Exploring Life & Business with Erin Malley of Erin and Doruk Tango

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Malley. They and their team shared their story with us below:

Erin Malley and Doruk Golcu met on the dance floor of the NYC All Night Milonga in 2004. Both were studying Argentine Tango as a hobby, and they became friends and finally life partners as a result of this auspicious meeting. They taught periodically in NYC and then in San Francisco, where they relocated for Doruk’s work in Neurobiology. After a student invited them to teach in Ireland in 2014, they became intrigued with the possibility of touring as teachers, and they went for it in 2015, touring in the US and Europe and getting invited to perform in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

#tourlife (as they fondly refer to it) came to an abrupt pause during the pandemic, so when social dance started opening back up, they began with a bit of local teaching in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Now, they are happily returning to many of the places that they previously toured to before, but they continue to offer classes, private lessons, and milongas (a milonga is a name for the social dance event of Argentine Tango) in Grand Rapids in the hopes that they can contribute to building Argentine Tango in the region. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Erin and Doruk did most of their Argentine Tango studies together, and in that way, it’s been a very fulfilling path for them to develop together as dancers, then teachers, and performers. They work together very collaboratively, and the long years of training together do reflect positively in their work. 

The pandemic presented a big challenge, as it came right at a juncture when their national and international profile as a couple was greatly increasing. It was so difficult too for students and dancers around the world to maintain excitement for dancing and solo practice: so much of the joy of dancing Argentine Tango is in the interpersonal connection and collaboration between dancers. 

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Erin and Doruk Tango?
In their teaching of Argentine Tango, Erin and Doruk prioritize partnership, concentrating on what makes true leading and following and making the dance work as a collaborative team. They use structural analysis to facilitate understanding. They believe that this analysis can be used to build the foundation for any aesthetic styling you choose. 

Erin and Doruk greatly encourage exploration and experimentation in their students. They have lived in several very vibrant communities containing a broad variety of tango styles, and they have danced socially around the world. Thanks to that exposure, they can strongly contextualize their teachings to different styles and approaches of dancing social tango. 

As artists and teachers, Erin and Doruk are constantly in process. They are always seeking to discover more about themselves as dancers and learners. The evolution of their growth in turn informs and deepens their teaching, making each encounter with their students more enriching than the last. 

The most important aspect of Erin and Doruk’s teaching is the depth that they are willing to go to with students – far beyond steps, embrace, or musicality. They enjoy years-long processes with their students and often inspire a love of both the dance and of learning with the students they work with. 

Erin and Doruk offer weekly open classes, practices, and private lessons in Grand Rapids, currently teaching at Social Dance Studio. There, they also offer a monthly milonga, on the first Thursday of each month. 

Erin and Doruk also offer intensive training at their home studio a bit further north of Grand Rapids, which is geared towards their long-time students who are ready for deeper work. The best way to participate in one of these is to get started as a regular student and get curious about tango! 

Finally, E&D continue to tour to various cities in the US and Europe, offering classes, workshops, small-group intensives, performances, and private lessons, meeting the needs of the communities where they travel to. 

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Books: 

The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey 

The Mental Athlete by Kay Porter 

Tango Stories: Musical Secrets by Michael Lavocah 

Doruk is also an avid reader of fiction, especially fantasy, horror, and science-fiction. Erin loves the magical realism genre. 😉 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.erinanddoruktango.com
• Instagram: erinanddoruktango
• Facebook: erinanddoruktango
• Youtube: erindoruktango

Image Credits
Allison Novak
Robbie Sweeny