Our story

Gloria Passarella was born and raised in Concordia (Entre Rios), Argentina. Both her parents danced Tango and as a child she was bought up listening to tango music in the family home. Though being exposed daily from a young age, Gloria admits her true appreciation of the dance happened as she entered adult life. It was in 1998 that Gloria met future husband, New Zealander Graham Whittington whilst attending a tango lesson in Buenos Aires, and yes, they had a strong connection!

Over the years Gloria and Graham have been very active teaching tango in New Zealand. Leaving New Zealand for BsAs in 2014 they took a year off to fully immerse themselves in tango and further develop their ‘teaching process’. They received regular guidance from the “teachers’ teachers” Natalia Games & Gabriel Angio. Other maestros to have a major influence in their tango journey are Geraldin Rojas & Ezequiel Paludi, Fatima Vitale, Ariadna Naveira & Fernando Sánchez, Gustavo Naveira & Giselle Anne, Mariano "Chicho" Frumboli & Juana Sepulveda, Mariano Galeano to name just a few.

Their philosophy is that whilst it’s important to pay homage to those who came before, they believe no particular style or group ‘owns’ Tango. They have actively looked at different methods and taken learnings and an appreciation from each. They are passionate about Tango music and explore the modern Tango bands along with studying the classics.

In a social dance they believe the joy can be found through connecting to another, adapting where need be, respecting different styles, and finding a middle ground on the dance floor to create a beautiful dance. Gloria and Graham encourage students to find and develop their own natural style through a good grounding of technique, awareness, and exposure to the greater world of Tango.