Péter Stefanics
Péter Stefanics started to dance in 1994, studying ballroom dancing, flamenco, Cuban salsa and modern dance. He soon realized that he is interested in the joy of dancing with a partner rather than competition. In 1997 he began to take tango classes in New York City in a variety of styles with local teachers (Rebecca Shulman, Fabienne Bongard), as well as European ones (Brigitta Winkler, Constantin Ruger, Eric Jorissen), and Argentine maestros(Fabián Salas, Mariano "Chicho" Frúmboli, Pulpo y Luiza, Cacho Dante, Pablo Verón, Omar Vega, Susana Miller, Esther Pugliese, José Garófalo). He quickly realized his second passion - tango music and soon became a regular DJ at the South Street Seaport and Central Park summer milongas in New York starting around 2000.
From 2006 until 2010 he was involved with the Argentine Tango community in Budapest, Hungary where he organized and DJ'd regular weekly milongas in addition to teaching group and private classes as well as workshops.
Péter also has experience with various bodywork and body awareness methods such as the F. M. Alexander technique, Moshe Feldenkrais's Awareness Through Movement exercises and the Pilates method, all of which inform his Argentine Tango teaching and dancing.
Michalina Patrzalek
Michalina Patrzalek - Misia - discovered tango thanks to Paulina Policzkiewicz-Wozniak and Janek Wozniak, who founded the Argentine Tango scene in Poland. Fascinated by the beauty of this dance and music, Misia devoted herself to tango completely and travelled across Europe for numerous tango festivals. She took part in workshops with Polish and Argentine teachers in Poland and Europe, as well as spending several months in Buenos Aires during many trips there (2007, 2008, 2010). While emphasizing the meaning of passion, emotions and music in her dancing, she quickly realized the fundamental importance of the good technique. Primarily fascinated with the milonguero & tango de salon style, she became interested in tango nuevo and its improvisational possibilities. To broaden her skills she got into Moshe Feldenkrais's Awareness Through Movement technique, yoga, Pilates, contact improvisation and contemporary dance. In her teaching she combines these techniques with tango. The greatest influence on her dancing were Cecilia Garcia, Homer & Cristina Ladas, Mariano Chicho Frumboli & Juana Sepulveda, Jose Halfon & Virginia Cutillo, and Pablo Villaraza & Dana Frigoli.
Her passion apart from tango is cooking and baking - hence the idea to create Tango Café. Located in Malbork (Northern Poland), the cafe was designed by Misia, the main inspiration being - of course - Argentine tango. Misia also regularly writes her culinary blog.
Misia & Péter
Peter and Misia met in 2007 and soon they realized that there was real chemistry between them both in dancing and in real life. Coming back from her Buenos Aires trip in early 2008, Misia moved to Budapest. A few months later, they travelled together to Buenos Aires to further develop their dancing and teaching skills. For two years in Budapest, they taught classes and workshops as well as organized and DJ'd two weekly milongas and other tango events. In the spring of 2010 they went to Buenos Aires for 3 months to pursue their formal training in tango as dancers and teachers. Their constant inspiration are Homer & Cristina Ladas as well as Mariano "Chicho" Frúmboli & Juana Sepulveda.
They both see Argentine Tango as an improvised social dance and believe that it is the elegant, effortless movement and the connection between the leader and follower which leads to the enjoyment of the dance and the music. In their classes they teach their students the fundamentals - posture, embrace, musicality, creativity and body awarness. Besides exploring the world of nuevo tango, they also enjoy dancing in tango de salon style. They believe that while tango is Argentine in its origins, it belongs to everyone who understands its structure and feelings.
Why Tomatango?
We were looking for a name that has something to do with tango, it's not banal and represents both of us. After much time spent brainstorming, asking friends and family, we were still not closer to finding the right name. Then, looking at Homer Ladas website - freshlaundrytango.info, we thought: we might as well call the site something related to what we both like, such as salmon. Or tomatoes. Strange? Yes. Unusual? Yes. Short? Yes. Unique? Yes. Easy to remember? We hope so.
Apart from dancing, teaching and organizing tango events, we both love to DJ...
Peter as a DJ:"The point of DJ-ing a milonga for me is to create a good mood, to make sure people have a great time and are inspired to dance quite a bit during the evening. I play tangos mostly from the Golden Age, as well as some music recorded in a traditional style by contemporary tango orchestras and once in a while tanda of tango nuevo or alternative songs, in a T-T-M-T-T-V tanda structure. My goal is to keep the mood positive, fun, and romantic rather than melancholy or dramatic, and to play songs that inspire both beginner and more advanced dancers. I lean towards tracks with a steady compás (dancing beat) and towards singers who use their voice as if it were another instrument in the orchestra instead of dominating the whole song. While I enjoy introducing new songs during a milonga every now and then, I do it keeping in mind the concept of danceability – I want dancers to start (or keep) dancing after hearing the first few measures of a song, and then realize it’s something they’ve never heard before, such as Malerba, Rodio, García, or Buzón."
Misia as a DJ:"I believe that Golden Age music is the quintessence of tango. My DJing is influenced by emotions - sometimes more melancholic and romantic, sometimes optimistic, sometimes passionate. I always try to play upbeat music though, with clear compas and not too dramatic singer (exception: Podesta :) ). I also like to play one alternative tanda towards the end of milonga. Throught the whole evening my main focus is to stay in touch with the dancefloor, feel the energy of it and adapt the music accordingly. The main challenge as a DJ for me is to help the dancers connect with the music and each other on the way to 'tango bliss' and create emotional moments not to be forgotten. "