Some of my most rewarding tango moments have taken place off the dance floor, in the form of creative partnerships with other members of the international tango community. I'm honored to collaborate with these professionals, whose inspired work transforms the world in subtle and dramatic ways. I hope you will take a moment to learn more about the projects on this page.
-Sharna
Email:
Phone: 202-277-4073
Photo by Isaac Oboka
The Courageous Follower
Sharna collaborated with author and speaker Ira Chaleff in 2011 to create this video, intended for use in management training seminars and presentations. Tango partnering is used to illustrate graceful, weak, competitive, and show-off following styles both on and off the dance floor. Ira Chaleff is a thought leader in the field of Followership. His book, The Courageous Follower has been published in multiple languages and distributed widely. For more information please visit www.courageousfollower.net
The Embrace Necklace
Sharna co-designed the Embrace Necklace with Laurie Ann Greenberg, inspired by the growing community of tango women who dance both roles and support one another in community building efforts locally, nationally, and internationally. Laurie Ann is a thai massage therapist living in Portland, OR who has been organizing tango events for women for the past 15 years. The Necklace is handmade in Portland and can be ordered in all seven colors of the chakra system. 15% of proceeds is donated to Women for Women International, an organization that provides female survivors of war with resources to move from crisis to stability and build peace one woman at a time. To order, please visit www.embracenecklace.com
The Global Milonga
In 2009, Sharna co-founded the Global Milonga with Jenne Magno as an international fundraiser for environmental causes that links tango events in multiple cities through online streaming audio and video. Jenne is a human rights advocate, a documentary filmmaker, and the producer of the annual Tango Alchemie Festival in Prague. Coordinated by a steering committee of five core partner cities, the Global Milonga amplifies the phenomenon of social tango connection both inwardly, by dancing across time zones to the same music, and outwardly, by planting trees to nourish the planet we all share. Global Milonga takes place on the Saturday nearest Dec. 11, National Tango Day in Argentina. To learn more or participate in the next event, please visit www.globalmilonga.org
Tango Mercurio
Sharna founded the nonprofit organization Tango Mercurio in Washington, DC in 2008 with a small cadre of local teachers and social dancers. In her three years as Executive Director, this group expanded to include more than fifty local members of the community serving as board members, teachers, musicians, performers, and volunteer staff. Mercurio offers an adult tango program taught by local and visiting artists, tango outreach programs for urban youth and elders, and regular performances of live music for dancing by its remarkable all-volunteer tango orchestra. Sharna relocated to Los Angeles in 2011 but still serves on Mercurio's board of directors. For information on local programming, please visit www.tangomercurio.org