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

Diane Rivest

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.

Mathieu Brossard

Mathieu discovered tango almost by accident on a trip to Buenos Aires in 2005. He became hooked right away to this wonderful dance. Upon returning home, he signed up for classes with Mylène Pelletier and relentlessly continues to train and dance as much as possible. Black belt holder and avid aikido practitioner for over 10 years, he emphasises in his dancing the quality of the connection, musicality and precision in the movements. Mathieu has since returned many times to Argentina to study with great masters such as Fernando Galera et Vilma Vega, Ramiro Gigliotti et Julio Balmaceda et Corina de la Rosa.

Mary Sarli

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.

Christian Gagnon

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.

Simon Alarie

Born in Montreal, Simon Alarie has been involved in the dance world since 1989. Curious and versatile, he has explored many different professional avenues from Montanaro Danse to Celine Dion, the Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers to Graffiti Tango, the Grand Ballets Canadiens to The Cirque du Soleil and Carbone 14. He has also had the pleasure to work with Marie Chouinard and O Vertigo, as a soloist. In the autumn of 2004, he used his talent to perform a supporting role in Carole Laure's movie, called CQ2. After being with the Musical CHICAGO in Paris he collaborated with O Vertigo to perform the lead role in their stage production PASSARE as well as the main role in their film POINT DE FUITE. This opportunity allowed him to explore the subtleties in the interpretation of these roles. After returning from Buenos Aires, filled with the magic of Argentinean Tango; Simon has continued to develop as a dancer and teacher of Tango, to enable him to share this beautiful art form with you.

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.