Kristin Balmer has been dancing tango for 22 years, and teaching for 15 years. She started dancing in Philadelphia with Lesley Mitchell and Kelly Ray, and soon began taking yearly trips to Buenos Aires, where she studied with many teachers, including Ernesto Balmaceda, Graciela Gonzalez, and Luciana Valle. She learned how to teach tango from Daniel Trenner, one of the first tango teachers in the U.S. (and the person who was instrumental in bringing Argentine Tango to this country). When she moved to Baton Rouge, Kristin helped organize milongas and started teaching. Later, Kristin moved to Nashville, where she ran Music City Tango alongside Tonya Miller, offering group & private lessons, a weekly milonga and once monthly workshops with visiting guest teachers. While in Nashville, she trained some of the dancers/teachers who now run Vanderbilt Tango.

Learning tango was not easy for Kristin. She started as an adult, with no dance background and with an ingrained idea that she was uncoordinated. In order to learn tango, she first had to learn how to learn. The skills she gained in the process are what make her a great teacher. She excels at helping people connect with their own bodies to improve balance and spatial awareness. She has a knack for teaching people the subtleties of how to listen to their partners, and to give and receive information through the embrace. She is dedicated to reframing concepts continually in order to accommodate different learning styles, and get through to every student. She is also dedicated to building students’ confidence, as she believes people learn more readily in an environment where they feel comfortable.

A graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Kristin’s real vocation is as an artist. She sees tango as a hobby that has the potential to immeasurably enrich people’s lives by giving them a chance to connect with one another, to travel to other tango communities and festivals, and to lighten up and have fun. Kristin continues to travel to tango festivals and encuentros worldwide to dance, and to connect with other tangueros.

Kristin’s classes are accessible, fun and upbeat. Whether you have been dancing for years, or are starting from scratch, you will feel comfortable in her classes and learn a lot.

She has been on the staff of the Philadelphia Argentine Tango School since 2016.