Biography

The biography below was last updated in 2005, shortly before Shahrukh moved to Buenos Aires. Needless to say, it is outofdate and it does not include any of his Tango activities in the years in Buenos Aires since then.

Shahrukh Merchant is trained exclusively by top Tango maestros from Buenos Aires (an estimated 1000+ hours of training since 1995), and teaches authentic Argentine Tango as it is danced in the salons of Buenos Aires. He is among the longest-time Tango dancers in the Boston area, and founded the widely-used Tango-A and Tango-L international Tango announcement and discussion lists. He also co-founded the Tango Society of Boston in 1997.

Shahrukh is a frequent visitor to Buenos Aires, where he dances and studies over 4 months each year and is well-known in Tango circles and the Milongas there. He has studied with dozens of the top teachers in and from Buenos Aires and knows almost all of them personally, with several being close personal friends. They are a who's who of Tango dancers and teachers, and include: Carlos Gavito, Pablo Veron & Noel Strazza, Facundo & Kely Posadas, Antonio "Junior" Cervila, Carina Losano, Nito & Elba Garcia, Guillermina Quiroga, Fabian Salas & Carolina del Rivero, Miriam Larici & Hugo Patyn, Omar Vega, Eduardo Cappussi & Mariana Flores, Eduardo & Gloria Arquimbau, Gabriel Angio & Natalia Games, Cecilia Gonzalez, Julio Balmaceda & Corina de la Rosa, Fernanda Ghi & Guillermo Merlo, Norberto "El Pulpo" Esbrez & Luiza Paes, Daniela Arcuri & Armando Orzuza, Pablo Fontana & Carina Losano, Leandro Palou and Andrea Missé, Diego Di Falco and Carolina Zokalski, Mariano "Chicho" Frumboli, Mingo & Esther Pugliese, Juan Carlos Copes, Maria & (the late) Rodolfo Cieri, Héctor Falcon, Sergio Natario & Alajandra Arrué, Eduardo Saucedo & Marisa Quiroga, Chiche & Marta, Milena Plebs & Ezequiel Farfaro, Roberto Herrera & Natacha Poberaj, Sebastian Arce & Mariana Montes, Ezequiel Paludi & Sabrina Masso, Roberto Reis & Lucila Cionci, Damian Essel & Nancy Louzan, Demián García & Carolina Bonaventura, Esteban Moreno & Claudia Codega, Osvaldo Zotto & Lorena Ermocida, Gustavo Naveira & Giselle Anne, Milena Plebs & Ezequiel Farfaro, Mora Godoy, Geraldine Rojas & Javier Rodriguez, Jorge Dispari & Maria "La Turca" del Carmen Romero, Aurora Lubiz & Jorge Firpo, Miguel Angel Zotto, Graciela Gonzales, (the late) Lampazo, (the late) Juan Bruno.

Shahrukh's class focus is on proper technique, taught in small groups where individual attention (essential for properly learning Tango technique) is possible. See more about Shahrukh's teaching style and philosophy under Teaching Tango. For unsolicited comments by current and former students, click here.