Modern Tango World N° 6 (Montreal, Quebec) | Page 14

Tomás Howlin Interview
by

Jean-Sébastien Viard

Among all the teachers in the tango world Tomás Howlin is the one that stands out by his unique
combination of skills, his experience and his outstanding ethics as a teacher. He is very appreciated
in North America, and has traveled to many a community to share his knowledge and wisdom. In
this interview, I ask him to tell us about his own tango learning experience and his vision of the
Montreal tango community.
MTW: Tomas, you were born and raised in Buenos Ai- MTW: What brought you to Montreal and, more imres. I believe it is also where you learned tango. Can you portantly, what made you stay all those years?
give us an idea of your background as well as your early
days in tango?
Tomas Howlin: I came to Montreal following an invitation to teach at Studio Tango. I taught a series of
Tomas Howlin: Yes, I grew up in Buenos Aires and workshops in Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto as
moved to Montreal when I was thirty. I learned my part of one of my North American tours in 1998. I
tango in Buenos Aires. I was fortunate enough to be- simply loved Montreal. I found that it was a perfect
gin tango when I was young and many of the legend- mix of a North American and European city, and most
ary masters were still alive, teaching, and dancing. I importantly I felt this was a place where immigrants
learned from Pepito Avellaneda, Pupi Castello, José were welcome. The tango community, as a whole, was
Turco Brahemcha, Juan Bruno and many others. I also very welcoming to me and my classes. There is
imagine that this scenario may appear charming now, one more thing that I was impressed with — How
but back then it was very challenging.
well developed and organized the tango schools were.
On the one hand, these people were truly extraordinary.
It was not easy to learn their ways. Learning from these
teachers meant I had to hang out with them for hours
and hours and I would listen to their stories and philosophies on life.Then, maybe if I was lucky, they would show
something – a step or a movement. I had to be able to
realize what I was seeing, remember it all.There were no
smartphones to take a quick video. Then, I tried to do
it myself. I had to figure out how I was going to absorb
all this precious information. I decided to simultaneously
study other dance and bodywork forms to help me understand and process all the information. I was desperate to find guidance on how to dance as well as those
people did. So I signed up for ballet, modern dance,
contact improv., Feldenkrais, Eutonie, sports coaching. I
took every movement class I could find.

MTW: What is your vision of tango in Montreal? I’m
referring to the way it is danced, but I’m especially interested in the way it is taught. Is the way tango is
taught in Montreal any different from what you have
seen elsewhere?
Tomas Howlin: The tango scene in Montreal definitely has its own personality, but it is also in constant
change. In my travels, I often hear people talking about
how different dancing in Montreal is. Back when I
moved here, the dancing was more traditional, more
classic tango. Now, I see a larger spectrum of styles
and personalities on the dance floor. The teaching is
also different, and this has been crafted over time and
influenced by two main features that distinguish this
community from others.

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