Despite considering himself a small town boy with very humble wants and desires, Joe Leonardo creates strong currents, quiet and deep, as a dancer of Argentine Tango in Portland, Oregon. Born into the world of Argentine Tango during the decline of the Golden Age of Tango in Portland, Joe has striven for excellence and has felt very privileged to find himself in an environment and community where excellence in tango is always a possibility. Through the years of the Post-Golden Age of Tango in Portland and on into this brave new continuously evolving tango world that has yet to be defined, Joseph Leonardo carries on the development of his craft and his art and takes great joy in his own evolution as well as in the weighty contributions he has made to the Portland Tango scene.Besides (and perhaps because of) being one of the most active Argentine Tango dancers in Portland, living and breathing almost wholly in the world of milongas and dance studios to nourish his insatiable need of greatness of the tango spirit, Joe Leonardo has also played an integral role in the formation of the Argentine Tango club at Portland State University and its relationship to the larger tango community, has created and hosts two lovely milongas (the “aime comme moi” milonga and Milonga Pa’ la Gente), and has become one of the most respected and sought-after DJs in Portland. As a strong and passionate teacher in Portland and beyond, he has left an indelible and beneficial mark on many students that have come in contact with him. Since late 2006, Joe has also worked at the famous studio of Alex Krebs, Tango BerretÃn, where his crowning achievement as the studio’s glorified janitor can be exemplified best by people often saying, “Hey, that strange smell isn’t here anymore!”
Joe Leonardo is most often described by the people who come in contact with him as intense and passionate, but also often as dark, mysterious, quiet, cruel, intriguing, handsome, musical, shy, confusing, winsome, wily, selfish, devastating, and ridiculous –the list of the good and bad is endless and most likely all absolutely true. In tango though, his passion and intensity are undeniable facts, proven by his uncanny ability to fearlessly share it and elicit it from whomever who dares to come close to him. And in general, people call him Joe or Joseph, depending on how they feel about him.
