The Team

Mylène Pelletier

Mylène presently heads her own company Air de Tango and organizes numerous courses and workshops in Montreal and the surrounding area. She is best known for her “ Point Zero ” class in which she transmits to students her very own technique she has developed over the years. This very technique has become her signature. She is also well known for her profound understanding of both leading and following roles. One of her latest endeavor has been to bring world-renowned tango dancers/professors to the Montreal community, most recently Jorge Torres and Antonio "Junior" Cervila, Natalia Games and Gabriel Angio with other invited guests planned in the near future. Mylène is a graceful and elegant dancer who has exceptional footwork.

Read more about Mylene

Bernard Caron - professor

Teaching the Argentinian tango is a privilege and an important responsibility for Bernard. Much more than communicating knowledge, it represents the transmission of passion and the opportunity to accompany the students in their interior and external transformation. He has experimented that passion without interruption since 1999 focussing on what he considers being the three pillars of the Argentinian tango: the intimate connection, the search for elegance and the best musical interpretation.  While being in contact with some of the famous milongueros of Buenos Aires, he has developed his own particular style, elegant, precise and inspiring. Bernard has been teaching since 2002, mainly alongside Caroline Demers. Together, in 2003, they founded the school Tango Rico in Chambly. Bernard also created the famous Portail du tango argentin (www.milonga.ca) and the Tango Express, a bi-mensual electronic bulletin that covers the tango news in Québec.

Caroline Demers - professor

Caroline started dancing ballet at the age of 8 years old with Miss Claire Brind’Amour ex-teacher of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Their she had developed grace and proud  within this discipline until the age of 16 years old.

She also touch other form of spirit and body work as, aikido, tai-chi, yoga, Qi Gong , and, meditation. All these approches are parts of her teaching.

She found her passion for tango in January 1999 at Tango Libre where she finally consumated her love for dance.

Always in search of improvement , she participated in many classes with argentenean’s teachers.

In September 2001, she began teaching at L’Academie de Tango Argentin with Santiago Gimènez where she develop her warm and kind approach  with her students. She is a patient and generous pedagogue.

After a few people asking her to start classes in Chambly, Caroline alongside Bernard Caron, decided to open a school of tango named Tango Rico.

Suzanne Lavoie - professor

After many years of salsa, Suzanne dedicates her life to tango. Trained in Montréal by Agata Jakubczuk and Gerardo Sanchez, she explores different styles with Argentine tango masters. Her teaching is very personalized, based on the understanding of the movements, always with a good sense of humour.

Francois Tremblay - professor

François has been interested in Argentine tango since 2004, which he discovered with his first masters: Agata Jakubczyk and Gerardo Sanchez. He will then have the chance to meet Marisol Morales and Alejandro Larenas who were a big influence in his future endeavor. Since 2006, François teaches tango and has performed on stage in various events. During the Festival International de Tango Argentin de Montréal in 2007, he danced with the Beba Pugliese Orchestra at the Théâtre de Verdure.

Diane Rivest - professor

A classical dancer for over thirty years, Diane received her training in Montreal with Esther Lambert. She is assistant director of l'École de Ballet Poétique Esther Lambert for 12 years now. She is also professor, choreographer and dancer for the troupe « Les Ballets Poétiques » . Amongst her interests for dance she integrated herself intensively in ballroom dancing for some time. In May 2005, a dream of hers came true, that of discovering the beauty of Argentinean Tango. She has received her training from Mylène Pelletier and has participated in various workshops offered by visiting teachers such as: Pablo Veron, Cecilia Gonzalez, Julio Mendez, Pulpo and Louisa.

Christian Gagnon - DJ

Originally from the south shore of Montreal, Christian had his first contact with the world of dance during his studies at the collège St-Laurent while participating in a theatre production and a the competition  "Cégep en spectacle".  In 2005, he discovered Argentinean Tango and quickly became very passionate about this dance.  Receiving from the beginning his teachings from Mylène Pelletier, Christian has also participated to workshops by Jorge Torres, Antonio « Junior » Cervila and the couple Natalia Games and Gabriel Angio.  Furthermore he now participates to Air de Tango's Friday night milongas as an occasional DJ.

Mary Sarli - professor

Mary started ballroom dancing at the age of 8 and received extensive training in both International & American styles. She taught at various schools in Montreal for over 15 years, including the Arthur Murray Dance Studio and San Tropez.  In 1997, she co-founded the Montreal Swing Dance Society, teaching Lindy Hop and East Coast Swing, and was the first in Montreal to organize Big Band, 40's style swing dances. Her passion for dance further lead her to explore Flamenco, Tap, and Hip-Hop.

On stage, Mary has performed in the musical theatre productions of Evita and Guys & Dolls (Lyric Theatre), The Rocky Horror Show (Karma Productions), Iolanthe (Montreal West Operatic Society), and in several vacation resorts in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. 

She started dancing Argentine Tango over 15 years ago, taking lessons with Carlos Loyola of the Tangueria.  She was fortunate to have also learned from local teachers Joseph Bain, Tomas Howlin, and Noel Strazza, as well as visiting masters Jorge Torres, Aurora & Jorge Firpo, and Carlos Gavito.  She spent one year in Italy where she trained with Ernesto Carmona and danced with La Compagnia Libertango (Venice). Upon her return, she taught at Graffiti Tango from 1997 to 1998.

After some time off to have a baby, Mary is back to share her passion for dance and to communicate the joys of dancing the Tango.

Marc-André Gauthier - violin

For his first performance as a soloist at nine years old with the Montreal Metropolitain Orchestra, Marc-André Gauthier was acclaimed by the public and the critics. He became known as one of the top young Canadian prodigies of the end of the twentieth century.

Born in Montreal in 1978, Marc-André studied with greatest classical violin masters including Isaac Stern, Miriam Fried, Jean-Jacques Kantorow.

Grantee of the Canada Council for the Arts, he received three times the Joseph Gingold scholarship at Indiana University where he obtained an Artist Diploma. He also obtained a superior degree diploma from Verbier Academy in Switzerland, the International Mozarteum in Austria and a 3^rd cycle (PhD) at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Paris.

A true phenomenon, he won many national and international competitions and performed as a soloist with orchestras in Canada including the National Art Center, Montreal, Metropolitain, Toronto, Quebec and many others. He was also invited by many prestigious chamber music festivals in North and South America, Europe and the Middle East.

An accomplished musician, his exceptional technical ability and his great feeling for music allow him to explore different musical styles including jazz. In 2004, bayan accordionist Vladimir Sidorov and double bassist François Marion joined Marc-André to create a unique trio, MAG TRIO!

Marc-André plays on the superb 1705 Guarnerius Violin (ex-Paul Deschamps). Thanks to Canimex Inc.

Vladimir Sidorov - accordion

Well before he received his masters in Music at the Astrakhan State Conservatory (Russia) in 1994, Vladimir Sidorov had charmed audiences with his virtuosity and the finesse of his interpretations. Upon completion of his studies, he was awarded the highly coveted title of “Concert Musician”.

Sidorov began his international solo career in 1997 with a tour of Hungary, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, moving to Montréal later the same year. In 2001, he recorded his first solo album, and later took part in a Hindemith concert with the musicians of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal under the direction of Charles Dutoit. Among other activities that year, he was also invited to join the Orchestre symphonique de Québec for a work by conductor Yoav Talmi.

In 2002, he composed the music for a work by choreographer Laurence Lemieux inspired by Dostoyevsky’s novel Poor Folk that toured to Montréal, Québec City and Saint Petersburg. In 2003, Sidorov encountered percussionist Marie-Josée Simard with whom he developed an original program for a previously non-existent type of ensemble (Bayan, vibraphone and percussion). Together, the duo performed a 12-concert tour of the province of Quebec, and recorded a CD entitled Rencontre on the Tout Crin label.

Vladimir Sidorov’s broad repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary, and includes his own compositions and transcriptions for the bayan. He is a frequently invited soloist with numerous musical ensembles, both in Canada and Russia.

François Marion - basse

François Marion obtained a bachelor degree in music from the University of Montreal. He specialized in jazz studying with Michel Donato, Denis Labrosse et Frederic Alarie.

For the past fifteen years, his instruments have vibrated in a variety of musical programs. He played with many artists including Dorothée Berryman, Térez Moncalm, Marc-André Gauthier (MAG), Vladimir Sidorov, Jano Bergeron, Charles Papasoff, Alexandre Cattaneo, Bet.e and Stef, Robert Marien, Yves Lambert, Turyn Von Pranke, Richard Abel, Al Martino, Connie Francis. He performed in a numbers of festivals in Canada and abroad like the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Off Jazz Festival, the Saskatoon Festival, the « Festival de Musique du Monde » in Louisiana and the « Festival de Marne » in Paris.

François was involved in numerous recordings including the last album of Yves Lambert « Récidive », Térez Montcalm and many artists of the Quebec world and jazz community. He can adapt to the musical styles of the artists that he performs with.