EASTHAMPTON, Mass. - An intimate connection forged through synchronized movement, it's how Laura Grandi defines the Tango.


What You Need To Know

  • Laura Grandi is tango dancing instructor from Argentina

  • Grandi teaches weekly classes both group and private at the First Churches of Northampton

  • She has taught tango around the world for years

  • Classes can be signed up for on her website 

A native of Argentina, Grandi has been practicing the art form of dance founded in her home country since she was a teenager. She said she loves the tango for many reasons, including the bond it creates from two people learning how to communicate as one through motion.

"Through that embrace, that he is offering me," Grandi said. "We can have more communication. It's like a dialogue without words, and for me that is one of the most amazing things that the tango has."

Easthampton native Sheri Hupfer has been a solo dancer her entire life and, up until recently, found making the transition to partner dancing challenging. She said tango is a difficult art form to master, but having a supportive community nearby has allowed her to commit to the learning process.​

"There's so much space for the beginning process of being able to confront my fears of doing something wrong or being humiliated for having a misstep," Hupfer said. "And having so much beautiful positive feedback and encouragement to keep coming back."

Grandi herself has also been teaching tango dancing around the world for years and recently began offering weekly lessons in Northampton this past fall. She said her love of educating people about tango comes from seeing the confidence it instills in her students as they grow through learning the form of movement.

"Not just physically but sometimes they change the way that they, I don't know how to say it in English, the way that they communicate with another person, the way that they are," Grandi said. "And for me that is amazing."