Sakura Tango Festival 2025

Lucila Cionci and Rodrigo "Joe" Corbata have a comprehensive background in tango dance, with over 25 years of experience as teachers and choreographers.

In 2007, they founded "Fórmula Tango," a joint project that combines their individual years of experience in shows and festivals.

They are internationally recognized thanks to their participation in major tango shows and numerous important tango festivals around the world, including in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Ukraine, Cyprus, Turkey, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Korea, South Africa, Canada, the United States, and Argentina.

In these places, "Joe" and Lucila have presented an original teaching philosophy, receiving excellent feedback from audiences and students of all levels.

They have performed in the most important dinner shows in Buenos Aires, such as: "Piazzolla Tango," "El Viejo Almacén," "Madero Tango," "La Ventana," "Señor Tango," and "Taconeando." They have also appeared in internationally renowned shows like "Tango Vivo" and "Nuit Blanche" with Unión Tanguera Company, "Corazón a Corazón" with Zaraza Tango Company, and "Otango" with the Otango Ultimate Show. Lucila & "Joe" also directed the show "Glosario Tanguero" at one of the most important tango festivals in Tarbes, France.

Among their individual achievements, Lucila performed in the 2008 Opera "Carmen" at the National Opera of London's Covent Garden Coliseum, directed by Oscar-winner Sally Potter.

Joe has been the director, choreographer, and performer for many years with his own company, "Tango Bizzarro," producing numerous tours and performances across Asia, South America, and South Africa with a large group of artists.

For years, they have served as judges at the World Tango Championship, organized by the Buenos Aires city government.

In their teaching, they focus on connection, musicality, and the organic movement of the body, ensuring comfort within the couple and helping dancers discover their personal style.

Their classes are designed for immediate application on the dance floor. Their love for tango, experience, and constant search for evolution in dance are the essence of their philosophy. Their dance style surprises with its great plasticity and expressiveness, showcasing innovative choreographic elements and a unique and personal approach to improvisation.

In their dancing, they blend organic movement, harmony, musical expression through the body, and connection to create a unique and personal dance while always respecting the essence of tango.

Rodrigo Palacios is an Argentinian Tango teacher and dancer, Kundalini Yoga practitioner and a curious seeker for cultural diversity.
He grew up in Buenos Aires surrounded by an incredible tango family, where tango was breathed through dance, music and singing. When he was 14 years old he started to frequent the legendary Salón Canning, where he saw the authentic dancing of the most renowned milongueros, and also of those who, at that time where leading the new wave of a broader tango.
He began a career exhibiting in the most outstanding Milongas in the city of Buenos Aires. In 2007 he was part of Forever Tango´s cast in the filming of the documentary of the successful company that took place at the Teatro Coliseo Podestá in La Plata.
At the same time, he began teaching classes for an extended period at the Salón Canning, place that hosted a stunning work by the photographer Guillermo Monteleone where Agustina Berenstein and Rodrigo Palacios are the muses. This work of art is an extract from one of the most innovative tango videos of recent times, called "T".
His first job abroad was in Tiempo Iberoamericanos as a teacher dancer and choreographer in the city of Fukuoka, Japan, and since then he has not stopped touring, participating in Tango festivals, special workshops and classes in schools in Europe, Australia and Asia.
Rodrigo has been dancing and spreading the Tango during the last 25 years.

Indira Hiayes : Born and raised in Argentina, Indira started dancing at the age of 4 and over the years she has adapted knowledge of different dances and styles that reinforced her artistry. She currently live in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, participating in important international shows. Her professional Tango career began at the age of 18, dancing in the most prestigious dinner show in Buenos Aires: Señor Tango. A few months later she started traveling to teach in schools around the world and participating in most recognized international tango festivals.
She studied ballet, contemporary, argentinian tango, folklore argentino, hip hop, jazz, lyrical and hills.
As a Dancer Indira has the capacity to catch different styles of dance and choreography, capacity that made her succeed dancing in musicals, night clubs, theater.
Her Tango involve all this dances experiences making her body movement magic and ful of sharm for the eyes of the audience.

Daniel and Cristina have been dancing together as dance partners since 2007.
They bring different experiences and knowledge that enrich and strengthen the couple, their personality to dance and their teaching method.

Cristina Sosa started her career as ballet dancer, she was 9 years old, and make that for 8 years. During that time she had an intensive training with important ballet teachers. And she complemented with dance jazz.
In 2001 Cristina started to dance Stage Tango.
Since then she performanced in events, and in many tango shows in Buenos Aires.

Daniel Nacucchio started his career as pianist, he was 6 years old.
With very hard work he graduated at 16 years old and become in professional in this discipline, teaching and making concert in all Argentina. He played in the theater Colon.
In 1995 he started to dance tango, he was formed with renowned master on Tango Salon.
In 2000 he moved to Japan to teach an dance Argentine Tango.

Cristina y Daniel met and started to dance together in a dinner show.
Subsequently, in 2008, they went on to participate in the “Metropolitan Tango and Milonga Championship” and also in the “World Tango Championship”.
Their hard work paid off, they were crowned champions in all the categories…
They also competed and won “The International Japan Open”, making them the first tango couple to have won four most prestigious tango competitions within a single year.
Now they work all around the world dancing, teaching and judging.
They become in a famous tango couple, for their virtuosity, for the combination of the traditional tango salon and the energy of the stage and for their outstanding pedagogy.

A world-renowned professional Argentine tango couple. Tsutsuzaki is Japanese, and Lopez is Argentine, and they began their tango dancing career together in 2008. They have traveled around the world, teaching and performing at numerous world-class events, tango festivals, and tango presentations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Argentina. They have also served as judges for tango championships held in Tokyo, South Korea, Venezuela, and the United States. This year, they won the Milongueros del Mundo category at the 2024 Metropolitan Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and placed 5th in the Tango de Pista category. For ten years, they have operated a tango academy in Tokyo, continuing their work to the present day.

Paula Tejeda (29) and Lucas Carrizo (33) hail from Catamarca in Argentina, and have been dancing since their teens. As a young couple in love they decided to leave their home to pursue their tango career in Buenos Aires. This was a decision which would change their lives forever.

Paula and Lucas have reached the highest levels of achievement in tango. They were crowned as the 2010 Metropolitan Tango Championship Champions in Tango category and placed as runners up in the Vals category.They were also part of the brilliant Miguel Angel Zotto tango production -- TangoX2, traveling around Italy (Milano, Roma, Napoli, Firenze, Parma, Bari, Padova, Cremona and Brescia) and Grecce (Athens).

They have performed and conducted seminars in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Chengdu), Hong Kong, Korea (Seoul, Busan and Ulsan), Japan (Tokyo), USA (Denver, Portland, San Francisco, Albuquerque, Tucson, Ashland, Durango, Colorado Springs and Vail), Canada (Toronto and Montreal) and Europe: Denmark, Portugal and Netherlands.

Nayhara Zeugtrager and Raphael Giry are experienced Argentine Tango dancers and teachers with over 20 years in the field. Currently based in Milan, Italy, they work with Miguel Angel Zotto at Tango X 2 and perform in “El Porteño Prohibido.” They spent over eight years in Buenos Aires, dancing in prestigious dinner shows and major theaters, including the Astral and Lola Membrives. Their international experience includes performances across Argentina, the USA, and Europe, representing Argentine tango in numerous milongas. They have also collaborated with renowned tango companies and owned “La Galería del Tango” in Athens for seven years, actively contributing to the Greek tango community.

A couple united by their love for tango in 2018.
Based in CALI COLOMBIA. They came together to build a committed work team, which offers quality on stage as performers, instructors and choreographers, achieving recognition in the different stages of Colombia, Argentina, Greece, England and Scotland.
They were champions of Salon Tango in Colombia in 2022 and are currently invited to the Ithaca Tango Festival in New York, Boston Tango Festival and Philippines Tango Festival. These are some of their achievements since they became a couple.

Julián : Dancer, teacher and choreographer with more than 19 years of experience. He has participated in important international competitions such as the World Tango Championship in BA, obtaining fifth place in the Stage Tango category in 2017 and champion of Stage Tango in Quito, Ecuador 2016. Julián has been champion 15 consecutive times in Stage Tango, Tango de Pista and Milonga in Colombia from 2008 to 2022.

Natalia : Dancer, teacher and choreographer with more than 8 years of experience. She has worked hand in hand with important tango companies in Colombia.
She has participated in important competitions such as the World Tango Championship in BA and has been champion on several occasions in the ballroom tango category in Colombia.

Ezequiel Hudyma: He perfomed in Forever Tango as main character between 2009 and 2011.
He toured all over the world performing a musical “Tanguera” from 2003.
He perfomed in many dinner shows such as Piazzolla Tango, Ventana, El Viejo Almacén and Madero Tango. He is invited by Efecto Tango since 2012.

Chizuko Kuwamoto: Champion of the Stage Tango category of the 2010 World Championship.
She has appeared on television shows as "Tetsuko's Room", "Tatsuya Ishii's Show Time" and NHK BS's "Passion for Tango".
She participated in musicals like "Ballad to Loco" and "Elizabeth".
In 2009, she founded the Argentine tango academy "Efecto Tango Takadanobaba".
When she was 3 years old, she began folk dance and ballet, and she ended up focusing her career on tango. After acting as a professional ballet dancer at the Teatro Colón, she participated as a tango dancer in "Tango Passion", "Tango Seduccion", etc.
She was one of the original casts in "Forever Tango" performed on Broadway since 1995.
She was nominated for "Tony Award", "Outer Critics Circle" and "Drama Desk" for best choreographer.
She has also participated as a judge in several championships in Argentina, the United States and Asia.
She has served several times as chairman of the judging committee at the Asian tango world championships that were held in Japan.
In Japan, she appeared on the television show "Shabekuri TV." with the actress Tae Kimura.

Daniel Liu : Artistic director of Tanguísimo Tango Space in Taiwan. With background in folk dances since 1989, starts dancing tango in 1997, becoming the pioneer of Argentine tango in Taiwan. In 2003 co-founds the Taipei Tango Festival, and in 2008 Tanguísimo Tango Space in Taipei, the first tango studio in Taiwan. As dancer has performed with renowned musicians like Ryota Komatsu, Aida Momoko, Roberto Zayas, Mark Wu, Chen-Chung Lee, Rui-Ran Wu, and Alvin Cheng among others, and with organizations like the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, the Taipei Civic Symphonic Band, the Ars Nova Chamber & Sinfonietta Orchestra, etc. As choreographer has worked with artists like A-Mei, Jody Chiang, Chi-ling Lin, Tanya Chua, Sandrine Pinna, and Jian-wei Huang among others. Having lived in Latin America as a child, speaks Spanish like a native speaker, which allows him to dive deep into the wonderful culture of tango history and lyrics, and become an amateur tango singer. His latest passion is the bandoneon!

Samantha Kuo : Began to dance Argentine tango in 2013. Currently, she is an instructor at Tanguísimo Tango Space in Taipei. Her performance experiences include concerts with Ryota Komatsu in Taipei and Taichung, 2016 Fukuoka Sakura Tango Festival in Japan, Taipei Tango Festival, Taipei International Book Exhibition, and the opening events of the Universiade in Taipei Flower Expo Park. In the recent two years, Samantha has partnered with Daniel Liu to collaborate with excellent musicians and orchestras such as Yung-lung Wu, ARS NOVA CSO and Chen-Chung Lee and Liberal Arts Ensemble etc., performing in "Enchanted. Eternal Tango", "Milonga Immersion", "The Sorrow Forgotten by Angels”, and other shows.

Shinji lived in Argentina, the home of tango, for more than five years to learn from various Maestros. Also, Natsune started learning Argentinian Tango in her teens. They started working together in 2014. They are both musicians as well as dancers. Shinji is a Tango guitarist and Natsune is a Jazz singer. Their CDs are on sale, and their particular style of music has earned a good reputation. They have performed and run workshops inside and outside Japan. They are getting noticed and have recently been awarded prizes in the competitions listed below.

In 2015, they were runners up in the “Salon Championship of Tango Marathon” in Tokyo.
In 2016, they came 4th in the Stage section of the “Tango World Championship” in Korea.
In 2016, they came 3rd in the Milonga section, and 4th in the Vals section of the “Metropolitan Championship” in Korea.

They are founders and current directors of the "El Abrazo de Tango" studio in Hiroshima.
Directors of RN Production Video.
Winners of Tango Dance World Championship in Asia in 2015.
They performed as special guests at the "Gran Rex" theater in Paris.
They performed for a short time at Café Tortoni, a long-established tangueria in Buenos Aires.
In addition to working on shows and many events in Japan, they have performed in numerous shows in foreign countries, such as milongas and theaters in Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Spain, Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei, Busan, Jakarta and Bali, etc.

[ Championship Judge History ]
■ 2019: World Tango Asia Championships, West Japan Tournament
■ 2018: Pelando variation in shanghai
■ 2023: K-Tango Championship in Korea
■ 2023: Darienzo Cup in Tokyo

They started tango in 2005 and established "Cafe de Tango", the oldest tango studio in Busan.
Currently, they are performing and giving lessons in Busan. And they also organize the Busan Tango Festival (BTF) every year.
They established Busan's first tango dance company "juntos". They are working to spread the beauty of tango to as many people as possible by teaching choreography and giving lessons.

[ Awards and major careers ]
■ 2012 World Tango Championship Salon 2nd place
■ 2013 Asian Tango Championship 10th place in Salon
■ 2014 Seoul Metropolitan Tango Championship Formation Ranked 3rd place
■ 2023 "El cxuce Korea" performance

Ernesto Borgonovo: Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he began to dance tango in 1997. Among his most important teachers are Gabriel Angio and Natalia Games, Mingo and Esther Pugliese, Raúl Bravo, Néstor Ray, José Vázquez Lampazo, El Gallego Manolo, Vanina Bilous, Fernando Galera , Vilma Vega, Natalia Hills, Gabriel Misse, Petaca, Jorge Dispari and María del Carmen, Damian Esell and Nancy Louzan among others. Since 1999 he has been dedicated to the teaching of tango. In 2001 he settled in Japan where he has his own academy "El Porteño", and he is the organizer of one of the oldest milongas of that country (La Típica de Kitano) where he is also a DJ. In 2002 he starred in the tango documentary "Nosotros" along with other great dancers like Petaca and Hernán Álvarez Prieto. Since the fundation of the Tango Ensemble Coqueta has been performing as a principal dancer for 10 years, in his numerous concerts and shows.. He is also invited to teach in China and other Asian countries for 15 years. Lately he is tempted to teach and give demonstrations in various cities of Europe. He is also the organizer of major tango events and festivals in Japan.

Hanami Borgonovo: Manager of the Argentine tango school "El Porteño". After achieving numerous accomplishments as a professional belly dancer for more than 10 years, she married Ernesto. And she decided to learn tango to express understanding to her husband, the tango dancer. During her stay in Argentina, she took tango courses and danced in milongas.
Since 2020 she started her career as a tango dancer.
She graduated from the Spanish Language Department of the National Distance Education University (UNED) of Spain and the Kansai Gakuin University.

Daidai is the founder of ATer Tango studio, which is the first tango studio in China since 2007. After immersed in Chinese folk dance and Ballroom dance for about twenty years, Daidai has been hooked on Tango and then became a professional tango dancer. She has studied tango from many Maestros in Argentina. Besides teaching tango in many cities in China, she also has been invited to teach in other countries to promote tango. Daidai met Liyan in 2012 and then began their partnership. They organized many tango events in Beijing, including workshop of Argentina Maestros, regular classes, practicas and milongas, as well as some public welfare events, such as teaching the blind children to dance tango. They introduce thousands of people into the world of tango and help them to feel the magic of tango, and also bring people to attend many tango festivals abroad to promote the tango communications among various countries. They won the championship of category “Tango de pista libre” of China in 2017. They have been invited to Sakura Tango Festival for many times since 2015.

Florencia and Leonel are pioneers of the Seoul tango community, having started teaching there since 2005. They organized the annual Seoul Tango Festival for 11 years, which brought many maestros and foreign visitors to Korea. Florencia studied ballet in college. She was a professional performer in musicals for 8 years. In 2004, in the Mundial in Buenos Aires, she won second prize in the stage section. Leonel is originally from Hong Kong. He lived in the US and won first prize at the 2002 USA Tango Championship. Leonel & Florencia have been invited to teach and perform in many cities in Korea and abroad.

Takashi & Megumi: They began their career as a professional tango dancer in September 2006 after studieing with the teachers Taihei Kobayashi and Yuko Eguchi, two leading figures of Argentine tango in Japan.
In 2011, they were a finalist in the World Tango Championship, in the Salon Tango category.
In 2013, they started working as a freelancer.
In January 2018, they founded thier own studio "ElRecodo" in Ningyocho, Nihonbashi.
In 2019, they won the stage category of the 16th Asian Tango Championship.
Numerous performances in various stages and exhibitions.
They participated in the show "El Cxuce" in Argentina and performed demos in the traditional Milonga "Sin Rumbo y Gricel".
They´ve a good reputation for his fluid expression, dancing various types of tango.
In addition, they actively participates in stage performances as a member of the Sumidagawa Dancers.

Sumire & TAMAI: They are founders and directors of their own body dance studio “Studio RADA” in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.
In 2014, he started working as a tango dancer under the stage name Sumire & TAMAI.
Each has a career as a contemporary dance choreographer, director, and performer, and has a reputation as next-generation tango dancers who weave back and forth between modern and traditional with their expressive dancing.
They were invited to the tango festivals in Palermo, Italy and Julie Music Tango Marathon, one of the biggest events in Asia (2018), Ibiza Tango Love on the island of Ibiza, Spain (2019), Hanoi, Vietnam Tango marathon in February of this year.
In July, they will participate in the Moonlight Tango Festival in Brisbane, Australia, and in January 2024, in the Tango Adicto Marathon in the Philippines.
In addition, they perform as members of the group "Sumidagawa Dancers" at various concerts and shows.

Tzu-Han & Kyoko: Based in Tokyo while also giving workshops in other cities. As a dance style, adores the improvisational appeal of Tango. Performed at various events including Beijing Tango Festival 2019, Seoul Tango Festival 2019/2017/2016/2019, Winter Tango Napoli 2018, Seoul Tango Fiesta 2018, Sientome Tango Weekend 2018, Singapore International Tango Festival 2018/2017/2016, Taipei Tango Festival 2017/2011, Korea Romantic Tango Week 2017/2016, Saigon Tango Festival 2016, Shanghai Tango Marathon 2016, Mantova International Tango Festival 2014, White Tango Festival in Moscow 2013. Invited as visiting teachers to the Elba World Tango Festival 2017/2015 in Italy, and the Oriental Tango Festival 2017 in Japan. Also performs as part of the Sumidagawa Dancers in stage shows.