About Us
Tango Exquisito is a partnership between Brenda Russell and Leonor Colbert. We focus on organizing events that foster growth and deep learning by carefully considering the instructors and staff, the content, the venues, and the size of our events. The experiences we create are intimate, enjoyable, and hold space for exquisite tango.
Our weekly classes introduce a new syllabus for tango with each series, allowing you to easily adapt to any teacher in workshops, expand your tango with each syllabus, and make room for newcomers to join the fun.
Brenda and Leonor offer hands-on small group sessions that teach the highest level movement technique and musicality while covering fundamentals from a wide variety of ideologies.
Our monthly classes for experienced dancers feature a topic each month that we can use to refine our technique, improve musicality, and add new perspective and variety to our dancing.
Brenda Russell
A native to Portland, OR Brenda comes from a family of social dancers and musicians. She started dancing Argentine tango in 2000 while dancing, training, and teaching at the Viscount Studios and Ballroom. Brenda’s first Tango teacher was Florencia who often visited Portland from Argentina. Brenda travels the world teaching movement and partner dance. She is also a certified movement educator through multiple disciplines since 2011. Brenda is known as a technician, historian, and sometimes drill sergeant. She is most known as a dancer and teacher for her feel, and that of her students. Brenda promotes the philosophies of proprioceptive partnering, neutral frame, spinal alignment and pulse based dancing, helping her students experience an organic connection often found in native social dancers.
Leonor Colbert
Leonor has been dancing her whole life; she has over 30 years of experience in various dance forms including ballet and modern, and over 20 years of experience in improvisational partner dances. She now exclusively focuses on Argentine tango, and uses her wide breadth of dance and music experience to inform her tango. Leonor is also an experienced educator: in addition to graduate studies centered on learning theory and experience as a learning professional in the museum field, Leonor has taught social dance series and designed and executed dance summer camps for teens. As a dancer, Leonor is known for the “soft touch” of her connection, fluidity, and musicality. As an educator, Leonor promotes a playful atmosphere that fosters discovery and creativity.
