Nomad Tango Honors Argentine Tango with Fifth Season and Venue Opening

Nomad Tango presents three nights of extraordinary tango in celebration of Argentine tango. The shows, in celebration of Nomad tango’s fifth season in Santa Barbara, will be performed on August 3, September 6, and September 7. 

Nomad Tango, a nonprofit designed to promote and organize Argentine tango in Santa Barbara, formed during the pandemic to support dancers, musicians, and teachers of Tango Argentino. The nonprofit organization’s mission is to promote tango as a cultural force and allow dancers the space to enjoy community and presence. Nomad Tango is the only organization regularly presenting live tango music in Southern California, and is a vital part of the Santa Barbara art community. Nomadic is the group’s nature as they travel from venue to venue to collaborate with different people and local businesses.

In addition to the season’s beginning, the organization celebrates its opening of its sister space, La Carbonera, a live music and dance venue in Buenos Aires. The opening deepens the artistic vision of the organization by expanding across generations and borders. “We’re creating an artistic bridge between north and south, what we’re calling an ‘art-road,’ to spark new creative collaborations and plant the seeds for tango’s future,” said Alejandra Folguera, cofounder of Nomad Tango.

Their 2025 season is focused around using tango music as a motor of social dance and using stage dance to show expression and reflection. “We are showcasing contemporary tango, from Buenos Aires to the U.S., from music halls to dance floors, redefining live music, bold dance, and storytelling on stage,” said Folguera. 

The season begins on Sunday, August 3, at SOhO Restaurant and Music Club with a night of live music and dancing with Winne Cheung, pianist and her U.S.-based tango sextet performing the work of Julián Peralta, an Argentine composer, called, “the next Piazzolla,” by BBC. 

Malena: Freedom Beyond The Limits, an original dance-theater piece, created for Nomad Tango, shows September 6 at the Lobero Theatre. The collaborative piece dives into the tension between social constraint and individual freedom through the tango embrace. A unique collaboration between two dance companies, Selah Dance Collective based in California and Fernanda Ghi Dance Company based in Boston, this special opportunity of collaboration between coasts is a moment of uplifting artists in a shared artistic vision.

Wrapping up the show series is Tango Festival Night, a festival-style dance party on September 7 at SOhO. The closing night showcases El Cachivache Quinteto, a beloved musical group and one of Argentina’s most popular tango bands, to bring the night live music. Tradition and modernity meet on the closing night of the nonprofit’s season. 

See event details and learn more about Nomad Tango at nomadtango.org/about-us.