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The Beginning

Oscar was born in Parque Patricios (a well-known tango barrio in Buenos Aires) to Oscar Jorge Casas and his wife Mafalda Lucia. They were avid tango dancers, evidenced by the fact that, in the 1950's and '60's, they organized three different milongas per week, at Club Huracan, Club Bristol, and La Taverna de Ricardo. These milongas together regularly drew in 400-500 dancers. In addition Oscar's father gave lessons and held practicas in their home on a weekly basis. So young Oscar spent a lot of time watching a tangle of tango legs!

Oscar was very much influenced by his father, both by osmosis and discussion.  He absorbed the code (codigo) of the milongueros, and instinctively took up the posture and walk of a porteno (a citizen of Bs As). When he eventually decided to take up the dance seriously, he already had a background and base that was the envy of many.

Mary Ann came to tango fourteen years ago from a background of ice-dancing. Coincidentally, her favourite ice-dance just happens to be the Argentine Tango. Oscar and Mary Ann have spent the last five years living 6 months in Bs As and 6 months in Toronto. In Jan. 2006 they got married in Bs As and celebrated with a dinner and milonga. In June of the same year, they did it all over again (wedding, milonga) for their Toronto friends and family.

 

Tango Influences Through the Years

Oscar and Mary Ann have studied with many talented teachers over the years and have been profoundly influenced by many others. They would like to mention and give thanks to the following people:

Pablo Villarraza & Dana Frigoli (and all the teachers at DNI Studios), Roberto Herrera, Sergio Nataro & Alejandra Arrue, Stella Barba, Osvaldo Zotto, Hernan Obispo & Mariana Dragone, Carlos Gavito, Ricardo Vidort, Nelson Avila, Raul Poli, Omar Vega, Luis Bianchi, Fernando Rodriguez, Fernando Serrano, Gustavo Naveira, Elizabeth Sadowska, and many others.

Tango-related Activities

Videos:     In the last three years, Oscar has become well-known throughout the world tango community for his videos on YouTube. He has generously shared his insights into understanding the concepts of tango, with his summaries of some of the many lessons he has given. He has also posted several exhibitions from milongas in Buenos Aires and elsewhere. (See below). www.youtube.com/oscarcasastango.     

Oscar has also produced short artistic videos on CD and DVD. The subject matter revolves around tango, whether it be glimpses of Buenos Aires through a tango eye, exhibitions from various milongas in Bs As, montages of Carlos Gardel over city backgrounds, whimsical perspectives of tango and the city in Toronto, and many more. At the Boston Tango Festival in June 2004 his CD "Tango Unlimited - Exhibitions and More" was enthusiastically received. More recently he has produced even more DVDs, one of which is an entertaining interview, with exhibitions, of Osvald & Coca Cartery, tango salon champions of 2004.  

Paintings:           Oscar is a talented artist with a unique style. The passion and energy that he puts into dancing tango is reflected in his paintings, which tend to be full of movement and colour. His favourite subject matter is music, whether it be tango dancers or musicians, or jazz groups. Examples of his art can be seen on his art web page: www.oscarcasas.htmlplanet.com

Photography:      Oscar has an extensive background in professional photography, specializing in digital. During a recent trip to Buenos Aires, he took many poster-quality photos of professional dancers and friends. He put together artistic portfolios for Fernando Serrano & Alicia Monti, and for Luis Bianchi.

Tango Lyrics:       All his life Oscar has been writing the lyrics to tangos, and recently he started combining his original lyrics with photography to produce works of art that are not only unique, but truly beautiful. In 2005 he presented one of his mentors, Carlos Gavito, with a photo/tango created especially for him. To see examples, please go to Tango Lyrics 1 and 2.

All the above activities have had constant input from Mary Ann, whether it be moral support, constructive criticism, composing text, or translating into correct English.