Brief Tango Teaching Bio
Jean-Pierre Sighé of West Central Africa’s Cameroon nation grew up in a cultural environment where dancing was part of normal living. Equipped with his African dancing background, he later discovered the Latin dances and immediately felt their appeal. Living in Europe, he delighted in Salsa. In the U.S. he pursued his passion for Salsa dancing and decided to further explore Latin dances, such as Rumba and Cha-Cha in the Ballroom context. In 1998, he was invited to discover the Argentine Tango. He intensely and exclusively studied with his first teacher s Alberto Paz and his partner Valorie Hart for several months.
Solidly grounded by Alberto and Valorie's instructions, he later intensified his learning with other Tango Masters, such as Carlos Gavito (and Marcela), Fabian Salas, Chicho (Frumboli), Julio (and Corina); and occasional classes with Eduardo and Gloria, Fernanda and Guillermo, El Indio, Todd and Marizabel. Jean-Pierre has been dancing Tango since 1998 and believes everyone of these Tango Masters opened an enriching window in his mind. Another Tango Master who has enriched Jean-Pierre’s experience is Facundo Posadas who generously shared his knowledge and extended his friendship.
Jean-Pierre is a founding member of A.R.T.S. (Afro Roots in Tango Society). The group was created under the active inspiration of Facundo Posadas, the living Tango Master from Argentina. A.R.T.S. is dedicated to spreading the little known information about the Afro roots in Argentine Tango, dating all the way back from the Candombe of the enslaved Africans and their descendants.
His motivation for teaching Tango derives from his desire to share with others the beauty of this wonderful gift to the world from the Argentinean people. He does not want to simply teach a set of steps following some futile pattern. Jean-Pierre desires to faithfully transmit to others what he has had the privilege to receive directly from the Tango Masters - the spirit of Tango.
