09/10/2026
This year’s CU Tango Music Workshop was the 5th year En-Chi and I, along with our ever-growing Champaign-Urbana tango music and dance community, welcomed new and veteran tango musicians for a weeklong experience of tango music immersion.
This was 2nd year that we did so under our own non-profit CU Tango Music, and also the 2nd year of our partnership with the City of Urbana, and the Urbana Arts and Culture Program, who sponsored Urbana Tango Week, our simultaneous week of almost entirely free events. New this year was the addition of tango dance workshops and dance performance in collaboration with Rod Relucio and Jenny Renee, bringing tango music and dance together once again.
As with any event of this size, there are countless people who have invested in this throughout the year to bring it to life, from our artist teachers to volunteers. We want to take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge as many of them as we can to honor the work and growth they have contributed to this project.
Julián, thank you for continuing to invest in this project and tango music education in North America. We are continually grateful for your insight, advice, and passion.
Rodrigo, thank you for your work providing great pedagogy and encouragement for our growing bandoneon players and for providing transcriptions to the workshop.
Ishtar, thank you for your thoughtful approach to string tango technique and curriculum, your creative and inspirational musical spirit, and enthusiasm.
Maxi, thank you for mentoring our guitarists, for writing guitar ensemble arrangements, and for your energy and guidance of our parrilla sessions.
Sumi, thank you for giving our pianists so much amazing help, for bringing contemporary music for our students to learn.
Max, thank you for all of your energy, support, and love you put into this project year-round. Your enthusiasm and being a sounding board is so wonderful.
Catherine, thank you for always being willing to lend one, two, or more hands to make sure things run smoothly.
Chase, thank you for keeping everyone playing their best with instrument repairs and for constantly running around taking care of tasks.
Christen, thank you for your work during the workshop and throughout the year with Bandoneon Massacre to help our tango music community grow and learn.
Jessie, thank you for all of your time and energy throughout the year and during the week to make this year’s workshop run smoothly. Everything ran much more smoothly and effectively because of your work and dedication.
Rob, thank you for always being willing to help, lend equipment, set things up, and take care of our relationship with our community partners and venues.
Craig, thank you for stepping up to make the tech side of our events run smoothly.
Jenny, thank you for taking care of so many odds and ends that came up before and during the week.
Lillian, Catherine, Julia, thank you for holding down our front of house and merch table and being so welcoming to our musicians, dancers, and the community as a whole.
Robin and Community Center for the Arts, thank you for investing in community music in Urbana and for helping make it possible for tango music to grow here. C4A’s mission and generosity allows us to have a space to immerse ourselves in music study during the workshop and throughout the year.
Kate and Urbana Dance Company, thank you for cultivating dance, music, and community in Urbana, and for supporting our public tango events. Our tango music and dance scene has blossomed in your beautiful and welcoming space.
Carrie, Charlie, and The Rose Bowl Tavern, thank you for creating a community space that invites us all to participate in art with all of our selves.
Jonah and Gallery Art Bar, thank you for continuing to support and promote art of all shapes and sizes. Valérie, thank you for giving a voice to women and LGBTQ people who are changing the face of tango.
The Urbana Free Library, thank you for being an incredible pillar of the Urbana community and for allowing us to reach out to audiences young and old.
Jeff, Frank, Karen, James, and Jeremy, thank you for working behind the scenes to make us sound and look our best, letting us focus on the bigger picture.
Rod and Jenny, thank you for stepping into our community again, bringing a wonderful sense of understanding, perspective, and support of our project, challenging our dancers with incredibly well-taught classes, and performing with our musicians in a warm and sensitive way.
Edmond, thank you for taking such care in your DJing to support our musicians in celebration of their achievements.
Heyni, thank you for always believing in this project and pushing us to be more creative, more bold, more practical, more organized, and more caring.
And to our 2026 workshop participants, thank you for making music and creating community with all of you. The workshop is growing and thriving because of all of the hard work and care you all put into learning, supporting each other, and bringing your best to everything you did throughout the week.
We are so proud of our growing community - come join us July 18-24, 2026 for the 2027 CU Tango Music Workshop!
