Our BLOG always has the most up-to-date information:
http://tangorevolution.blogspot.com/

Upcoming event:

TANGO HARMONY

A world-class Tango concert and dance celebration of Hiroshima Peace Day by International Tango harmonica/piano duo Joe Powers and Naoko Aoki.

Sponsored by Tango Revolution
Sunday, August 9
7pm – 12 midnight
$12/$10 (students/seniors)

Community Music Center- Concert Hall
544 Capp St. SF
415.647.6015 www.sfcmc.org

Event Schedule
7-8pm Introductory Tango dance lesson with Sonja Riket
8:15-8:45pm Tango Concert with Joe Powers and Naoko Aoki
9-10pm Tango dance party (Milonga) and CD signing
A portion of the proceeds will be dedicated to the CMC scholarship fund
10-10:45pm Live music set for Tango social dancing by Joe and Naoko.
10:45pm Milonga continues

The events of Aug 6-9, 1946 (nuclear bombing of Hiroshima/Nagasaki, Japan) may have left a bitter taste in the world’s collective mouth, but this year Japanese pianist Naoko Aoki and US harmonica phenomenon Joe Powers intend to bring us a different message. Their friendship and musical partnership are a great example of how the power of the arts can bridge differences between two very distinct cultures.
Joe Powers, the only Tango harmonica artist in the US,  is well known for his unique and soulful blend of jazz, tango and blues. When traveling to Buenos Aires, to record his first Tango CD, he met Japan’s top Tango pianist Naoko Aoki. Together, the international duo has exhilarated audiences from Argentina to USA and Japan with performances of this seductive dance music. This concert marks their first duo appearance in San Francisco!
Enjoy a selection of traditional Tangos, Waltzes and Milongas as well as Nuevo Tango and original compositions. The concert is preceded by an introductory dance lesson by award winning tango teacher Sonja Riket (no partner or dance experience necessary) and followed by a Live music Tango party.
Come listen, watch the social Tango dancers or join in the dance!

Watch  a video-clip from their February 2009 performance at the University of Oregon, in Eugene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qTuOpU1Doc

For more info contact Sonja Riket at 415.661.1852,
intimate_embrace_tango@earthlink.net, www.IntimateEmbraceTango.com


More info about the artists:
International harmonica sensation, Joe Powers is taking his instrument to new heights with his engaging and energetic performances that cover a full spectrum of musical genres from Jazz, Blues, and Pop-Rock, to Classical, New Age, Argentine Tango, traditional Japanese music, and other world traditions.  He was the recipient of the 2008 Belgian Crystal Harmonica Award in the Classical Division, was nominated for 2008 Best Male Artist, Portland Music Awards, and Won 4th place in Jazz at the 2005 World Harmonica Championships in Germany. Joe is considered one of the top Tango harmonica performers in the world. He has shared the stage with top Tango artists: NarcoTango, ColorTango, and "Gotan Project" singer, Veronika Silva, and performed with groups as diverse as Pink Martini, British Pop Icon Jamie Cullum, and Smooth Jazz Pioneer Tom Grant. His current CD, "Amor de Tango" was recorded in Buenos Aires in 2007 and features members of the famed Leopoldo Federico Tango Orchestra, including Latin Grammy Nominee, Nicolas Ledesma on Piano. His newest CD, "Melancolie" (Summer 2009) is a collaboration with Grammy Nominated, British Composer/Pianist, Michael Hoppé, featuring classically inspired, New-Age melodies. Michael Hoppe calls him “amazingly versatile and deeply musical”. For the latest information please visit www.joepowers.com.


Naoko Aoki, a most highly regarded Tango pianist, began her piano studies in Japan at the age of 4. After graduating from the prestigious Musashino Conservatory in Tokyo, she lived in Argentina and studied Tango with such Tango masters as Nicolas Ledesma and Emilio de la Pena. In addition she served as the principal pianist for over two years at the only Tango Orchestra School in the world, "La Orquesta Escuela", in Buenos Aires, under the direction of famed Tango maestro, Emilio Balcarce. Today she is considered by many to be the top Tango pianist living in Japan. She travels every year to Argentina for performances and recorded 2 CD’s in Buenos Aires: “Tierra Querida” and “Buenos Aires, Mi Refugio”.  This year, in addition to her west coast concerts she will travel to Buenos Aries to perform and record with her Tango Ensemble, "Orquesta Aurora", together with some of Japan's finest Tango musicians. Visit her web-page: http://celeste.coplan.jp/

Tango Revolution is a program of Intimate Embrace Tango under direction of Sonja Riket, which envisions Argentine Tango as a relational matrix of connection to ourselves, each other and the world.  Since 2005 this free weekly Tango music and dance event, held in an accessible café, encourages the spontaneous inclusion of music and dance in our everyday life as a communal experience.  7x7 Magazine “Best Tango Teacher” Award winner and movement therapist Sonja Riket teaches dance and movement classes and organizes cultural-, social and fundraising events around critical issues of our time. After a long professional modern dance career in Europe, USA, Mexico and Africa, performing with such luminaries as Jose Limon and Lar Lubovitch dance cies.in NYC, she moved to SF where Tango found her in 1998.  At a very early age her father, who was a music teacher in Belgium, instilled in her a deep love of music which always inspired her to dance. She is faculty member of the SF Community Music Center and a humble student of the bandoneon. This year a Tango Youth Project was initiated to offer youth from high schools, conservatories and universities the opportunity to learn about the music, dance and history of Argentine Tango and to perform as an ensemble under the guidance of expert coaches. Donations are welcomed towards a proposed study tour to  Buenos Aires, Argentina! For more information visit: www.IntimateEmbraceTango.com

SF Community Music Center is making music accessible since 1921. Its mission is to make high quality music instruction and performances available to people of all ages and backgrounds.   Last year 2,276 students ranged in age from four to people in their mid eighties and CMC hosted 262 no or low-cost concerts in their Capp Street Concert Hall and other locations around the  Bay. www.sfcmc.org