Tango Libertad is a collaboration between Colette and Katerina. Their love of tango is what brought them together and their passion for liberation fuels their creativity. For many of us dancing tango brings out our truest self, but can we truly be ourselves if we are not free to be?
Photo: Doug McMinimy
Prior to dedicating her life to tango and painting the dance floor with her feet, Colette spent many years traveling the world exhibiting her art work in galleries from Soho to Spain. Each year returning to Provincetown for the summer to exhibit her work at Passions gallery.
As an artist, Colette liberated herself from traditional painting techniques and devised her own method of pouring incompatible materials like acrylic, oil, desk stain, gold leaf, and whatever else she could find onto a single metal sheet. Using a spatula she would move quickly to swirl the melange of materials into an expression of movement and sensuality.
During the day she would dedicate herself to working on 10 painting each day and at night she would seek out the top Argentine tango maestros.
Today this self-proclaimed gypsy continues her travels around the world sharing her love of tango and art with others.
To see more of Colette’s art work visit her online studio.
Colette is one of the most respected and sought-after tango performers and instructors in North America. Colette and her former partner were US Tango Champions and finalist in Tango Salon and semifinalist during the 2005 Buenos Aires World competition. While Colette is known in the tango community for her dancing and sophisticated choreography it is her ability to teach the complexities of this dance and cultivate others’ passion for it that has grown a community of beloved tango students.
She believes that while technique in tango is important it is the human connection that makes it a unique dance, “all of the emotion of a human being that we don’t put into words, you have [with tango]...“it’s a dialogue between two human beings, and you know how life is today: we work, work, work and work, work, work and eat and work … the human quality aspect? People really find it in tango.”
L’accolade by Colette Hebert
Katerina’s love affair with tango began 5 years ago in Paris, while at the Trocadero plaza she heard sounds of unfamiliar music that reached her heart. Under the watchful eye of La Dame de Fer completely captivated she watched as couples navigated the floor lost in each other's embrace.
Years went by, and she admired her yet-to-be lover longingly from afar. One day she was reading an article about Edie Windsor, who famously said “don’t postpone joy!” And so she went on a search to find an instructor that would embrace the idea of a female leader. Luckily, she found Madame C! To learn more about the story of how they met…