Tango is the art of encounter — and a grand ball its most festive form. The Noche de 22 Estrellas brings that form to Bremen: three live orchestras in one evening, in a setting worthy of the occasion. Behind it are Thomas Lotte and Catalina Lotte-Fooken — two people who have taught, organised and carried on Tango Argentino in the region for over three decades.
Catalina Lotte-Fooken & Thomas Lotte
Thomas & Catalina
Catalina and Tomás Lotte are, as a dance couple, what you might call the dinosaurs of this tango world. For thirty years they have lived and worked together, navigated the most varied epochs of tango, and rarely missed an opportunity to try out its many different styles.
One of their first ground-breaking encounters was with Gustavo Naveira, Chicho Frumboli and Fabian Salas, who taught together in Buenos Aires in the late 1990s. These three maestros developed a new avant-garde style that vastly expanded the step vocabulary and set off a dance revolution.
In 1999, Catalina and Tomás founded their „Libertango" tango studios in Bremen and Oldenburg, where they and their team today teach more than 350 tangueros and tangueras in regular classes. They have trained numerous tango teachers — most of them now working at the studios, others having founded their own schools in Hamburg and Berlin.
From 2000 to 2016 they ran an international tango festival in Oldenburg. Out of it grew many personal connections to the tango maestros and maestras of our time, including Diego Riemer and Mercedes Espinel, Diana and Juan Camerlingo, Martin Maldonado and Maurizio Ghella, Patricia Hilliges and Matteo Panero, among others.
Influenced by Noelia Hurtado, Carlitos Espinoza and Horacio Godoy, in recent years Catalina and Tomás have expanded their repertoire with the old milonguero style of the 1930s. They have also developed their own Double Roule dance technique — likely to be path-breaking for anyone with a soft spot for dancing in changing roles.
Thomas Lotte
Tango teacher, tango DJ and — since 2020 — owner of Studio Libertango.
Coming from theatre and dance work, Thomas Lotte studied at the University of Oldenburg before Tango Argentino became his profession. Today he runs the studio at both locations and hosts the YouTube channel „Tango Evolución".
Tango teacher in the duo — festivals 2003–2013 (Oldenburg, Rovinj, Firenze, Wuppertal)
Tango DJ, among others at the Rovinj tango festival (2010, 2012)
Co-organiser of the tango trips to Rovinj (most recently 11–18 October 2026)
Catalina Lotte-Fooken
Tango teacher, tango DJ and co-founder of Studio Libertango.
Catalina Lotte-Fooken co-founded Studio Libertango together with Thomas Lotte and shaped its development in equal measure over the years. She still teaches at the studio today and performs as „DJ Catalina".
Tango teacher in the duo — festivals 2003–2013 (Oldenburg, Rovinj, Firenze, Wuppertal)
Tango DJ, among others at the Rovinj tango festival (2012)
Took part in the international tango summer camp PHANTASTango! (2017)
Studio Libertango
Founded in 1998 in Oldenburg and, since 1999, also in Bremen.
Specialised in Tango Argentino as well as Swing/Lindy Hop.
