Tango y Té

Mimi Santapa

Mimi Santapa grew up as a girl, observing her father, Mariano Leotera, teaching the tango dancers of his generation. Mr. Leotera, nicknamed "el Marioneta" was himself a famous dancer of the golden age of tango. His lasting achievement is his development of an integrated understanding of tango, and a methodical way of teaching it (his collection of 30 patterns still serve as the basis for many tango teachers' methods today.)

Mimi witnessed many great dancers pass trough the hands of her father, among them the late Carlos Gavito and Juan Carlos Copes, who were in the same class together!

When Mimi teaches, she reminds us often: "these are just the things my father taught me, with a few things I added through my own understanding of the body." Mimi is, like her father, an integrator. Her knowledge of tango is related seamlessly with her understanding of the body, which she practices as a podiatrist in Buenos Aires, where she also runs her tango academie.

Today, many of the great tango performers know about "Mimi's secrets" about posture and balance. Her power is, in the words of Gordon Erlebacher, in "making the invisible, visible." Gordon, who met Mimi in France, is responsible for introducing Mimi to North Florida in 2008, first in Tallahasse, and then with our cooperation in Gainesville.

Workshop Schedule,
Gainesville June 26-28, 2009

To Prepare for the Workshops, Read a Summary of Mimi's Ideas HERE>