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Nora and Raul Dinzelbacher
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Nora Olivera Dinzelbacher was born in the city of La Paz, Entre Rios, the next province north of Buenos Aires. Nora moved from Entre Rios (an Argentine province) to the big city (Buenos Aires) when she was 17. She studied for some time and got a Masters Degree in dance at the National School of Dance. Her stage debut, came suddenly and unexpectedly when Raul Dinzelbacher, a charismatic young director and choreographer for the Argentine Folkloric Ballet invited her to watch his performance. That evening, just before the show, Raul had a fight with his girlfriend and partner, so he took Nora by the arm and holding up his dancing partner's costume announced: "If you fit in this dress Nora, you are dancing tonight." Scared to death and shaking Nora understood right away that this was it, her lifetime opportunity and she took it. They both were naturals with each other and she began to dance as part of the company.
Raul Dinzelbacher was a director, choreographer, and performer. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and began dancing at the age of six, making his professional debut at sixteen. He received his Masters degree at the National School of Dance. His dedication to Argentine dance forms led him, in 1971, to found the Argentina Folk Ballet which toured and performed extensively throughout the Americas to wide acclaim of critics and audiences.
A year after Raul Dinzelbacher broke up with his partner, he and Nora started dancing in night clubs, theaters, on television, and set up their own dance studio in Buenos Aires. Later, the couple were married.
The pair came to the United States in 1986, and rapidly acquired impressive performance credentials. Unfortunately, Raul Dinzelbacher, who seemed vibrant and healthy at the age of 40, died of a sudden heart attack in 1990 at the end of the third day of the Stanford University-sponsored (San Francisco) Tango Week.
Suddenly a widow at 36, Nora was left in a country where she barely spoke the language, with contracts to teach dance but no partner and a grieving heart. It was too painful to think about returning to Argentina to see the ghost of her life everywhere she turned. Instead, she found her courage and began teaching alone. After a number of impressive shows, Nora was soon teaching classes every day. But in 1997, the Stanford Dance Department decided to discontinue its tango instruction, and asked Nora if she would like to independently carry on the tradition of Tango Week. Knowing what the challenge would be, she once again called upon her inner strength and the people who believed in her.
Bob Moretti, a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and an award-winning tanguero, took over the production of Tango Week with her. Having been in love with tango since childhood while growing up in Hell's Kitchen of New York City, Bob had a passion for the dance, and in later years became a dedicated student of the dance under Nora's tutelage. His military discipline and keen business savvy were just what Nora's Tango Week needed. "It is an honor," Bob said when Nora asked him to join her. For the first seven years, Nora and Bob presented Nora's Tango Week to students from around the world. Their shows have coupled beginners with some of the best tango instructors ever known. After co-founding Nora's Tango Week and seven years of production Bob retired from Nora's Tango Week. Sadly, Bob Moretti died of cancer in June of 2005.
Nora taught at the Stockton Folk Dance Camp for more than three years.
Nora is today one of the most well known Tango teachers, organizers, and producers in this country, professionally admired and respected all over the world.
Dances Nora has taught include Argentine Tango, El Caramba, El Escondido, El Gato, El Pericó, El Triunfo, La Chacarera, La Firmeza, "Ochito" Milonguero, and Milonga.