I’m Stephen, a North Side Dublin native. I have spent the last 12+ years learning, performing and teaching Argentine tango all over the world.

Before discovering Tango, my time was spent playing hurling and doing physics research; but after witnessing a chance performance in my college dance society, I fell in love and the passion to explore the universe of Tango began.

Within 6 months I was off for my first trip to Buenos Aires for as many Tango Classes as I could find. Along the journey, I have taught in Tango schools in Dublin (chairing the Dublin Tango Society), Boston, Sydney and Singapore, and performed with the Tango Puro Tango Ensemble in Australia. I regularly performed around the country, most notably in the Sydney Opera House.

Tango has been wonderful for me in terms of travel and creating lasting friendships with people all over the world,  having danced in over 50+ countries at various festivals and events.

My goal is to share my passion and knowledge of the dance, its history and music with you and grow the community on the North Side of Dublin. Tango is great! 🙂

Why “Dublin Porteños”

Dublin is a port city with a rich history. We have many parallels with Buenos Aires when Tango was first blossoming in the 1920s. The “Monto” area of the city near the Port was the biggest red light district in Europe and was  regarded as the inverse of its surroundings; coming to life when Dublin slept and being run by women rather than men (as in Tango at the time).

There is proof of Tango being alive there also, the song “the Irish Tango” by Henry Burr proposes in 1920 “all the Irish do the Tango now, you must tango to avoid a row, it landed first to Paris then it drifted to New York, then back across the water now they;re doing it in Cork…”

There are also stories that the first bandoneon player ever mentioned in Buenos Aires was Tomas Moore, “el inglés” (the English man), although some said he was Irish, who brought this instrument to Argentina in 1870.

With all that being said, Dublin with it’s energy and creativity all of it’s own, is the perfect place to learn and experience Argentine Tango. We are Dublin Porteños!