Argentine Tango Detroit Interview with Lori Burton-Kassin

According to Lori Burton-Kassin, the Owner and one of the Instructors for Argentine Tango Detroit, the studio is a warm, friendly, and enthusiastic community of dancers located in the historic district of Utica Michigan, in the Metro-Detroit area.

Dancer and proprietor Lori Burton-Kassin, opened Argentine Tango Detroit in 2001 and was named the No. 1 Dance Studio on Detroit’s 2014 A-List. She has been teaching dance locally for over 39 years. Celebrating 21 years of Argentine Tango instruction, Lori has been focusing on the Argentine Tango since 1993. Her enthusiasm for the dance helped to form a local community of Argentine tango dancers.

With the assistance of some of her students, who pitched in on building projects like installing the dance floor, Lori was eventually able to open a dance studio devoted to the Argentine Tango. Since then, the studio has flourished and maintains its focus on the Argentine Tango while also offering instruction and studio space for other types of dance. Other classes are available in Ballroom Tango, Salsa, West Coast Swing, Club Style Latin, Ballroom Latin.

Argentine Tango Detroit welcomes all dancers, from beginning to advanced. Group classes and milongas-practice parties, are offered each week so that you can enjoy learning to dance while socializing with new friends. Instruction is available in Private Lesson or Group Lessons. While single classes are available,  package deals offer great savings. Drop in anytime! No appointment is necessary for the Group Lessons or Milongas.

The Argentine Tango is arguably the most creative and romantic couples dance of all time. Since there are no set patterns for the dance, even beginning dancers can create their own interpretations of the dance, by combining simple movements in unique ways. (There is a ballroom version of the tango that does follow set patterns.) Tango music and dance evolved from the mixture of Spanish, Indigenous, and African cultures that converged in Buenos Aires in the late 19th century. It was originally a social dance of the lower classes, but it was later adopted all the social classes. The popularity of the dance spread worldwide, most notably before the great depression, with a renewed interest in the 40’s and 50’s (the ‘golden age’ of tango), and now once again in the last few decades. Currently there are communities of tango dancers in most major cities around the world. One of the greatest pleasures of learning the dance is visiting other dance communities.

In Lori’s opinion, Argentine Tango Detroit differs from other studios because they are highly specialized. Their instructors teach specific areas only such as Latin, Tango, Swing or Ballroom, while others in the same type of studios teach all of the styles. They have a very involved group of dancers that feel like family, and make Argentine Tango’s studio feel like their home.

Lori stated that she could say her proudest moment as a dance coach has been seeing her dancers take top student awards in dance competitions, because that has often happened, but to be honest, her proudest moments have been when she has actually had wonderful dances with her students that felt like they were professionals. Moments that felt like they were one with the music and made her feel like she was dancing on a cloud. When they can take her to that place of enjoyment dancing with them, she knows she has reached the ultimate goal, which is most difficult to obtain.

The biggest mistakes Lori sees dancers make are in posture, embrace and musicality. She believes the dancers need to focus on techniques rather than on steps. They should enjoy the sensations of discipline within the body rather than on the extremities.

The studio’s goals for this year are to bring more awareness to their community about the benefits of social dancing, create growth of the studio in students and instructors, and to add a young adult program.

Argentine Tango Detroit is Lori’s second studio. She was impelled to start these studios because she felt the need to bring her personal style, passion and drive to her students and to the coaching of other instructors. She wanted to share her 40 years of coaching with others in the manner she felt would be best for the public.

Lori Burton has over thirty-five years of teaching experience, and has been specializing in Argentine Tango for the last twenty years. She was a soloist with the Metropolitan Ballet Society and has earned numerous top teacher awards in competitive ballroom, Latin, and rhythm styles. She is also a former two-time state body building champion.  Lori’s tango dancing has been featured on ESPN and local television, including a tango exhibition on PBS. Lori and the Argentine Tango Detroit studio have appeared in various other news sources including the Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Macomb Daily, and Crane’s Business News.  Lori has studied Argentine tango extensively in Argentina with many of the greatest Argentine masters. Among her teachers are Carlos Gavito, Mingo Pugliese, Osvaldo Zotto, Fabian Salas, Graciela Gonzalez, Gustavo Naveira, Miguel Zotto, Juan Carlos Copes, Aurora & Jorge Firpo, Facundo & Kely Posadas, Pablo Veron, Sergio Cortazzo & Gachi Fernandez, the Dinzels, and others. Lori’s ties to the Argentine tango community have made it possible for her to host many guest visits from top instructors, right here at her Michigan studio.

Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Argentine Tango Detroit of Lori Burton-Kassin.

If you would like more information about Argentine Tango Detroit, visit their website at http://www.argentinetangodetroit.com, call them at 586-254-0560  or email them at lori@argentinetangodetroit.com. You can also like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter or watch them on YouTube or check them out on Pinterest.