About Graham Stanford

Born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Graham dedicated over two decades to restoring the integrity and foundations of old houses before finally accepting the invitation (and push from his teacher) to move to New Mexico, open Puerta al Tango and begin guiding tango full-time. Graham was (politely) tricked into his first tango class in 2005. It was a struggle of steps for the next 10 years rife with long stretches of time abandoning tango. In 2016 he fell off a building and survived without a scratch and on that day decided to go to Buenos Aires, clean the slate, and learn tango all over again from the beginning. This is where and when he fell in love with tango and finally learned how to connect emotion, the music and the cultural context into each moment... to dance more as a human rather than a collection of steps. In 2022 he was basically told to move to New Mexico and quit construction and finally do something deeply connected to his heart. His students appreciate his ability to take abstract ideas of body fluidity, equality, emotion and connection, transforming them into tangible tools to help make tango fun to learn.

Graham is constantly expanding his own education and exploration of the dance, sharing ideas. He is currently enjoying learning with his mentors: Brigitta Winkler for teaching & movement (2024-present) and Joaquin Amenabar for musicality (2025-present).  

Check out Youtube &. Check out his writing on Substack: TANGO in the DESERT

What’s it like working with Graham? (Testimonials)