A 501(c)(3) nonprofit for our Tango community

Let's help each other nurture our dance skills!

About PTA

The Portland Tango Association was born out of the desire of a group of local tango dancers to help the Portland Tango community grow and thrive.

PTA is set up as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the goal of helping the community grow and provide plenty of opportunities for the local dancers to refine their skills.

Some of these opportunities could be, for example, help organize local events with quality visiting teachers or provide scholarships to new and seasoned dancers to encourage them to take classes with local and visiting teachers.

PTA is trying to develop this support by tapping into the generosity of the larger Portland urban community.

Our Story

The Portland Tango Community started around 1996 thanks to the passion of a few courageous group of ballroom dancers that discovered the wonders of the Argentine Tango. Once they encountered the tango they could not go back to any other dance and settled themselves on the path to grow a community of tango dancers that could share and understand their obsession. Many stories have been told about those brave community builders and we would encourage whoever knows more of them to come along and share them with us.

Since that time, the Portland tango community has developed into an active group of around five – six hundred dancers that every week, almost every night, meet to social dance all over town.

The consistent growth of the community is mainly due to the continuous effort its participants put in teaching, learning, and organizing events for the benefit of their fellow dancers and of the larger community of people surrounding it.
This is one of the reasons why we have two major successful local festivals happening every year for more than 20 years. They helped spread the wonders of the tango in our larger community and beyond. Many people from all over the US and beyond make a point to come to our festivals and enjoy the friendliness of our tango community while they get to experience the beauty and quirkiness of our town.