About
The Phoenix Tango Academy is the first Argentine Tango school in the Phoenix area dedicated to training students to learn to dance socially, to compete in the US and Argentina, to perform, and to train teachers in Argentine Tango.
Founded in 2023 by Daniela Borgialli, The Phoenix Tango Academy distinguishes itself as a school teaching Argentine tango as seen in the dance halls of Buenos Aires and beyond, not American or ballroom or other forms of Tango.
The Academy brings people together to experience the dance, music, culture and community of Argentine Tango. Through quality instruction that moves beyond patterns, students connect to themselves, to the community and embrace this dance form as their own.
About Daniela
Daniela Borgialli is an internationally recognized Argentine Tango instructor with over 30 years of dance experience. She’s a tango champion and talented, professionally trained dancer.
Daniela’s Argentine Roots
My father (Carlos G. Borgialli) was born in Patagonia, Argentina as was my grandfather (Raul Borgialli). Raul Borgialli enjoyed dancing Tango and met my grandmother at a milonga during Carnival. My great-grandfather (Carlos Pietro Angelo Borgialli) was an Italian immigrant from Favria, near Turin, who settled in Patagonia in the late 1890’s. As a writer he wrote and published many articles regarding Patagonia’s heroes and early settlers. There is a street and Museum in Puerto Santa Cruz named after him, El Museo Regional Carlos Borgialli. He married, Guillermina Rodriguez, a descendant of General Martin Rodriguez, a prominent figure in the early years of Argentina’s Independence. Pietro Rubione was a cousin of my abuelo (grandfather) Raul Borgialli, who composed and wrote the music for several movies. Musician and orchestra leader, Horacia Salgan as well as Beba Pulgiese (daughter of Osvaldo Pugliese) were both students of his.
Early Years!
Born in Washington, DC to an Argentine father and a Panamanian-born mother, they moved to New England when she was 10. She attended high school in Groton, MA and received a BA in French Language and Literature from Boston University. She spent her Jr year abroad in France where she danced, performed and managed to study and travel.
Daniela studied ballet, jazz and contemporary dance. She dabbled in square dancing while living in New England and studied Morris dancing with Professor Anthony Barrand while at Boston University.
Always a lover of music, she was a classically trained pianist for more than 10 years before dance took over as her new first love.
Enter Argentine Tango
Daniela discovered Argentine tango while receiving her Master’s degree in Dance and Choreography at Arizona State University. Then 5 years later, she taught Argentine Tango at Arizona State University for 11 years, where more than 1500 students took her classes.
After more than 25 years of dancing Argentine tango she still enjoys the passion and connections that the dance offers. Daniela has trained in all styles and believes that technique is essential no matter what style you choose to dance. Her approach to teaching combines her knowledge and training of body biomechanics and dance to create a clear understanding of the intricacies of the Argentine Tango.
Visiting Buenos Aires frequently for professional development, Daniela also conducted Immersion Tours between 2007-2010, bringing students to the heart of Argentine tango for 10 days of dancing!
In May 2016, she was recognized with a certificate from her grande Maestra, Graciela González, enabling her to implement the “Método Graciela González”, in her tango classes.
University Teaching
She was Faculty Associate, teaching two Argentine Tango classes at Arizona State University for 11 years. As many as 80 students from all disciplines enrolled in her courses each semester for academic credit towards their majors. During this time, Tango Club at ASU grew and flourished, hosting many guest artists, including Chicho Frumboli and Juana Sepulveda, Martin Maldinado and Maurizio Ghella, and hosting annual retreats and their own Festivals.
Daniela Borgialli was the only full-time Argentine Tango instructor in the Phoenix area who held anMFA degree in Dance and Choreography.
In 2015 she finished writing The Tango Workbook First Edition: designed as a textbook for students of Argentine Tango. It contains information that supports the beginning student, based on her years of teaching Argentine Tango at the University level. She is currently working on the 2nd edition.
Guest Artist in Residence
In 2019 Daniela returned to Arizona State University as Guest Artist in Residence in both the Dance and Theater Departments.
In the Theater department she was the choreographer for the play, Valentino and the Chilean Heiress, written and directed by Professor Guillermo Reyes. She returned to the Theater as choreographer for Manuel Puig’s play, The Kiss of the Spider Woman, directed by Guillermo Reyes.
In the Dance department she was able to draw on her three areas of expertise; Argentine Tango, contemporary modern dance, and somatics, to offer several classes, lectures, and presentations to the student body. She especially enjoyed presenting Explorations in Connections: a workshop that uses touch and improvisation to bring awareness to how it feels to dance Argentine Tango to non-tango dancers.
The Maestros
She has had the privilege to study and train with many great maestros of varied styles but she has been greatly influenced by the legendary Graciela González. In 2014 and 2015 she trained extensively with the 2013 World Champions of Tango Salon, Maximiliano Cristiani and Jesica Arfenoni and felt greatly empowered by the experience.
She continues to deep dive into her dance, always finding ways to improve her dance and her skills.
Salon Competitions
Although a self-proclaimed social dancer, she competed in 7 Tango Competitions with her former partner. They were finalists in 5 US competitions. In 2012 they placed #2 in the U.S Argentine Tango Salon competition and #3 in the N.Y Tango Salon Competition in 2013. She participated in two Mundials de Tango en Buenos Aires, training extensively in Buenos Aires and in the US.
International Teaching
She has taught workshops throughout Arizona; San Diego, CA; Charleston, SC; Washington DC with Tango Mercurio; Las Cruces and Albuquerque, NM; Minneapolis, MN; Ann Arbor, MI; Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks, AK for the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival in 2019 and 2021; El Paso, Austin, and Houston, TX; Montreal, Canada; TangoLoft, Mala Junta, LaBerlinesa in Berlin Germany, and 20 other European cities, as well as assisting classes in Buenos Aires and performing at the famous Salon Canning.
She lived and taught in Berlin from 2015 – 2017.
She spent quarantine 2020 in Buenos Aires. Arizona has become her home base again since January 2023. She is excited about the founding of the Phoenix Tango Academy and sees Argentine Tango growing in the Phoenix area.
Daniela speaks Spanish, French, and English.
Daniela teaches both roles.