By Lookout Staff

August 25, 2011 -- As everyone knows, it takes two to tango. So you better bring your partner if you plan on going to the Santa Monica Pier tonight.

That’s because the Twilight Dance Series continues this evening with “Tango in the Timbers,” a celebration of Argentinean music and dance featuring the internationally popular tango orchestra Milongatron.
Don’t worry if you don’t know how to tango. Dance lessons will start at 6 p.m. on a special dance floor installed on the pier’s deck just for the occasion.

Downbeat for the band is at 7 p.m. As always, the concert is free.
Direct from Buenos Aires, Milangatron is an authentic expression of Argentina’s best folk traditions.

The band takes its name from the Afro-Latin milonga music and dance of the late 19th century – a lower-class art form that laid the foundation for the tango craze that swept the world just a few decades later.

Led by Argentinean vocalist, musical director, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Schwee Miguel, Milongatron performs tango with an emotional honesty that makes the music as fresh and exciting today as it must have been one hundred years ago.

Joining Miguel – who plays the piano, saxophone and bandoneon (accordion) – are some of Argentina’s top folk musicians, including violinist Pablo Hopenhayn, bassist Oscar Lomuto and Pablo Goldstein on polymorphous omniphone.

Now in its 25th season, the Twilight Dance Series showcases some of the best musical acts from throughout the world. Downbeat for the 2011 series is 7 p.m. every Thursday between July 7 and September 8.

Coming to the series next week, Laurel Canyon folk rockers Dawes and quasi-supernaturalist hipster band Sonny and the Sunsets promise an evening of “New Americana” – which, in and of itself, is a somewhat intriguing, oxymoronic term.

Also on next week’s the bill, Rusty’s Surf Ranch’s Emerging Artists Competition winner Olio will take the stage at 6:45 p.m.
The series concludes September 8 with “A Night in Treme” – an evening of New Orleans funk and R&B featuring John Cleary’s Philthy Phew.

With this year’s lineup drawing large crowds, pier officials encourage concert goers to walk, bike or ride the Big Blue Bus.

Parking will be available at the beach lot located north of the pier at 1550 Pacific Coast Highway, but the pier itself will be closed to traffic. A bike valet will be available on the bike path on the south side of the pier.

Cosponsors of the 2011 series include Pacific Park, Bloomingdales, StarLine Tours, the Australian Consulate, Cotton On and the City of Santa Monica. The series is produced by the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation and Ron & Humble.