Two to Tango: Russian-Argentine Couple Conquers Dancing Heights

Tango is a passionate and romantic dance. Yamila Viana, a 35-year-old Argentinian tango dancer, and Ivan Troshhi, a 29 -year-old Russian ballroom dancer, live a dream. The two grew as a couple and celebrated their victory at the United States national championship in tango and participated in Tango World Championship of 2015 and 2016.

“In my house, tango was always present. Tango was felt everywhere,” Viana told Sputnik.

Yamila Viana was born in a musical family in Misiones province, Argentina. Her mother had a wonderful singing voice, her dad beautifully played the guitar, and her grandmother mastered the piano.

Despite Viana’s passionate love of tango, the Argentinian woman encountered difficulties when searching for a partner as she is 1.75 meters tall.

“The only reason behind my constant search for a partner is that most dancers are not as tall. When I arrived to New York, I took up ballroom dancing. Only disciplined and diligent artists, who are mainly Russians, practice this style of dance. Surprisingly, after a while, I found the perfect partner — my super dancing Russian man, Ivan Troshhi,” Yamila Viana told Sputnik.

The two met at the dancing studio, where Ivan taught ballroom dancing, while Viana was a tango teacher.

After a while, Ivan offered Yamila to work together to apply for a national tango event in San Francisco.

“I could not resist Ivan’s offer. After all, we won the championship in two categories: Salon Tango and Tango Show. However, we have not reached the finals. But we were prepared for this as to achieve better result we need more time,” Viana told Sputnik.

Even though Ivan and Vienna did not reach the finals, the experience gained from their performance helped them to grow as a couple.

Ivan’s case is more unique compared to Viana’s. He was born in Siberia in a military family, constantly moving from one city to another. Ivan’s passion for music was inherited from his Ukrainian grandfather, who played the bandoneon – very popular instrument among tango artists.

“I was surprised by Ivan’s story. It seems incredible when three generations played the bandoneon during family gatherings,” said Vienna to Sputnik.

This year, 19 pairs attended the Tango Show category. However, for Ivan and Viana tango is something more than a passion – it is a way of life.

In January, the couple opened a dancing school named Tango School New York City. In tango, each of them found true love and their dream job.

“I have always liked tall men,” Viana admitted.