DIANA JENSEN
Tango at Sea Cruise Director

I have been a ballroom dancer since my teen years and American Tango was always my favorite. In 1995, Bob Moretti brought Argentine Tango instructor, Nora Dinzelbacher, to Chico, CA for a series of workshops which lasted several months. Bob and I lived in Chico at the time and we took every opportunity to practice to improve our skills. After private lessons with Nora and the late Nestor Ray, El Indio, Oscar Mandagaran and Nito & Elba Garcia in San Francisco, Sacramento and New York, my Tango skills grew quickly. Other instructors who have had an impact on my love of Tango are Orlando Paiva, Carlos Gavito, Fernanda Ghi and Guillermo Merlo, and Daniel Lapadula, Carlos & Maria Rivarola, Oscar Mandagaran, Natalia Hills, Jorge Torres, Daniel Rodriguez and Valeria Carmel.

In January 1996, a terrific tango dancer and a professional skier, Mark Wolford, lit the spark within me with the idea to cruise the world with Tango instructors and dancers. Mark and I shared this idea for over 18 months. In 1997 our dream came true as we prepared to embark on our first Tango at Sea cruise to the Western Caribbean in March 1998. Initially, Nora Dinzelbacher was our headliner along with other Argentine and USA instructors. Tango dancers from across the world were invited to join our cruises. We have had guests from Argentina, Japan, France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Israel, Russia, United Kingdom, Canada, Shanghai, South Africa, Ireland, Australia, Brazil, Peru, Columbia and the Philippines.

We have since cruised to Eastern Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, twice out of Venice, Italy to ports in the Adriatic Sea, then back to the Western Caribbean. In October of 2009 we took dancers to three continents sailing out of Savona, Italy with stops in Italy, Sicily, Egypt, Cyprus, Turkey and on to Santorini and Katakolon/Olympia, Greece. In 2010, we cruised the Mexican Riviera and Alaska's stunning Inside Passage. 2011 will take us first on a Caribbean Argentine Tango and Swing cruise that we're organizing with Norway's Kom og Dans; in September 2011, we'll return to the Mediterranean for Italy and the Ancient World cruise.

Visit our web site often as plans to future adventures in cruising, tangoing, and fun times will be announced.  Also, please take a moment to sign our guestbook and look at the group photos from past cruises in our galleries.

EMILIO FLORES
DJ, San Francisco

Emilio Flores is an Argentine DJ who grew up listening to the great tango orchestras of the 40s and 50s. He has been dancing tango, on and off, for 30 years. As a professional DJ he currently works at La Mariposa (Verdi Club), the Danceasy, the Lake Merritt Dance Center in Oakland, CA, the Studio Gracia in San Francisco, and Nora's milongas in the San Francisco Bay Area. Emilio also has worked for many years in Nora's Tango Week and Weekend, and in other special events, like Las Vegas Tango and the Passionate Tango Weekend in 2005 in Washington DC. He has also been invited as a guest DJ in Los Angeles and Seattle. In February 2000, the Argentinean counsel of Los Angeles organized a Tango contest between Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. First prize was a round trip to Argentina for two. Emilio and Adriana won the first prize. Second place went to the late Bob Moretti and his dance partner Gloria Sadler. Meet Emilio when he joins us on the Alaska Inside Passage Cruise in June 2010.