Find your passion for dance in Tampere

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My name is Pamela Roldán and I'm from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I work as a fitness instructor and dance teacher in Tampere. I visited Finland for the first time in year 2011 following my heart: like many others, I felt in love with a finnish man. We met in Buenos Aires but he travelled back to Finland to finish his studies. So I came here as a tourist a couple of times and finally I decided to move to Tampere to stay with him.

During my first visit I was surprised when I discovered that many people loved Argentine Tango here. In my family Tango was already popular because my grandpa loved it, he started dancing when he was a teenager and he quitted when he got engaged with my grandma. But for me Tango was only that: my grandpa's hobbie. I had a little experience with Tango Dance when I was a child: in my father's dance studio there was this great teacher, Rubén, who danced Tango very well. I remember myself staring at him, but of course I was so small... and at that time everyone believed that Tango was for adults only. So that was it. But when I saw how passionate people was dancing Tango here in Tampere, more than twelve thousand km. away from Buenos Aires, I decided that I should give it a try. So I went back to the city where the Tango was born and started to learn more about it. And at the same time I started taking lessons of Finnish language, dreaming about coming back to the land of lakes...

Now, four years later, everything is coming together: I started the first Argentine Tango course in English, in Tampere. So in order to celebrate this moment I called my partner, Ahmet, he's a passionate Tango dancer from Turkey, to make a video dancing around the city of Tampere, to share a bit of our passion with the passers, trying to show some of the most iconic places of this beautiful city and a little bit of that freedom and spontaneity that people enjoy during the summer. So you can see people having picnics in every green spot the city has, and others just staring at the last sunny rays. At the same time when we filmed this video there was a big music festival, Block Fest, which added some difficulty to record in the streets, there was so many people crossing all the time in front of the camera! But the feeling at the city was warm and relaxed.

Many people dance Argentine Tango in Tampere, did I say that? Sorry, I still can't believe it! Really, but that's not the only dance style you can find in Tampere. Like all the big cities, this one also offers plenty options for all dance lovers. If what you like is Oriental Dances you will find many courses at Mihrimah School (www.mihrimah.fi). For Bollywood you should check Danny Bollywood´s school (www.dbdcdance.com). Tampere has its own Flamenco Association (www.tampereenflamencoyhdistys.fi), and its own Contact Improvisation Association (www.treki.fi). There is a large community here who loves Swing and Lindy Hop, for this you can check Swing Team (www.swingteam.fi), Rytmi Polku (www.rytmipolku.com) and Hop'N'Joy (www.hopnjoy.fi). For Brasilian Samba ask at Uniao da Roseira (www.roseira.net) but for Brasilian Forró ask to Felipe! (www.facebook.com/forroforlove). You can also find Hip Hop in Tampere at Hip Hop House (www.hiphophouse.fi) and Studio Move (www.studiomove.fi/yleista-tampere). Studio move offers also Ballet lessons as well as Kavanov (www.tanssitehdas.fi), and Pole Dance lessons as well as Pole Academy (www.poleacademy.fi). About African Dances you should deffinitely ask Menard! (www.chezangoma.net). If you are a Salsa lover you will find plenty options here like Makumba (www.makumba.fi), Salsa House (www.salsahouse.fi), Kotisalsa (www.kotisalsa.fi) and Vanha Havanna (www.vanhahavanna.fi). At those same places you can learn also other Latin American rhythms like Bachata, Merengue, Reggaeton, etc. But of course, sometimes there is not enough time to practice all, so you can get to dance all those rhythms at the same time in my Zumba class! Visit my webpage to know more about it www.padmedance.wix.com/padmedance. For Argentine Tango and Traditional Dances we are starting our new course and there is still some available places, so hurry up and check the info at www.folkloreabroad.blogspot.fi. For Tango lessons in Finnish visit Tampere Tango Association (www.tangoamoroso.fi). And finally, Tampere has also a large tradition of Ballroom or Dance Sport dancers, you can find lessons at Tanssis school (www.tanssis.fi) and Step Dance Club (www.step.fi), among others.

Now you have all the information to start your new hobbie and find your passion for dance. Enjoy the many possibilities Tampere offers every day! See you!

Remember also the World of Tango Festival in Tampere on September 18th-20th.

-Pamela Roldán

Tampere - All Bright! Magazine’s blog presents posts from people who feel love for Tampere and want other people to know what a fantastic place to live, work and study Tampere Region is.