Our Instructors
Meet the professionals who will guide you on your tango journey
Mayra Nieto
A dancer from Manizales with extensive national and international experience, she is passionate about tango, with over 20 years of experience. She has participated in competitions, festivals, and events, where she has demonstrated her ability to connect with the audience, express emotions through movement, and her professionalism. She is eager to contribute her creativity and energy to new tango projects. She is a tango professional committed to teaching and promoting this cultural dance. She has had the opportunity to teach students of different levels, fostering both technique and a passion for the dance. Her goal is to create an inspiring and motivating environment that allows her students to develop their own style and confidence on the dance floor.
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Marisol Rivas
A passionate advocate of milonguero style dancing, Marisol has been immersed in the world of Tango since 2005, receiving her training in Buenos Aires. She has performed in numerous shows across Argentina and Colombia and was a finalist in the Tango World Championship in Buenos Aires. Now based in Bogotá, she teaches Tango with warmth and precision, while actively organizing milongas and cultural events in collaboration with renowned Argentine and local maestros. Her classes offer a deep dive into the essence of Tango—its technique, emotion, and community.
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Mauricio Alberto Galarzo Álvarez
A certified teacher and dancer from the Argentine Tango School, he has over 25 years of experience and is a national champion in ballroom and stage tango. He has participated in the World Tango Championship on several occasions, reaching the semifinals. International career.
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Carlos Ochoa
Carlos Ochoa, a tango, milonga, and waltz teacher and dancer from Bogotá with 16 years of experience, is a specialist in ballroom tango, two-time national professional ballroom tango champion, and third-place milonga world champion in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2023. Nationally recognized for his unmistakable traditional tango style—elegant, vibrant, joyful, creative, explosive, and expressive—that conveys a variety of emotions in both his dancing and his tango classes. These qualities make his tango teaching method invaluable for understanding tango not only through movement but also through feeling, enabling you to enjoy and understand the world of tango. Without a doubt, you will enjoy studying and learning from this great Colombian tango teacher and dancer.
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Julian Cataño
Julián is a Colombian dancer who, since the age of eight, has found in tango a passion and a heritage that runs through his veins. His childhood was shaped by a family legacy that, generation after generation, has devoted its life to dance. With more than 19 years of experience, he travels the world proudly bringing Colombian tango to festivals, theaters, and stages, where his dance becomes a cultural bridge that connects emotions, identities, and generations. His talent has also shone at home, being a nine-time champion in Colombia (2008–2022), fifth place at the Tango World Championship in Buenos Aires (2017), and champion in Quito, Ecuador (2016). Currently, he teaches tango in several Asian countries, adapting his method to multicultural contexts and promoting this dance as an artistic and cultural bridge.
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Natalia Castaño
Colombian dancer and instructor with 15 years of experience in dance, and National Tango de Pista Champion 2022. Throughout her career, she has participated in festivals, tours, and productions both nationally and internationally, developing solid stage and teaching experience. Specialized in tango, she has taught classes and workshops in various countries across Asia, Europe, and Latin America, sharing the cultural and human richness of this dance. Her pedagogical work focuses on social dance, where connection, listening, and communication between partners form the foundation of learning.
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Suly pachon
Dancer and Instructor with over a decade of experience in tango, participating in national and international festivals and competitions. She has represented Colombia in the World Tango Championship in Buenos Aires (2018, 2022, and 2024), achieving semifinalist status in 2022. Her career includes invitations as an instructor at the Cancun Tango Festival (Mexico), Costa Rica Tango Festival, and multiple editions of the Colombia Tango Festival. She has also performed in tours and shows in Chile, Ecuador, and Mexico, and has served as a judge at events like Expofest Latino in Cundinamarca. Recognized for her pedagogical and artistic work, she has promoted dance training processes and has become a leading figure in tango in Colombia, standing out for her innovative approach and representing the country on prestigious international stages.
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Jhonathan Pachon Giraldo
Tango Dancer and Instructor with over a decade of experience, participating in national and international festivals and competitions. He has represented Colombia in the World Tango Championship in Buenos Aires (2018, 2022, and 2024), achieving semifinalist status in 2022. His career includes invitations as an instructor at the Cancun Tango Festival (Mexico), Costa Rica Tango Festival, and multiple editions of the Colombia Tango Festival. He has also performed in tours and shows in Chile, Ecuador, and Mexico, and has served as a judge at events like Expofest Latino in Cundinamarca. Recognized for his pedagogical and artistic work, he has promoted dance training processes and has become a leading figure in tango in Colombia, standing out for his innovative approach and representing the country on prestigious international stages.
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David Ospina
David Ospina Londoño Instructor, dancer and choreographer in Tango 1st Place Tango Salon International Championship of Tango and Milonga City Cali 2010 1st Place in Stage Tango and 2nd Place in Tango Salon International Tango Festival 2010 City of Bogotá 1st Place Stage Tango TangoVia Manizales Fair 2011 1st Place Stage Tango 1st Place Stage Milonga 1st Place Tango Salon Proam Tango World Championships 2011 Medellín Finalist Tango Salon and Stage Tango Festival and World Tango Buenos Aires - Argentina 2011 1st Place Salon Tango and Stage Tango 2nd Place III International Tango Festival City Bogotá 2012 Tango Salon Finalist Festival and World Tango Championships Buenos Aires - Argentina 2012 1st Place Tango Salon VIII International Tango Championship City Cali 2013
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Nelson Nay Gallego Grajales
Nelson Nay Gallego is a dancer and dance theater therapist with over 30 years of experience, recognized for his work as a trainer of dancers and milongueros, as well as being one of the main promoters of tango in the city of Manizales and throughout Colombia. His talent has earned him numerous achievements, including multiple championships in national festivals, the title of champion at the Valparaíso Festival in Chile in 2018 in both Tango Salon and Stage Tango categories, and seventh place at the Tango World Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the Tango Salon category, establishing him as a prominent representative of tango on the international stage.
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Douglass Stevens Risso
Tango dancer with 16 years of experience *Ballroom Tango Champion at Tangovia Manizales 2015 *Jury, Manizales is Tango 2016 *5th Place, Ballroom Tango, World Tango Championship, Buenos Aires, Argentina 2016 *5th Place, Waltz, Metropolitan City Dance Championship, Buenos Aires, Argentina 2018 *Ballroom Tango Champion, City of Ibagué 2018 **Runner-up in Milonga and 3rd Place in Tango, Medellín, Colombia 2018 *Judges and Official DJ of Tangovia, Manizales Dance Championship, Colombia 2019 *4th Place, Waltz, 5th Place, Milongueros of the World, and 6th Place, Milonga, Metropolitan Championship, Buenos Aires, Argentina. *Organizer of La Milonga Del Ensueño for 15 years in Bogotá *He has been studying in Buenos Aires for 10 years, one month a year. *National Champion of Salon Tango, 2020, Manizales, Colombia. *Milonga Runner-up, TangoVia Manizales, 2023 • Milonga de Pista Champion, 2025, Tango Via Manizales, Runner-up, Salon Tango
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Mauricio Valencia
Tango dancer since 1991, with over 20 years dedicated to teaching tango. ✓ Member of the group La Peña del Tango – Manizales 1998-2006 ✓ National Tango Champion 2007 ✓ Member of the Tango Vivo Salsa Viva Company 2008-2011 and 2012-2013 ✓ DJ at La Matraca Cultural Center in Cali – Colombia 2011-2016 ✓ Pedagogy of Art with an emphasis on Dance 2016 ✓ Tango Musicalization Seminar certified by the Argentine Institute of Tango 2020 ✓ Musicality Course for Tango Dancers in Orchestral Styles by musician and dancer Marcelo Pérez from Córdoba, Argentina 2020 ✓ Musicality Course for Tango Dancers in Waltz and Milonga by musician and dancer Marcelo Pérez from Córdoba, Argentina 2021 ✓ 14th place in the World Milongueros Championship, Buenos Aires 2022. *Organizer: La Milonga de Mauricio in Cali. *Dance partner: Paola Ortega.
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Mayi Yulie Yepes Arboleda
Mayi Yepes began her dance training at the age of 8, developing into an authentic, entrepreneurial, sensual, and elegant dancer. She was World Vice-Champion in the Milongueros del Mundo category in 2023 at the Metropolitan Tango Festival held annually in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a World Tango Championship semifinalist. In 2025, she became a two-time champion in the Tango de Pista and Milonga de Pista categories at the Medellín International Tango Festival. She has also been a three-time consecutive National Champion at the Manizales Tango Vía Fair, winning the Tango, Milonga, and Vals de Pista categories. She currently organizes and directs the MYC Tango Festival, and is the creator and organizer of Buena Junta, La Inefable, and Milonga en lo de Sandiego. Her classes focus on developing body awareness while providing the technical tools each student needs to understand the character of every tango and connect deeply with both the music and their partner.
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Hernan Camilo Bernal Varela
Camilo Bernal Varela Tango Performer, Dancer, and Teacher I am a passionate tango performer and teacher with a solid track record since 2013, alongside my partner Mayi Yepes. We have traveled the world sharing our passion through classes and performances on various stages. Notable Achievements: - World Runner-Up at Milongueros del Mundo 2023, Buenos Aires. - Multiple-time Champion in Tango de Pista, Milonga de Pista, and Vals de Pista in national competitions and a standout in international competitions. My classes foster body awareness and provide technical tools so that students can connect deeply with the music and emotion of tango. Currently, I am the Organizer and Director of the MYC Tango Festival in Medellín, which celebrates tango culture, and the creator of prestigious milongas in Medellín such as Buena Junta, La Inefable Milonga, and Milonga en lo de Sandiego. Co-creator of the well-known dance shoe brand, Decoro Shoes.
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