Saturday, December 20

We’re pulling out all the stops with a Blowout Holiday Milonga Qilombo on Saturday, December 20. (Note that it’s the THIRD Saturday of December, not our usual FOURTH. Thank you, Filippa, for lending us your date.)

We’ll have, for the first time at PATS, Master Bandoneonist Tito Castro, performing with pianist Maurizio Najt. Tito Castro performed with the orchestras of Demare, Varela and Salamanca, among many others. And he has accompanied singers as prestigious as Mercedes Sosa, Placido Domingo, and Roberto Goyeneche. It is a huge honor to have him perform at our milonga for the very first time. You can read the extensive biographies of the musicians here.

The pre-milonga class will be taught by Phi Lee Lam and Karen Johnson. It is SUCH a joy to have Phi Lee back in Philadelphia to teach after a long break.

And we’re incredibly excited to welcome back to PATS after FAR TOO LONG, DJ Manuk Colakyan. Please join us to celebrate tango and community on Saturday, December 20!

8:30-9:30 pm: All Levels Pre-Milonga Class - Phi Lee & Karen
9:30 pm-2 am: Milonga Qilombo with LIVE MUSIC by Tito Castro & Maurizio Najt and DJ Manuk Colakyan

PRICING IN ADVANCE:
through 12/19 at midnight
Class + Milonga: $40
Milonga only: $25

REGISTER NOW

PRICING AT THE DOOR:
Class + Milonga: $50
Milonga only: $35

• Full-time students may use the discount code FTstudent for 20% off. We also accept sliding scale. Please reach out in advance ([email protected]) if you need to pay sliding scale in order to attend.

• If you are able, please consider adding an additional donation to your registration. Thank you!

What’s the best way to make sure 2026 is a wonderful year? That’s right… DANCE INTO IT!

Join us for our first New Year’s Eve milonga in many years on Wednesday, December 31. The event features an all-levels pre-milonga class, taught by Andres Amarilla & Olesya Kershaw. And our surpassingly awesome DJ will be Jorge Fernandez! Absolutely not-to-be-missed!

8-9 pm: All-Levels Tango Class - Andres & Olesya
9 pm-3 am: NYE Milonga with DJ Jorge Fernandez

TICKETS IN ADVANCE
Available through Sunday, December 28 at midnight
Class + Milonga: $50
Milonga Only: $35

REGISTER

TICKETS AT THE DOOR
If not sold out
Class + Milonga: $65
Milonga Only: $50

May 22-25, 2026

Mark your calendars!

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 by practicing composition or choreography exercises, we can achieve greater freedom, fluidity and musicality in improvisation. This is conscious improvisation, rooted in tango structure, but exploring the infinite experiences, musicalities and combinations that are made possible by that structure.

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
Emiliano Messiez

DJs
Maria Valentina
Gabriel Gaumond
Octavio Fernandez
Ignacio Ondartz

Learn more on the festival website…