Latin Love Hits the Westside

Tango, the sensual dance born in turn-of-the-century Argentine bordellos, has come to the Westside.

Latin and non-Latin lovers alike can learn to tango with cast members of the new show “Forever Tango: the Eternal Dance,” at the Westside Pavilion on Saturday and July 16.

“We wanted to bring the tango to our customers,” said Mary Lankester, senior marketing director of the Westside Pavilion.

The pavilion helped organize the dance sessions, which began June 18, after being approached by promoters of the tango show. “Forever Tango” opened June 10 at the Wilshire Theater and is scheduled to run through July 17.

Among those on hand for the pavilion’s tango classes June 25 were Cora and Walter Ebeling of Westwood Horizons retirement community. The tango, they said, brought them together two years ago at a New Year’s Eve party, where Walter asked Cora to dance.

“I’ve danced all my life,” said Cora. “I especially love the Latin dances. I love Walter and dancing with him, and we just get along beautifully.”

The Ebelings and two other couples won tickets to “Forever Tango” as they stood on the Pavilion stage, learning the complex dance with Gloria and Eduardo Arquimbau, a veteran husband-and-wife tango team that stars in the show. The Buenos Aires residents have traveled the world touring in tango shows such as the 1986 Broadway hit “Tango Argentino.”

“For us, it’s a tremendous satisfaction to bring our dance to the people,” said Eduardo. “It is much more than just a dance we are bringing, though, it is also our culture.”

For Gloria and Eduardo, who have been together for 30 years, the glamorous dance, refined in the upper-class dance halls of Paris in the early 1900s, is more than a hobby or a form of entertainment. It is a dance that develops a life of its own.

“The tango allows everybody to express their personality,” Eduardo said.

The stars of “Forever Tango: the Eternal Dance” will be demonstrating their techniques next to Nordstrom at Westside Pavilion, 10850 W. Pico Blvd., Level 3, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday and July 16. For information: (310) 273-1172.