About Us

David & Denise - Dance Qualifications and Experience

1. Masters para Maestros de Tango from the Escuela Argentina de Tango, Buenos Aires, Argentina 2010
2. Certificate - teachers seminar Sacadas and Boleos *
3. Certificate - teachers seminar Deep Basics *
4. Certificate - teachers semina Musicality, Rhythm and Phrasing *
5. World Tropicana Rueda Champion 2002, and runners up in 2003 and 2004.
6. Scottish Rueda Champions 2002, 2004
7. Longest running Salsa and Tango schools in the Stirling area. Teaching salsa since 1999, and tango since 2009
8. Taught workshops and classes across the U.K. and abroad in both Salsa and Argentine Tango and also worked with major arts organisations, such as Celtic Connections and the Tollbooth in Stirling, to bring leading international salsa and tango bands to Scotland
9. Organised the first Scottish International Tango Festival in 2011.

*Certificates awarded by Gustavo Naviera and Giselle Ann after each intensive 20 hour seminar - all held at Papelera in San Telmo, Buenos Aires in 2009 and 2010

About the Teachers - Tango

Denise has lived in, worked and travelled extensively throughout Latin America, and has been passionate about Tango since her first visit to Buenos Aires in 1995. She went to her first Tango lessons later that year and (apart from a short break when she was living in Peru) has danced tango regularlyfor over 20 years..

Both Denise and David are well established and highly respected dance teachers and have been teaching dance in Scotland and further afield (UK and abroad) for over 16 years.

Over the last 10 years they have immersed themselves in Argentine Tango and have trained under world renowned tango masters such as Gustavo Naveira and Giselle Anne, (their main teachers) Fabian Salas, Esteban Moreno and Claudia Codega ...... spending several months in Buenos Aires in 2009 and again in 2010.

They had been asked on many occasions to start a local tango class which they did after returning from their second visit within a year to Buenos Aires in 2009. The original classes in Stirling were a huge success, so much so that they were soon asked to run classes in Glasgow too. They also run regular social events and workshops for all levels.

David and Denise have continued with their Tango and Teaching development with regular visits to Buenos Aires,.

In Buenos Aires in 2010 they each gained the certificate “Masters para Maestros de Tango” at the ‘Escuela Argentina de Tango’ after successfully completing an intensive teaching course taught by the world’s best Tango teachers and practitioners. Denise and David are the only Tango Teachers in Scotland to hold this prestigious Teaching Certificate.

Their main influence and teachers are Gustavo Naveira and Giselle Anne . In 2009 they attended two intensive week–long courses with Gustavo and Giselle. The theme of the first was on Deep Basics, a specially ordered programme created to deeply study the most important tango ideas, the second seminar was 20 hour course on Boleos and Sacadas.

During their visit in 2010 they attended their third Tango seminar with Gustavo and Giselle on Musicality, Phrasing and Rythmn.

In addition to attending these courses, David and Denise spend the rest of their time in Buenos Aires attending regular classes and workshops with Tango teachers such as Oscar Casas, Raul Masciocchi, Sebastian Achaval y Roxanna Suarez, Jorge Firpo, Olga Besio, Gustavo Rosas y Gisela Natoli. They have many close tango friends in Buenos Aires and regularly frequent the many Milongas and Practicas there.

Keen to develop the tango scene in Scotland, they are responsible for bringing world-renowned Electro-Tango band Otros Aires to Glasgow in 2011 in association with Celtic Connections, and are also organisers of the Scotland International Tango Festival .

About the Teachers - Salsa

Denise has a passion for dance, Latin America, Spain and the Spanish language. She has lived, worked and taught Salsa in Peru, and has travelled extensively on many occasions throughout Latin America, from Cuba right down to Argentina. A key player in the birth of the salsa scene in Scotland, she has been dancing Salsa for over 20 years and was one of Edinburgh’s legendary "Salsa Angels" who taught salsa in the capital in the late 1990s. She is responsible for bringing Salsa to Stirling, with dance classes, regular club nights, workshops from world-renowned instructors, and live bands.

David has been dancing Cuban Salsa for over 18 years, and can be considered to be one of the best Cuban Dancers in Scotland. He has a passion for dance and movement. If you ask any of our students what David brings to a Salsa Lesson, it would be probably a fun and an enthusiastic approach to delivering the highest quality of dance instruction in Scotland.

David was a member of the world championship winning Tumbao Rueda de Casino salsa team based in Glasgow. Tumbao won the Tropicana World Championship in 2002, and were runners up in 2003 and 2004. David was a member of the team when they won the Scottish Championship in 2002, and both David and Denise were in the Scottish championship winning team in 2004.

Both gave up competing to devote their time to developing their dance classes. They are both firm believers in developing the basics both for the leader and the follower. Dancing should be fluid and this is achieved through good leading and following. A leader needs to know the mechanics of leading, and the follower needs to read these. Mastering these basics makes dancing much more relaxed and infinitely more enjoyable for both parties. They have given workshops through out the country, were the creators of the Snow and Salsa adventure Weekend in Scotland, which has been extremely popular over a number of the years - it mixed dance workshops and ski-ing activities.