Lucas Gastiarena

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Lucas was born and raised in Argentina. Tango has deep connections with his early life; his mother and grandfather sang and danced tango since his earliest childhood. As a musician, he studied classical guitar and piano, as well as Lindy Hop, contemporary dance, dance theatre and corporal expressionism, among other dance forms.

In Buenos Aires he danced tango for almost twenty years, and lived through the Tango revivals in the 2000s. Since his arrival in Sheffield with his partner Melanie he organises regular group lessons in Argentine Tango, nights of social dance, and tango events. He is one of the organisers of The Sheffield Tango Festival.

His interest in philosophy and history follows a parallel path with both of his parents being philosophy graduates, and with philosophy being very much part of home life. He has a degree in History from the University of Buenos Aires, orientated towards Latin American philosophy. This interest now continues through his PhD at the University of Sheffield, exploring Argentinean artistic expressions in the first half of the 20th century through the lens of cynicism, in both its ancient and modern conceptualizations, and simultaneously, exploring the dynamic presence of the influence of cynicism in our culture.

A central chapter of his thesis is in fact the history of tango and its transformation throughout the 20th century. We look forward to the sharing of his knowledge and experience in his workshop.

Festival Workshop by Lucas

On Saturday Lucas will be presenting a talk on The History of Tango.