Saturday, January 24

Update 1/24: Currently, Accuweather says the snow is most likely to start at 1 am, so we are going to go forward with this event. Please plan to leave when it starts snowing, if you have to drive. For those of you in walking distance, we’re happy to keep the tandas going until 2 am.

Don’t miss the DJ debut of one of Philly’s favorite dancers, Olesya Kershaw, at our January Milonga Qilombo. Olesya brings her training as a classical concert pianist, as well as many years of dancing and teaching tango, to her DJing, crafting elegant, exquisite tandas that will keep you dancing all night long. The night starts with an all-levels tango class taught by Andres and Olesya.

8:30-9:30 pm: All-levels Tango Class - Andres & Olesya
9:30 pm-2 am: Milonga Qilombo with DJ Olesya

Since this is a rare Milonga Qilombo without live music, we’re giving you a little New Year’s gift and slashing our prices for this milonga only.

Pricing in advance:
Milonga + Class: $20
Milonga Only: $15

REGISTER NOW

Pricing at the door:
Milonga + Class: $25
Milonga Only: $18

F/T students may use the code FTstudent to take 20% off. Monthly pass holders get in free.

Start 2026 with tango

What better way to launch the New Year than to commit to dance tango?

Join us for a Beginner Intensive, covering the basics of tango movements and lead-and-follow communication in a friendly environment where everyone tries both roles. The Intensive is a fun and efficient way to jump-start your tango, in the course of one weekend.

No experience or partner necessary!

Pricing:
Full intensive: $80
Single day: $50

Dates:
Saturday & Sunday, February 14 & 15: REGISTER

Saturday, February 28 & Sunday, March 1

2-4 pm each day

Join us for another edition of our popular Advanced Beginner Intensive (level 2). This intensive prepares students to take any intermediate-level classes or workshops at the Philadelphia Argentine Tango School. To prepare for the Advanced Beginner Intensive, students should take the Beginner Intensive, or attend Wednesday 8 pm Beginner classes for at least one month.

All students will practice both roles. Because we are practicing both roles, even students with much more experience can benefit from taking the Advanced Beginner Intensive.

Topics covered include:

• Cross System
• The Cross Basic Step
• Back Ochos and steps that are easily accessible from them
• Lead-and-follow improvisation
• Navigation of the social dance floor
• Basic musicality: Phrasing and the Beat

Pricing:
$80 - Full Intensive
$50 - Single Intensive day

REGISTER NOW

Students who register for the full intensive receive free entrance to two events:

• Saturday, February 28: Milonga Qilombo, including the pre-milonga class
• Sunday, March 1: Practica de los domingos

May 22-25, 2026

Registration is open!

The 14th edition of the Philadelphia Tango Festival will take place May 22-25, 2026 (Memorial Weekend). Each year, we choose a theme to unite the various activities of the festival: the workshops, seminars, practicas, milongas, concerts and more.

This year’s theme is CONSCIOUS IMPROVISATION. At the heart of this theme is a paradox: through deep study of tango’s structure and components, we can achieve greater freedom, fluidity and musicality in improvisation. This is conscious improvisation, rooted in tango structure, but exploring the infinite possibilities that this structure affords. Our festival activities develop this sense of conscious improvisation by honing our understanding of musicality, technique, movement combinations and the subtleties of lead-and-follow communication.

We have assembled an extraordinary team to guide us on this exploration…

TEACHERS / PERFORMERS
Octavio Fernandez & Carolina Giannini
Rino Fraina & Graziella Pulvirenti
Andres Amarilla & Olesya Kershaw
Pablo Garcia Gomez & Iwona Ionescu
Ignacio Ondartz & Meredith Klein

LECTURER
Matias Mauricio

MUSICIANS
Tipica Messiez
Duo Villarreal Crom
Mariano Castro
Emiliano Messiez

DJs
Maria Valentina
Gabriel Gaumond
Octavio Fernandez
Ignacio Ondartz

Learn more on the festival website…

The Philadelphia Argentine Tango School (PATS) strives to create spaces and events that are safe, welcoming, and inclusive for everyone, regardless of age, race, gender, sexuality, ability, experience, or background.

We’re very happy to launch a Safer Spaces Program to support this effort. Please check it out!

Huge thanks to our Safer Spaces Coordinators, Kate Donohue, Gustavo Rueda, and Amy Yang, who have been working tirelessly on this effort. They can be reached at [email protected]. You can report a an incident or concern here.