango Dancing with Freedom in which creativity, originality, good navigation, musicaltiy, and adornments are approached from a fresh perspective that is rooted in the fundamentals of the tango.

Fardad's first and most influential mentors are Alberto Paz and Valorie Hart. Serendipidously, very early in his tango career Fardad met Alberto and Valorie, who shared with him a goldmine of knowledge and experience. Fardad is studying tango in a series of private coaching sessions with two of the world's best tango dancer couples and most knowledgeable and caring teachers from Buenos Aires, Miriam La Ricci and Hugo Patyn and Julio Balmaceda and Corina De La Rosa, who emphasize in their teaching how to dance, not "what" to dance. In 2004, Fardad completed a 30-hour class series in teaching tango in close embrace to beginners, which was designed and taught by the masters of this art from Buenos Aires, Daniella Arcuri and Armando Orzuzo.

In 2003-2005, Fardad studied tango and milonga with the legendary Eduardo and Gloria Arquimbau, respected worldwide as the greatest living milongueros (http://www.gloriayeduardotangoargentino.com/), and tango with Diego Di Falco and Carolina Zokalski (http://www.carolinaydiego.com/), and with Pablo Pugliese (http://www.pablopugliese.com). He has been taking private instruction from the acclaimed Argentine-born tango teacher and choreographer Yolanda Rossi, whose impressive resume in dance include early training in ballet, then flamenco and other latin forms, and whose life has been devoted to the tango for more than a decade. Fardad has studied milonga with the young milonga master from Buenos Aires, Pablo Rojas, who is also an accomplished actor, singer, and choir director; an all-around artist. Fardad's studies in tango have included private coaching by Susna Miller, Nito and Elba Garcia, Nora Dinzelbacher, and the late Carlos Gavito.

Julie Stillman is a trained teacher with graduate degrees in teaching and in philosophy, from The Seattle University and The University of Southern California, respectively. Her approach to tango teaching emphasizes the role of the woman, as much as of the man, and is based on sound pedagogic techniques she has developed as a professional teacher whose students in various subjects have included all age groups. Miss Stillman is a pupil of Corina De La Rosa and Julio Blamaceda, and of Miriam Larici and Hugo Patyn. Her training as a tango teacher include 30-hour master-workshop series with Daniela Arcuri on Teaching Tango in Close Embrace to beginners. She has also studied tango in private coaching with Alberto Paz and Valorie Hart, and with Pablo Pugliese, and was assistant to Fardad Serry in teaching private lessons at the 2004 Las Vegas International Tango Festival. Miss Sillman also practices yoga, and is currently writing a book on the philosophy of the tango.

"Friday. September 2, 2005 Tango and Milonga Class with Fardad Michael Serry and JulieStillman. Rudenko School of Dance, Santa Barbara. Going to this class was a surprise present from my daughter, and it was delightful that it was avaibable on a day we were in our second home city, Santa Barbara. Previous to this, I discovered Argentine Tango at Caltech and have now taken 5 classes with Alexis and Barbara White. Fardad Michael Serry and Julie Sillman are exceptional teachers, with constantly watchful eyes. Thus they are able to assist each student individually, with the right thing said at the right time. Even as a one time visitor, there are several suggestions that Michael made to me that I will never forget! See Fardad Michael Serry's Philosophy of Teaching Tango"

YOLANDA ROSSI

was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She studied dance from an early age, starting with ballet, flamenco, and other spanish forms. At the age of 15, she graduated from the "Conservatory Fracassi," sponsor by the "Paris Opera Theater" of Paris, France. She taught dance in Argentina for two years, and at the age of 17 was hired by the National Ballet Co. of Chile (south America). She then traveled and danced in several countries before moving to the US. Yolanda was introduced to Argentine Tango in 1991 by two excellent tango dancers and teachers, Miriam La Ricci, and Sandor. Since then, the tango has been her only passion. She has had the privilege of dancing and studying with the world's best-known dancers, teachers, and masters of the Tango for more than a decade. Yolanda's tango is greatly influence primary by the great Orlando Paiva Sr., and by his disciple, Michael Espinoza. Other major influences include Juan Carlos Copez and Carlos Gavito.

In 1994, Yolanda formed a dancing partnership with Michael Espinoza, and together they started and promoted some of the first Milongas in the Los Angeles area and elsewhere in California. They teach, perform, and co-sponsor the visits of some of the Argentine masters to the Los Angeles area. Many professional Tango dancers of the new generation, such as Moti and Makela, were students of Yolanda & Michael Espinoza. Presently Yolanda teaches group and private classes for social tango dancing, as well as choreography for professionals. Yolanda is also the creator of "Nude Tango," a tango fashion line, including a collection of shoes and dresses.

Yolanda, Fardad's teacher and first professional partner, gave the whistling tanguero his nickname "El Jilguero." That is a bird that chirps with some musicality.