WHO IS Alejandra
Mantiñan

‘In the world of tango, an unusual fact, the name of Alejandra Mantiñan shines alone, without being associated with that of a man.

Exceptional dancer, highly talented tango teacher, Alejandra achieved fame on her own merit.’

In "TANGO AND ME", Jorgen Erik Assentoft’s film, Alejandra transports us through the telling of her professional career, from her start to the present day.
We will see her dance with some of her famous companions, teaching advanced dancers who come to Buenos Aires from all over the world to follow her classes, being moved by the expressiveness of her dance through sensitive and daring filming.

‘Receive with applause and a standing ovation while walking away. Appear on the cover of magazines and in the pages of newspapers. Being recognized as “Los piez milagrosos” (Miraculous feet), for dancing the tango like an angel. Having gone to more than 300 cities dancing and teaching. Being considered one of the most inspiring dancers in modern times.

It can seem like a list of hopes and dreams but, it’s not, it’s just a brief history of Alejandra Mantiñán.

When Alejandra was very young, she suffered an accident, and soon her mother encouraged her to practice dance to combat the physical and psychological trauma caused by the accident. From then on, her relationship with dance became unbreakable. Love, passion, dedication, and sacrifice are considered the winning ingredients for her to conquer the world’s greatest stages and shows, such as “Tango Pasión” and “Tango Seducción”.

Alejandra is, without a doubt, one of the greatest dancers of current times. Her style has been described as explosive and expressive with each step. With precise changes in tempo, intelligent pauses, and smooth elegant movements, her show has become a mastercall of the traditional milonga, reinforced with the life of a fine soul and modern times.’ (As per Tango Fashion News )

Alejandra Mantiñan has been immersed in tango over the past 35 years.

She is generally regarded to have been the pioneer in creating supreme excellence in the execution of the female role in tango.

Alejandra, is one of the women who has not only set the standard for her dancing, but also for her intensive research and teaching methods.

She has taken part in almost every important festival in the world. According to a survey of the most popular tango magazine ‘The Tangueta’, Alejandra Mantiñan is the woman of ‘Los pies milagrosos’ (the miraculous feet) and is the most nominated dancer among participants of the Tango World Championship.

She began dancing at the age of 8 in the "Escuela Nacional de Danza" where after 10 years she earned the "Maestra Nacional de danza" diploma while at the age of 17 she entered the "Ballet de Danza Contemporanea" by Soledad Fernandez laboratories at San Martin Theater.

In 1988, in parallel with her artistic career, she started studying in the university of medicine (UBA) where she regularly attended courses, specializing in traumatology and rehabilitation, and acquired specific know-how in motor science, which is now an integral part of her teaching method ATM focusing in Biomechanics.

Her innovative pedagogical method ATM can be used in every style, Tango Salon, Milonguero, or the more new tendencies of the evolving Tango Dance.

She took classes mainly with Mingo and Ester Pugliese, and Antonio Todaro (one of the most creative tango dancers who loved inventing long, sharp, and complex sequences of flashy steps still seen in many famous professional tango dancers today) to whom she ended up being his assistant for five years. It was then that she started delving into the secrets of tango and from his style she was inspired to develop her Tango technique.

Apart from Todaro, the most important information for women came from Ester Pugliese and Marijo Alvarez who are the only two female teachers that she accepts as a reference point in her career and changed completely her point of view on the couple. The former - about the line of Tango and the latter for the biomechanics part.

For 8 years together with Gustavo Russo, were the principal dancers of the show “Tango Passion”, covering 340 cities all over the world like, including Sistina Theater in Rome, Broadway Theater in Broadway, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Champs Elisee Theater in Paris, Cremlino Theater in Moscú, St.Petersburg's Opera, Monaco Theater, Berlín Philharmonic.

She was given glowing reviews worldwide, singled out for special mention by the New York Times in the Broadway premiere of “Tango Passion”.

She participated in more than 20 shows and performed with the live orchestras of Osvaldo Pugliese, Horacio Salgan, Mariano Mores, Jose Basso and Sexteto Mayor.

 Until today, she had the pleasure to share the dance floor with many great dancers such as Fabian Salas, Juan Corvalan, Omar Ocampo, Pablo Veron, Leandro Oliver, Osvaldo Zotto, Juan Carlos Copes, Gabriel Missé, Guillermo Salvat, Horacio Godoy, Diego ‘El Pajaro’ Riemer, Mariano ‘Chicho’ Frúmboli, Martin Ojeda, Gaspar Godoy, Pancho Martinez Pay and Aoniken Quiroga, with whom she has participated in most of the International festivals since 2008.