Santiago was born and raised in Argentina. He trained as an elite athlete at a young age but his wild spirit led him to pursue a life of adventure. He worked as search and rescue in the mountains of Aconcagua and rode his bicycle from Mendoza to Alaska. Santiago took his first tango classes near his house when he was young however it wasn’t until several years later when he was living far away from his country that he began to dance again with a passion and has not stopped. He travels every year to dance and study in Buenos Aires and studies Alexander Technique and Capoeira to complement his dancing. He began teaching tango in Vancouver alongside Nadia Tavakoli in 2005.

Deborah took her first tango classes in 1999 while living in Los Angeles. Within a few months she moved to Buenos Aires where she lived for the next 8 years. During this time she had the opportunity to train with many of tango’s most important maestros, Mingo and Ester Pugliese, Rodolfo Dinzel, Graciela Gonzalez, Gabriel Angio and Natalia Gomes, Damian Esell and Nancy Louzan, Gustavo Naveira, Chicho Frumboli among others. The city, the culture and the milongas were also important teachers. Deborah was fortunate to have spent many years in the milongas of Buenos Aires watching and dancing with the milongueros who grew up in tango’s golden age. She began assisting teachers at the CITA festival in 2005 and began teaching in Vancouver in 2008. Deborah remains committed to growing as a dancer and a teacher. Prior to dedicating herself to tango Deborah received a degree in Philosophy and Letters from Depaul University, she studied art and wrote poetry and ran a successful artist’s studio in Los Angeles. She is grateful for the body wisdom passed to her by her teachers of other disciplines, contemporary dancer Viviana Iasparra, Alexander Technique teacher Marta Hunter, tradition of Sivananda Yoga and the transformative experience of motherhood.