Carlos Espinoza and Noelia Hurtado – The Couple That WAS Unmistakable
The power of tango as a dance is evident in its roots. It thrives in Buenos Aires, where it was born, in neighboring countries, where it first found its way, and even in the United States, where tango has been adopted as its own. Tango is alive in every small-town dance hall and big-city milonga worldwide.
If you really want to witness the fire that tango ignites, you can find it in how Noelia Hurtado and Carlitos Espinoza danced it for years.
Photo grabbed from 030tango.com
Noelia Hurtado and Carlitos Espinoza are tango maestros and were one of the most admired tango couples in the tango world.
Their journey as a tango couple began in 2011. Even though they’ve gone their separate ways, their impact as tango dancers continues to reach new enthusiasts.
Who are Noelia Hurtado and Carlitos Espinoza, and how did they make an iconic mark in tango?
Noelia Hurtado, Queen of Embellishments
Photo from Noelia Hurtado’s Facebook Page
Noelia Hurtado first learned about tango when she was five years old. She attended a couple of classes with her brother, not knowing the dance was already imprinting itself in her.
The introduction didn’t leave much impression on the young Noelia, but she gave it another try when she turned twelve. Noelia danced with her father at the time, and since then, it has been impossible to deny the dance’s hold on her.
In 2003, Noelia met Pablo Rodriguez, who eventually became her dance partner, and they started their artistic career.
They learned the basics of the Villa Urquiza style together with maestros Carlos Perez and Rosa Forte. They continued their intensive study with other maestros, forming their unique style by merging traditional and contemporary tango concepts.
Noelia and Pablo were selected as Metropolitan Champions of Tango Salon of Buenos Aires and Metropolitan Champions of Milonga in 2006.
The two graced many tango events with their performances until they parted ways in 2011.
As a tango dancer, Noelia is known for her unrivaled power. She has a way of conveying feelings and emotions in her performances, and everyone can easily see her love for tango. As said by Tango High and Low:
“There is a kind of sinuous snaking line to her movements and she uses the floor like few dancers, biting into it, working it, almost wearing it down when she steps. She is also one of the most sensual performers around and there is a kind of unabashed sexual energy in her dancing.”
Noelia’s tango gave her the nickname, “Queen of Embellishments.” She characterizes her tango with small, decorative movements that add more flair to the dance.
These embellishments are Noelia’s way of tango conversation, and it has become her trademark as a tango dancer. It’s all about the little details for her, putting her own spin on every movement.
Carlitos Espinoza, Young Milonguero
Carlitos Espinoza began his tango journey when a woman was looking for a dance partner and he was the only one who said yes.
The first time he tried tango was the only thing he needed to get hooked on the dance. From simply being a woman’s dance partner, Carlitos became a pillar in the tango world.
Photo grabbed from 030tango.com
Carlitos learned the importance of walking from Carlos Malone and Sergio Natario.
He began teaching in Argentina and Chile in 1998 and reached Europe in 2001. Three years later, the young milonguero-style dancer found himself instructing full-time. Carlitos resides in Santiago, Chile when he’s not touring. He is an in-demand maestro for group and private classes, festivals, and workshops.
UK Tango Festival described Carlitos’s tango teaching style as follows:
“His teaching works on multiple levels, simultaneously developing technique and mechanics while challenging students’ interior landscape, and their process of conceptualizing when they lead or follow.”
Everyone knows Carlitos’ authentic close-embrace milonguero-style tango.
He has a rare combination of profound musicality and extreme dynamism, all made more powerful by his grounded, elegant walk. Carlitos’ energy and precision give him a lightness that defies gravity.
He introduces tango in a way other tango dancers can’t — a dance that makes you feel alive, and one that you have to keep alive.
From a Tango Couple to Maestros
Noelia and Carlitos met in 2011 at a festival when Noelia was looking for a dance partner after Pablo. Carlitos was one of the festival organizers and he held a milonga just to dance with Noelia.
Photo grabbed from 030tango.com
When they realized how their individual takes on tango created incomparable chemistry, they decided to pursue tango together.
The tango couple epitomized the close tango embrace and graced every performance with enthralling dynamism.
It was impossible to shush tango when Noelia and Carlitos danced it. With the kind of skill, passion, and fire they brought, tango always became a beguiling experience. As Tarbes En Tango said:
“Their unmistakable style is marked by its origin, the milonguero style. Their dynamics and musicality, their transfer of the music into the movements of the body turn their dance into an extremely sensual experience. Not without good reason are they so much in demand at the big festivals.”
Noelia and Carlitos became the most requested maestros in the tango world.
They worked with Tango Meet, introducing tango romance with pivots, ochos, turns, and boleos. They also shared the art of linear movements, teaching tango dancers about rebounds, crosses, and even turns.
Tango Meet describes them as:
“Exceedingly charming appearances spectacularly mastering the dance floor, they’ve conquered hearts, minds, and souls around the world with complex and touching performances.”
Individually, Noelia and Carlitos had different tastes. In an interview with Tango Meet, the two shared that they almost had nothing in common, even when it came to tango music. However, they always tried to find a middle ground and used their individualities to enhance their tango performances. If there was a Venn diagram of Noelia and Carlitos, tango would be the sweet spot where their universes overlapped.
The two agreed that connection is the most crucial thing in tango, not just the dance but as a phenomenon.
They made tango look effortless because they felt the music and connected with each other on a level that allowed the tango to flow through them. Noelia and Carlitos brought this connection as maestros as well.
When the Queen Meets the Lover
Noelia and Carlitos’ tango was fascinating because their connection overflowed in their performances.
You can find different types of connections in tango couples, but Noelia and Carlitos’ was something beyond compare.
Noelia was sultry, dramatic, and elegant, while Carlitos was powerful, firm, and confident. They used their characteristics to create a fierce and sensual tango.
Their tango teased with flirtation and promised seduction. There was a queen who met her lover, and the dance became their love story.
In a La Sastresa comment thread about Noelia and Carlitos, user Shlomo Laufer described the tango couple’s command:
“The man is the choreographer of each dance.
He comes up with a general choreography for the woman, while he is only accompanying her.
While dancing, he has to listen to music and at the same time be very attentive to the woman. Give her all the time and support she needs to perform his general choreography with her interpretation and add-ons.”
Noelia and Carlitos’ tango was a marriage of their individualities, creating a passionate and strong connection. They may have differed in many things, but they became one in tango.
Musicality
Carlito is known for dancing the music.
He doesn’t overthink every step, turn, and movement. Instead, he lets the music guide him, which he also used as he guided Noelia.
Carlito’s musicality allowed him to have a strong command of the tango. What made their tango even more captivating was that Noelia matched Carlito’s musicality. As said by Batt Johnson in the thread, “BOTH are simply dancing the music and they ALWAYS do.”
Sensuality
Carlitos had a stable posture and clear, confident guidance that aroused Noelia’s sensuality.
He knew his “choreography” so well that there was no room for hesitation. And this confidence showed in how he gently placed his hand on Noelia’s back to how he floated with her on the dancefloor.
Carlitos’ confidence gave Noelia the freedom to explore her sensuality and somewhat tango with abandonment.
Noelia knew how to use her body. She became one with the tango, and the tango became an extension of her.
All her moves fit right into Carlitos’ lead, and she filled the tango with her sultriness. User JOHN described the tango couple’s sensuality as:
“Carlitos clearly understands and consciously and frequently uses tension and release, something women thrive on on the dancefloor and “elsewhere.”
He is deeply penetrating Noelia with his manly core, his soul, and in spite of a subtle reluctance on Noelia’s part at first, they seem to create an invisible third being between them.
Finally, Carlitos gives Noelia the time and freedom to explore the magical fantasy world within her which she then manifests exquisitely.
It’s much more than a dance or any of its elements (leading, following, musicality, etc). It’s a work of art!”
Love
Lastly,
Noelia and Carlitos’ tango teemed with love.
Any audience they honored with their performances couldn’t deny the love between the two. Were they in love with each other? Was it love for the craft? Or was it love for tango as a whole? Regardless,
their tango exuded an intense love from the beginning to the end.
Carlitos was Noelia’s lover on the dance floor. In the same La Sastresa comment thread, user Ginevra Ross said,
“Carlito is completely engaged to Noelia and loving her with every step. He lovingly initiates a movement with her and then he waits for her to respond to it, like a lover would do.. There is such a depth of feeling it is as if they are about to explode in it.”
Carlito didn’t only dance with Noelia, but he also danced for her.
As user Stefano described, Carlito seemed to put Noelia in evidence that she enjoyed his music interpretation.
Noelia also put so much trust in Carlito’s embrace, and she showed it in how she wrapped her arm around him and let him lead her to wherever he wanted to take his choreography.
Perhaps the best illustration of Carlito and Noelia as a lover and a queen in tango is by Joanna:
“Carlitos is constantly concentrating on Noelia, he follows her with all his being, but he is still the leader. He gives her all the freedom to express herself in the dance, no rush, the time he gives her feels like eternity. She is his princess. His tango is minimal, no fancy mens adornos or enrosques, just his amazing walk, and leading skills, giving all the spotlite to Noelia.”
On the one hand, Noelia, the Queen of Embellishments, knew precisely how to make Carlitos’ choreography even more powerful. She willingly took the challenge to interpret his dance and trusted that he would lead her well. On the other hand, Carlitos trusted Noelia and her dance, and he gave her the space to do what he asked of her. He provided her with a strong foundation for her movements, and together, they glided across the dance floor effortlessly as if they were one.
Noelia and Carlitos, Tango Personified
In 2019, Noelia announced in an Instagram post that she and Carlitos had the feeling of having completed a “cycle.”
The phenomenal tango couple had different professional desires and thanked everyone who supported them. Noelia has since started a partnership with Facundo De La Cruz, and Carlitos with his now-wife, Agustina Piaggio.
Even after “completing a cycle” together and starting new journeys with different dance partners, the fire they left in the tango world still burns.
Tango often tells a story of love, loss, and heartbreak, but tango can also be a story of triumph.
Noelia Hurtado and Carlitos Espinoza embodied the spirit of tango. Their tango was a true celebration of the dance and the culture. They perfectly expressed how fierce and sensual tango is and how tango is nothing without connection.
Noelia and Carlitos were once the epitome of tango, with the dance and culture living within their souls.