Ive Simard (born approx. 1946) was a Canadian and US tanguero, choreographer, and instructor of Argentine tango. He opened his own tango school El Mundo del Tango in San Diego, California in 1993. He was holding degrees in dance from both the University of Quebec and the Imperial Society of Dancing, in the United Kingdom and he was an international open champion in Ballroom and Latin Divisions in 1977, 1978, and 1979 and as international judge accredited with the International Council of Ballroom Dance.^[1]

He was born^[2] and raised in the city of Quebec, Canada. His mother was Carmel Bedaro (Simard). One of his teachers, since 1960, was Juan Carlos Copes. At the age of 15 he started to be a professional dancer.^[3] He was influenced by the Indian mystic Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj whose book "I Am That" was translated to English in 1973. From 1985 to 1992 Ive Simard and his wife Ludmilla Anna Simard (born approx. 1950) worked on cruise ships producing and performing over 300 shows a year. During the South American summer the ship traveled between Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires, staying in Buenos Aires for several days. Along with his wife, he opened his own tango school, El Mundo del Tango, in San Diego, California in 1993. In 1994 Simard was giving some tango classes at a place run by Bassam Shamma. In 1996, El Mundo Del Tango moved into a facility of 4000 square feet on 6904 Miramar Road in San Diego.^[4] El Mundo Del Tango Academy ^[5] ran regular classes from strict beginner to intermediate and advanced levels, as well as professional classes and workshops. In 2008 El Mundo del Tango was moved to the new facility "Tango del Rey" in San Diego. He trained and mentored professional and amateur dancers in Tango, Ballroom, Classical Ballet, Jazz, and Olympic Skating throughout the world including Canada, England, Argentina, the former Soviet Union, Turkey, and Greece.^[1]

Simard had plans to create the world's first tango university, which would be located in a circular mall that would have 24 boutiques, all related to tango, in the front. The university would be in the back, all on one floor, with different departments. The plan was to create a reconstitution of Buenos Aires, and anyone who stepped into the mall would forget they were in San Diego.^[2]

A resolution was passed in 2002 in the California Legislature Assembly recognizing Simard's service to the people of the State of California.^[1] He became a US citizen on March 19, 2004.

Argentine Tango Masters Academy

In references ^{[6] [7]} Ive Simard talks about history of his tango syllabus. Argentine Tango Syllabus was a comprehensive plan of study for Argentine Tango dancers. It consisted of 450 patterns and variations showcased in 1792 video clips of Argentine Tango, Vals Cruzado (Tango Waltz), Milonga, and Pecho Argentino (Apilado, Milonguero Style). The syllabus was divided into three levels - Bronze (Associate Basic Level), Silver (Licentiate Intermediate Levels), and Gold (Fellow Advanced Level) - with each level applicable to all four dances. According to Simard it was the "first authentic Argentine Tango syllabus" and was the guideline of the Argentine Tango Master Association (ATMA). The final 4th edition was released in 2021.

Many people graduated from the Argentine Tango Master Association program including Karen Adams, Carlito Alzona, Parastoo Arsanjani, Michael A. August, Deanna Bond, Joy Bull, Pili Canacio, Joyce Coast, Mary-Elaine Cobo, Sylvie Cote, Christian Debs, Katia Diamond, Claire Flanagan, Naomi Fortner, Greg Gee, Terry Guest, Florentino Guizar, Caroline Hunt, Roza Hyduck, Tanya Kholochkov, Anna Kirk, Darren Lees, Zulema Liotta, Juan Lopez, Maxine Macdonald, Jerry Mc Cormick, Michael Markow, Suzette Myers, Elena Pankey, Carol Phillips, Kristin Powell, Charles Ramey, Luz Martha Reddish, Barbara Schmidt, Susanne Schneider, Debra Skiba, Mark Skiba, Carole Thorsnes, Nadya Williams, Steven Zybelman, Ali Arsanjani, Jerry Barfield, Benedicte Desclos, Joe Chepetsky, Yvette Ferrat, Linda Garwood, Dorothy Howard, Steve Johnson, Isabelle Kay, Stuart Knoles, Mary Giaochi Le, Thuy Phuc Le, John Linares, Mark Pablo, Josephine Pang, Sherry Robins, Alexas Constance Saxon, Barbara Sobo, Claire Sosna, Gisela Strassburg, Gabriel Sus, Martin Vollmer, Dolores Wesson, Leon Fajerman, Bill Colvan, Ludmila Anna Gala, Stefano Gubellini, Mary Manella, Kirk Parker, Robert Resek, Lee Sobo, Sean Yang, Richard Young, Marizabel Arango, Trang Khuc, Lita Patterson, and Todd Martin.^[8] Some of them became well known tango instructors and personalities who participated in El Mundo del Tango movement.

References