Tango encuentro events, honoring traditional tango etiquette and floor-craft, were first held in the US in San Diego in 2009, followed by various events mainly in the Southwest. It was around this time that Nat Natalia and John Gair started holding an annual "PT Tango Invitational" event. Like encuentros, the format offered no classes, no teachers, and no vendors. The emphasis was on a good line-of-dance, but without dictating dance style. The focus was simply to enjoy dancing, free from hierarchy or commercialism, with pricing set to break even.
The first PT Encuentro was first organized under the leadership of Ernie Baird and Nat Natali. Since then, various organizers have taken the lead in celebrating close embrace tango in this charming location. This year, 2026, will be our eleventh anniversary.
Vivian is quite acclimated to a life of change. Five years ago she was running a successful kinesiology business in Seattle while carrying her son, one-year old Stefan, around on her hip. The pandemic took them to Portland where the two of them ran a quiet coffee shop. Port Townsend, however, had always been on her mind, and after two years in Portland, she packed up her son and her dog, she heeded the call. The Port Townsend area, with its cool climate, suited her perfectly. She quickly found a place in the community and has thrived ever since.
When not sewing, processing wool, splitting fire wood, milking goats, making yogurt, baking bread, and raising Stefan, she is passionate about nurturing the love of tango in our community. She's happy DJ'ing, running Port Townsend's monthly Milonguita, and occasionally, dancing!
Born and raised in the NW Leighton continues to appreciate the natural beauty and quiet sense of self-reliance found there. For most of his life Leighton has practiced various forms of social dance - folk, swing, salsa, waltz - whatever the music asks for. Initially drawn to Tango for its elegance and emotion, it continues to be a compelling challenge, for its demand for deep empathetic listening — to oneself, one's partner, the music and the floor.
Stepping beyond the role of a dance participant into the world of event promotion is a new and rewarding experience, expanding appreciation for all the little things that create and nurture connection and community. Social dance has always been not just about learning moves; it's about mutual responsibility, commitment and learning social grace. This insight continues to guide and reflect Leighton's values which are grounded in safety, trust, mutual respect, active listening and, last but not least, Play!
For Isha, dance is art, life, aliveness, presence, and pure absolute joy. She experiences her deepening relationship with Tango not merely as dance, but as Duende—that intense, mysterious force rising from the depths of her soul, a raw and complex emotional energy seeking creative expression in the world and awakening us fully to life.
Tango, for Isha, is a spiritual practice that integrates physical embodiment, social connection, deep listening, and creative growth—an alchemy of music, poetry, and story that leads to intimate moments of profound presence. She is delighted to be part of the PT Encuentro team, offering her gifts in food preparation and in crafting an experience of beauty throughout this fabulous event.
Suzanne has found joy in dance for as long as she can remember. Her journey began in Minneapolis, where as an enamoured six-year-old she trained with a Hungarian refugee ballet company whose glamour and passion left a lifelong imprint. As an adult, she performed with a physical theater company and explored somatic studies as well as improvisational and contemplative dance.
Alongside a 40-year career in computer programming and 20 years as a psychotherapist—often overlapping—she continued to dance whenever she could. In 2018 she relocated to Port Townsend for its vibrant dance scene, where she soon discovered tango, a practice that has claimed her heart and imagination ever since.