David and Nancy Mendoza
Dancers ~ Performers ~Teachers ~ Choreographers |
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David
and Nancy have an extensive history in dancing, performing,
teaching and choreographing Argentine Tango and Salsa
Romantica. Tango and Salsa have influenced their lives
for over a decade and a half. Having fun and staying young
at heart are the benefits that they enjoy. Dancing extends
the quality of life by providing them a means to release
the stress they experiece in their lives. Networking with
a variety of people from all walks of life and professions
is inherit to dance. Doctors, teachers, lawyers, authors,
students, nurses, housewives, sales people, real estate
agents, professional dancers, government workers, personal
trainers, web designers, engineers have participated in
our classes and events. They consider themselves very
blessed that many of them have become their friends -
professionally and personally.
An invitation to join them in promoting and learning the
fun art of dancing Argentine Tango and Salsa Romantica
is open to you.
Give David and Nancy a call at 415-468-9226 or click the
CONTACT button if you
have any questions, comments, or requests. |
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| David
and Nancy have been dancing, performing, teaching
and choreographing Argentine Tango and Salsa Romantica
as a husband and wife team since 1994. They are
dedicated instructors, who are devoted to teaching
their students how to enjoy themselves on the dance
floor. |
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Mendoza's dance a traditional style of authentic Argentine
Tango is called "Salon" Tango, which stresses
the social and partnering aspects of the dance - spontaneity,
smoothness, soft embrace and close connection - over choreography.
The Mendozas have won high praise for their generous teaching
method, which simplifies this most sophisticated of all
social dances. The Mendozas are experts at breaking down
complicated Tango patterns into simple steps, so their
students can focus on feeling the music and connecting
with their partners, instead of memorizing steps and counting.
In group classes, they teach social dancing, reserving
choreography and stage craft for private lessons. |
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| David
and Nancy call their particular style of Salsa dancing
"Salsa Romantica." The label is borrowed from
the type of Salsa music they prefer - modern arrangements,
suave melodies, and spicy rhythms. It also comes from
the fact that they met dancing Salsa. The Mendozas' Salsa
style is best characterized as "club" style
- one that emphasizes their strong points - flashing feet,
dizzying spins, and warm smiles. In their classes, Nancy
and David teach everything from the basic step to complicated
patterns and partnership techniques. Primarily, they concentrate
on what they consider to be the two most important elements
of dance - individual style and fun. According to David
and Nancy, if you're not having fun-you're not dancing
Salsa! |
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The
Mendozas perform at conventions, hotels, corporate parties,
weddings, charitable functions and gala events. They have traveled
the globe to teach and perform in dance festivals such as the
"Tango Rosa Ball" in St. Louis and "Caminito
Tango" in Italy. Performance highlights include a West
Coast tour with the quartet, Tango No. 9, which culminated in
a performance at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco; and a
spotlight performance at "A Tribute to Tito Puente"
at the Bill Graham Auditorium in San Francisco. (Click on DANCE
PERFORMANCE button for more information.)
Nancy and David Mendoza teach group Salsa Romantica and Argentine
Tango classes at the Beresford Recreation Center in San Mateo
and conduct private lessons and choreograph "first dances"
for weddings at their dance studio in San Francisco. To contact
them for lessons or appearances, click on the CONTACT button
and send a message or call 415-468-9226. |
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Nancy
Stevens Mendoza gave her first dance performance before
she turned three years old. She learned tap and acrobatics
as a youngster; studied ballet with the Cincinnati Conservatory
of Music; modern dance with Shawl Anderson Dance Center;
Isadora Duncan dancing; Martha Graham technique; and dance
teacher training at the Metronome Ballroom. She won first
place in the Silver American Tango meet at the Grand Ball,
a national ballroom competition. She was a principal dancer
with Nora Dinzelbacher's "Argentine Tango Folk Ballet"
from 1989 to 1994 and performed with Pampa Cortes' "Los
Tangueros de San Francisco".
(Click on the DANCE PERFORMANCE
button for more information.)
Nancy was one of the first Tangueras in the San Francisco
Bay Area. After becoming enthralled by the original Broadway
production of Tango Argentino, which Nancy saw while working
for MTV in New York City in 1986,
she began a long search for locals who could teach her
authentic ARGENTINE Tango. |
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suffering through countless American Ballroom Tango classes
pretending to teach Argentine Tango, Nancy met the late
Jose "Pepe" Fernandez, who along with his partner
Madelyn Deys, presented the first authentic Tango reviews
in the Bay Area. Being a radio announcer, TV performer
and video producer, Nancy helped Pepe organize his shows
and narrated the live performances. Through Pepe, Nancy
met the fledgling San Francisco Tango community, which
consisted of fewer than 20 dancers - most of them absolute
beginners. The more advanced included Jorge & Rosa
LeDesma (San Francisco's first Argentine teachers of Tango),
Al & Barbara Garvey (Bay Area Argentine Tango Association
originators), Jean and Charlie Stewart, Victor Nemeses
(Mariposa Argentine Tango Club organizer), and Hector
Villaba (Mansion Dandi Royal owner) and Nora & Raul
Dinzelbacher, who had just arrived in San Francisco. |
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| After
Raul died in 1990, Nora decided to carry on alone. She
needed an extra dancer for her first full-length performance
by her troupe, the Argentine Tango Folk Ballet and was
introduced to Nancy by two of the troupe's dancers. Besides
performing in Nora's troupe until it disbanded circa 1995,
Nancy also helped Nora with fundraising, organizing, assisting
in class and doing whatever else was needed to help grow
the Tango Community. For example, Nancy tended bar and
otherwise helped Nora organize the Bay Area's first real
Milonga at the Renaissance Ballroom in San Francisco.
She has taught many local teachers their first Tango steps
and was one of the original 30 dancers who founded the
Bay Area Argentine Tango Association. Nancy continued
her support for the Tango community by co-hosting with
her husband the Belmont Milonga, the Peninsula Practica
and La Milonguita del Camino Real. She and her husband
currently host La Milonga de los Mendoza in Redwood City,
Ca. In addition to milongas she sponsors visiting maestros
and donate her time and talent to various local fund raisers.
Most of all, she is dedicated to dancing with her husband
and devoted to teaching her students how to enjoy themselves
on the dance floor. |
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David
Mendoza can't remember a time when he wasn't dancing.
He started with Rancheras and other social and folk dances
of his native El Paso, Texas. He learned plenty of performing
skills in various drill teams in ROTC and the U.S. Navy,
where he also boxed (against the Marines, no less!). David
has also run marathons and is a student of Pilates.
Upon moving to California, he became infatuated with Salsa
in the early 90's and was a fixture at the hottest Salsa
clubs. He has been dancing Argentine Tango since 1994,
studying with a long list of greatest Tango maestros (click
on MASTER TEACHERS button for
more information). He was a dancer with Pampa Cortes'
"Los Tangueros de San Francisco". David has
a reputation for being a generous and easy-to-follow leader
- one who can make any lady enjoy her three minutes on
the dance floor. David is also a renown Tango disc jockey,
playing music for the Belmont Milonga, the Peninsula Practica,
Shall We Tango dance studio, La Milonga de los Mendoza
and making guest appearances at various milongas. |
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Allegro Ballroom, Emeryville, CA
• Belmont Milonga, Belmont, CA
• Barrio Tango Studio
• Beresford Recreation Center, San Mateo, CA
• Border Cantina (night club)
• Cafe Cocomo Milonga
• "Caminito Tango" Catania, Sicily, Italy
• "Chic to Cheek" Ballroom Dances
• City College of San Francisco
• Coyote Point Yacht Club, San Mateo, CA
• Dance Through Time, Mill Valley, CA
• Desde de Alma Milonga, Aptos, CA
• Federal Building (7th and Mission)
• Finlandia Foundation, Foster City, CA
• Five Star Productions
• Humboldt Tango, Eureka, CA
• International House, Berkeley, CA
• Jewish Community Centers of San Francisco and San
Rafael
• Kaiser Hospital, Richmond, CA
• Lake Merritt Dance Center, Oakland, CA
• Mariposa Tango Club
• Metronome Ballroom
• Milonga de Mis Amores
• Mission Cultural Center
• Motion Pacific, Santa Cruz, CA |
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Napa Dance Club, Redwood City, CA
• Noe Valley Ministry
• Oyster Point Bar & Grille, South San
Francisco, CA
• Peninsula Practica, San Mateo, CA
• Penn State University, State College, PA
• Portrero Hill Neighborhood House
• Renaissance Ballroom
• Saint Thomas More Church
• San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton, CA
• Santa Cruz Milonga, Santa Cruz, CA
• Shall We Tango, San Mateo, CA
• Stanford Tango Club, Palo Alto, CA
• Steppin' Out Dance Studio, Sunnyvale, CA
• Strawberry Recreation Center, Mill Valley,
CA
• Tamalpais Community Education, Mill Valley,
CA
• Tango a Media Luz, Oakland, CA
• Tango Magdalena, Oakland, CA
• Tango & More, Oakland, CA
• Tango Forum, Santa Cruz, CA
• Tango Mendocino, Fort Bragg, CA
• Third Wave Dance Studio
• Tulip Hills Winery, Lake County, CA
• Verdi Club
• William Walker Recreation Center, Foster
City, CA |
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Absynthe Resturant
• Academy of Sciences
• Adult Social Dances, Foster City, CA
• Alberto's Night Club, Mountain View, CA
• Argentine Tango Folk Ballet, Oakland, CA
• Association of Latino Professionals in Finance
& Accounting
Stanford Court Hotel
• "A Tango Gala in Black & White",
Oakland, CA
• Berkeley Ballroom Dancers, Berkeley, CA
• Bodega Catena Zapata (Premium Wines of Argentina)
• Café Cocomo
• California Aids Run, Golden Gate Park
• Caribbean Gardens, Burlingame, CA
• "Celebration of Tango and Guitar" with
Cem Duroz,
Presidio Chapel
• Cesar's Latin Palace
• Chinese-American Business Women's Association,
Burlingame, CA
• Circulo de Argentina, San Jose, CA
• City Club of San Francisco
• Columbian Earthquake Victims Benefit, Barcelona
(night club)
• Dance Palace, Point Reyes Station, CA
• Festival de la Familia, Sacramento, CA
• "9 de Julio Celebration," for the Consul
General of Argentina
Sheraton Palace Hotel
• Finlandia Foundation
• Flamenco Society, San Jose, CA
• Folk Dance Festival, Stockton, CA
• Gap Café, The Gap, San Francisco Headquarters
• Greater Mission Rotary Club's Children's Charities,
Cathedral Hill Hotel
• "Hispanic Film Festival," San Jose Civic
Center, San Jose, CA
• "Hispanic History Month," sponsored by
the IRS of Oakland, CA
• Juke Box Saturday Nite
• Kookla Salon
• La Pena, Berkeley, CA
• "Last Tango in Paris Gala" Mission Hospice
of San Mateo, CA
• Lagunitas Country Club, Ross, CA
• Latino Heritage Luncheon, San Mateo Senior Center
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Los Tangueros de San Francisco
• Marin Solos, Ross, CA
• Macy's, Downtown San Francisco
• Mariposa Tango Club
• Metronome Ballroom
• "Mid-Summer Sizzle," Santa Cruz,
CA
• Mill Valley Film Festival, Mill Valley, CA
• Mill Valley Street Fair, Mill Valley, CA
• Mission Language and Vocational School Gala
Benefit,
Grand Hyatt Hotel
• Morgan Hill Playhouse, Morgan Hill, CA
• National Hispanic University
• Noe Valley Ministry
• Nordstrom's, Downtown San Francisco
• Pacific Stock Exchange
• Paloma Picasso Perfume
• Paul Joe's Italian Restraurant, San Mateo,
CA
• Pena Pacha Mama
• San Jose DanceSport Center, San Jose, CA
• San Mateo High School, San Mateo, CA
• San Francisco Lawyers Guild, U. S. Reserve
Bank
• San Francisco Opera Society, Sheraton Palace
Hotel
• Scharffenberger Cellars, Sonoma, CA
• Sierra Club Singles, Fairfax, CA
• Sonoma County Fair, Santa Rosa, CA
• "Summer in the Park" Concord, CA
• "Tango in the Park", Yerba Buena
Center
• Tango in the Square", Union Square
• Tango No. 9 CD release party, El Valenciano
&
Café du Nord
• "Taste of Tango," Bethany Center
Fund Raiser,
Medjool Restaurant
• "Totally Tango," Falkirk Mansion,
San Rafael, CA
• "Tribute to Tito Puente," Bill
Graham Civic Auditorium
• Union Espanola
• Warfinger Theater, Eureka, CA
• Woodside School, Woodside, CA
• Women's Sports Festival, Golden Gate Park
• WorldFest, City of San Jose, CA
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"A
History of Tango" San Francisco Academy of Sciences
"An Evening of Dance and Tango" a 2-hour
concert showcasing new Tango compositions by members of
the California Composers Consortium. Two new choreographies
were set to live music performed by Tango No. 9, a San
Francisco-based quartet, specializing in the music of
Astor Piazzolla.
"Mi Tierra" Original choreography created
for the hit by Gloria Estefan at a showcase of Latin music
and dance that opened the Hispanic Film Festival in front
of a crowd of over 3,000 at the San Jose Civic Center.
"Carnation Coffee Mate" a 15-minute video
for the Carnation Company's sales force, aimed at inspiring
them to sell a new line of products. The video required
choreographing a "spoof" on Tango for non-dance
professional actors. The video was produced by Crowley
& Associates, San Francisco.
"Hot Peppers!" A Salsa musical produced
and co-directed by Antonio Madrigal and performed at local
theaters in San Francisco and San Jose in 1992.
"Club Granada" a 2-hour program of original
dance and music, including Argentine Tango, Salsa, modern
dance and ballet, produced for Stanford University by
Professor Charles Ferguson.
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"Tango
in the Gardens" an hour-long program in
Yerba Buena Park with other performers, featuring
the music of Tango No. 9, visiting bandoneonista
Norberto Vogel.
"Tango Through Time" a 90-minute
lecture/demonstration of the history of Tango music
and dance styles for the Academy of Sciences, San
Francisco. The program was researched and written
by Nancy Mendoza.
"Salsa Lunch Breaks" a half-hour
lunchtime workout for office and hospital workers
at the Kaiser Permanente in Richmond, CA that utilized
music and basic dance steps from Salsa, Cha Cha
Cha, Rhumba and other Latin dances to create an
exercise program that was fun, unusual and aerobic.
Gap Café an hour-long, lecture/demonstration
of the history of Tango dancing, compared to modern
dance styles, and lunchtime lesson for employees
at The Gap, celebrating National Hispanic Month.
Benefit for Breast Cancer Research a two-hour
performance with Lineage Dance Company, a modern
dance company from Los Angeles and local ballet/jazz
dancers from Morgan Hill.
San Mateo Spring Show a afternoon event in
Central Park in San Mateo showcasing our Tango and
Salsa students taking our group classes at the Beresford
Recreation Center.
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David
and Nancy have studied with many of the great Argentine
Tango dancers and teachers of our time, including
cast members of the stage shows, "Tango Argentino",
"Forever Tango, and "Tango X 2."
The Mendoza's greatest influence is their first
and long-time teacher, Nora Dinzelbacher.
The Mendozas have also studied extensively with
Nito & Elba Garcia, Luis Castro and
Claudia Mendoza, and Fernanda Ghi and Guillermo
Merlo.
Other teachers who influenced David and Nancy Mendoza's
dance style are as listed:
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Carlos Copello and Alicia Monti
• Carlos Gavito & Marcela Duran
• Carlos & Maria Rivarola
• Diego DiFalco & Carolina Zokalski
• Eduardo Arquimbaud & Gloria Barraud
• Fabian Salas
• Fabio Narvaez & Lorena Yacono
• Facundo & Kely Posadas
• Graciela Gonzales
• Guillermina & Roberto Reis
• Gustavo & Giselle Naveira
• Hector & Elsa Maria Majoral
• Hugo Patyn & Miriam Larici
• Jorge Firpo
• Jorge Nel
• Jorge Torres |
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Juan Bruno
• Juan Carlos Copes
• Julio Balmaceda & Corina de la
Rosa
• Los Dinzel
• Michael Walker & Lauren Berluci
• Miguel Angel Zotto
• Milena Plebs
• Mingo, Pablo & Ester Pugliese
• Nestor Rey
• Olga Besio
• Omar & Vivana
• Orlando Paiva, Sr.
• Oscar Mandagaran & Georgina Vargas
• Osvaldo Zotto
• Pampa Cortes
• Pedro "El Indio" Benavente |
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•
Abi & Sandra (Mitovski) Sawaht [Tango]
• Chandra & Joanna (Koziara) Patel [Salsa]
• Patrick & Karen (An) Miauton [Tango]
• Jerry & Arlene (Floresca) Igtanloc [Tango]
• Justin & Jennifer (Wang) Lin [Tango]
• Patrick & Anita (Lee) Louie [Tango]
• Dan & Debbie Rosler [Salsa]
• Craig & Jill (Michaels) Tanner [Tango]
• Andrew & Jen (Harris) Wilkinson [Tango]
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