My Personal Experience “This is going to be a challenge for you, Tamara”, I said to myself when the Director of the Parkinson Program at the largest public hospital of Buenos Aires in Argentina
It Takes Two To… It takes two to Tangolates but, mind you, Tangolates partners do not necessarily touch...
Now, people ask me… How and why did it occur to me?. “ Well, I really felt I could contribute to take this wonderful technique one step beyond into a more versatile and dynamic workout”.
The Origins of Tangolates: My Personal Experience
“This is going to be a challenge for you, Tamara”, I said to myself when the Director of the Parkinson Program at the largest public hospital of Buenos Aires in Argentina came to see me. “Parkinson patients alternate between involuntary movement (tremors) and not being able to move at all”, he said, and went on: “They freeze on you and this may last quite some time”. As he left the classroom where my instructors and I had gone to receive the last instructions.
One thing he said had struck me as absolutely compelling: “Parkinson patients do not necessarily lose their capacity to move, but rather the capacity to imagine movement”. Yes, indeed, the absence of dopamine works in strange ways, one of them being that the patient knows he has to go from here to there, only that he has forgotten how to do it. Actually, it is more complicated than that, but this is, in a nutshell, what I learnt as soon as I started to work with Parkinson patients.
“O.K.”, I said to my instructors, “patients may not be able to start moving, but they probably can copysomebody else’s movement, so… all we have to do is to put ourselves right next to, or rather in front of the patients, on the other side of the reformer, so that the patient can copy the movements of the instructors”.
I gave the following instructions to my instructors: “each of you will choose a patient to perform the exercises with, and pretend you are his mirror. It worked. It really worked.
Next, we tried with light, in the hope that it would also help the patients initiate movement. But light did not work. Finally, I decided to try with music. Not any music, mind you, but a strong, and highly concentrated beat: Tango. Music really worked!
Yes, music turned out to make a significant contribution. When I saw the patients perform partner exercises to the tune of Tango music, I remembered the saying: “it takes two to Tango”. I knew I had something going.
And that’s how my Tamara Di Tella Tangolates™ started.
In sum: my program is based on the theory that partner work enables Parkinson patients to imitate the instructor’s moves and therefore initiate movement. And this applies not only to Parkinson patients but to everybody that suffers from some kind of motor dysfunctions.
Tangolates Evolved
Time went by and those first routines evolved into new workouts for healthy people. Today, Tangolates has its own apparatus and its own set of routines and method that young, fit and healthy clients of all ages love.
More than that, today Tangolates has become a fashionable method for clients. International celebrities also enjoy performing the Tamara Di Tella method to the tune of Tango. Sting, Bryan Adams and Julio Bocca are some if Tangolates devotees. According to Sting, for example, Tangolates is: “irresistibly attractive!”
I am frequently asked two questions: How did it occur to you? And who is it good for? O.K., here it goes: I started developing may Tangolates (Tango for Pilates) method in the year 2004, when I donated a rehab room to a national hospital.
There, with the help of volunteer patients, I designed pilates based exercises designed for two, that is, partner pilates. Gradually, it evolved into what today is called Tamara Di Tella Tangolates (or Tango Pilates).
As for the second question, who is it good for?, here's the list: My Tangolates apparatus and method is good for all those who are appearance Conscious, and who seek Self-Improving; also for those who are music loving, (especially Tango lovers); and who honestly share the theory that music is a great motivator for the movement of the human body; it is good for those who were always, and still are hard working, results-oriented, socially active people.
I say The Tamara Di Tella pilates and Tango pilates (Tangolates) method is excellent for all who are on it!
what do you get when you combine pilates with Hollywood’s Tango? A great core control and cardio cross-training workout, full of music and magic!
Have you seen Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez in the movie, “Shall We Dance?”. And Antonio Banderas in “Take the Lead”? Have you?. Well then, you know what it’s all about!
“Tangolates is a fusion of pilates and Tango inspired choreographed movement sequences”.
WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO VISIT US AT YOUR OWN CONVENIENCE SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE A FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE ON THIS WONDERFUL NEW METHOD.
OUR STUDIO IS LOCATED AT 4001 SOUTH SHARY ROAD, SUITE 425, MISSION, TEXAS.
Or you can make an appointment by mail: mcallen@tamaraditella.com
You know…pilates and Tango have a lot in common but they are not the same thing at all. Tango is about a hundred years older than pilates. Yet, it shares with it some basic principles, like core control, concentration, coordination, balance, posture, breathing, and fluid movement. Like pilates, Tangolates can also be performed either on a mat or on a machine. (the Tangolates’ apparatus is called T-DITELLA™)
Both pilates and Tangolates require a high level of concentration and core control; both emphasize coordination, balance and posture. In both, the energy flows from the lower abdominals, both require proper breathing and fluid movement. And, yes, both result in long, strong muscles and an elegant posture.
So far, I told you about the similarities. What are the differences? Well, for one, Tangolates, calls for coordinated partner work; while pilates was designed for one person. In the second place, Tangolates uses also the energy of music, while pilates is basically a silent workout. In the third place, the apparatus on which Tangolates movements are performed is completely different. For these three reasons I always say that “Tangolates a unique, distinctive and different method”.
It takes two to Tangolates but, mind you, Tangolates partners do not necessarily touch. Yet, their movements are perfectly synchronized and choreographed to a superb music that makes it beautiful even to look at!
“As for the music”, “well… pilates was not designed for music but… if what we are after is controlled movement of the human body, well, then, let me assure you, there is nothing better than music to make it happen!!”.
Two pilates instructors who visited Buenos Aires wrote in their blog “here-we-go-around-the-world”: “Our Tangolates experience on the T-DITELLA apparatus was quite a lot of fun. We did a pilates class, only that we felt as though we were back on stage again, back to the good old days of dancing. Tamara (the creator of Tangolates) was blown away by it all, and had nothing but praise for us both”. (www.here-we-go-around-the-world).
Jason Thomas, a Pilates Instructor from Kansas City, talks about his experience with Tangolates. He says: “I've been teaching classical Pilates for about four years and during this time, have become a bit bored with repeating the same exercises over and over in a standardized format. Tangolates is one of the few truly inspired innovations to the Pilates method that is so fun and suitable for both clients and teachers. It combines the coordination and core stability that is inherent to Pilates, with the excitement and passion of Tango. When I first tried it here in Buenos Aires, I immediately knew that Tamara had created something very special... The Tangolates movements are challenging and strengthen the same core muscles that are used in the pilates method. I could easily see myself implementing Tangolates into a Pilates Studio setting, doing it myself twice a week, and introducing it to clients that are looking for something different from the standard offerings... Hey! many clients will be able to attend classes with a friend, as Tangolates has been created for two people, making it perfect for couples! (Jason Thomas, Pilates Instructor, Kansas City, USA)
Have you ever wished you were more demanded from your pilates session? Lisa Mercer, owner of Mountain Sport Fitness Frisco, and author of the book: “Open Your Heart With Winter Fitness” says: “When I trained as a Pilates instructor, I was told that Pilates was the end all and be all, encompassing strength flexibility and cardio. Pilates was in fact an excellent way to develop flexibility and strength simultaneously. The Pilates principle of “strength with length” is certainly valid. However, try as I might, I could not buy into the idea of Pilates as aerobic exercise. Additionally, some training organizations believed that the technique should be practiced in the exact way that Joseph Pilates created it in the early 1900s, despite the fact that a century of new research has been performed since then”.
I have another testimonial, this time from England:
Lynn Staff, from London, wrote: “I feel that the course in Buenos Aires has projected me onto the first rungs of a career in teaching Tangolates when I return to Europe. Tangolates is an inventive form of dynamic exercise that not only relies on your own balance and coordination but that of your partner’s too. Its appeal lies in its novel approach to the exercises, which is both unique and fun”. This was Lynn Staff, from London, England).
Paul Anthony Mc Linden is the former head of teacher training of Body Control Pilates of London, the United Kingdom’s largest Pilates teacher training organization. Paul is a master pilates instructor and hosts workshops all over the globe. He is a certified dance instructor from the Royal Academy of Dance of London. Paul Anthony says about Tangolates: “I really enjoyed my Tangolates experience, and would recommend doing it 2 to 3 times a week to gain full benefit. I feel that this revolutionary exercise method could change the face of the Pilates industry throughout North and South America as well as Europe” . (Paul Anthony McLinden, Director, Ocean Wave Pilates, Brighton, United Kingdom).
How and why did it occur to me?. “ Well, I really felt I could contribute to take this wonderful technique one step beyond into a more versatile and dynamic workout”.
“Being a firm believer in the pilates legacy, and in the most genuine spirit of authenticity I thought I was ready to do it my way, contributing something I fell in love with, something I truly believe in: a new, creative and different method. So I decided to fuse pilates with Tango, the unique music from Buenos Aires. I am sure that Joseph and Clara great innovators themselves, working in a free country that welcomes curiosity, creativity and imagination, would really appreciate this new method named partly after them”
After all has been said and done, the question remains: what does Tangolates add to pilates? The answer is: More concentration (for you and your partner); more coordination (again, for you and your partner); more elongation (your partner assists you in stretching always a bit further).
Plus, let’s not forget an important contribution: the cardio element.
And Finally, The music, and the T-DITELLA, a small functional apparatus especially designed for two.
Here comes the most difficult part. To talk about myself. Well…I was born in Buenos Aires. My father was a Russian- born medical doctor whose specialty was neurosciences. He was a professor at the Medical School of University of Buenos Aires. When I was young, my parents sent me to college in England and the United States. I was doing my Ph.D. dissertation at Stanford University when I learned about Joseph Pilates. It changed my life!. That was many, many years ago (I am now sixty years old). When I returned home I knew what I had to do. I started with only one Studio. I worked hard, and in six years I had built the world’s largest chain of Studios, with fifty Studios plus in several countries throughout Latin America, Europe and the United States. Today we have a School of Training with 200 hundred instructors, a rehabilitation Ward donated to a Public Hospital, two book and hundreds of articles written on the subject. We are proud to have vbeen sponsored by Coca Cola, to have an association with the YMCA of Buenos Aires, and to be Member of the International Director Program of IDEA, one of the largest Health and Fitness Organizations in the United States. Our Videos air on T.V. from Buenos Aires to North America.
Following my family’s tradition, our School is located at the Medical School of the University of Buenos Aires. In order to get Certified, our students have to do hand- on practice work with patients who suffer from disorders of the motor system. This is a great experience for young pilates instructors.
To Sum Up: if you want to feel like your are in Buenos Aires; if you like to look tall and elegant like a Tango dancer; if you’d like to add music to your pilates; and if you are ready for some cardio multidisciplinary workout, then come to vist us or follow these instructions below, and… do Tangolates… all the way to Buenos Aires!
r two, that is, partner pilates. Gradually, it evolved into what today is called Tamara Di Tella Tangolates (or Tango Pilates).
from the lower abdominals, both require proper breathing and fluid movement. And, yes, both result in long, strong muscles and an elegant posture.
etting, doing it myself twice a week, and introducing it to clients that are looking for something different from the standard offerings... Hey! many clients will be able to attend classes with a friend, as Tangolates has been created for two people, making it perfect for couples! (Jason Thomas, Pilates Instructor, Kansas City, USA)
s. It changed my life!. That was many, many years ago (I am now sixty years old). When I returned home I knew what I had to do. I started with only one Studio. I worked hard, and in six years I had built the world’s largest chain of Studios, with fifty Studios plus in several countries throughout Latin America, Europe and the United States. Today we have a School of Training with 200 hundred instructors, a rehabilitation Ward donated to a Public Hospital, two book and hundreds of articles written on the subject. We are proud to have vbeen sponsored by Coca Cola, to have an association with the YMCA of Buenos Aires, and to be Member of the International Director Program of IDEA, one of the largest Health and Fitness Organizations in the United States. Our Videos air on T.V. from Buenos Aires to North America. 
