A Tango festival "By Dancers; For Dancers"
Non-stop parties for all tango dancers who love the social style of tango popular in the milongas of Buenos Aires: close, subtle & romantic. The Milongas will feature some of the top DJs in the country. The teachers are known as community builders and entertainers. Attendance will be around 450 - 500, so Buenos Aires style floorcraft will be essential.
As always, the Denver Tango Festivals attract a high level of dancer. Typically 1/3 are adv-Intermediates and 1/3 Advanced or Professional. Nearly 50% have experience in Buenos Aires. This means that the skill level in classes will higher than your regular, local classes. We will not be offering Beginner nor Adv-Beginner classes. In other words, all of the classes assume you already are pretty decent with the basics of tango, i.e. ochos, ocho-cortados, improvisation, and navigation. Classes don't present much vocabulary or many "steps"; instead they focus on musicality, technique, and dance skills. Because the price is reasonable, many advanced dancers will be attending classes.
Denver has a great, friendly tango community with regular milongas of 100 - 150 people. The foothills of the Rocky Mountains are only a half hour away for day-hikes.
What's different this year?
Musicality, Music and DJing Workshop Track: When your feet are tired, we'll have DJs and Musicians presenting discussions on Tango Music, Music Appriciation, Cleaning up poor quality recordings, DJing, etc.
Please note the following Important changes for August 2007: (1) We return to the Doubletree Hotel. Prices are now $84 plus tax. (2) Please note time changes, in particular the 6:00 check-in on Wed & Thur, and the 2:00 start time on Sunday. (3) We will make an effort to maintain gender balance in the classes. We urge all women coming to sign up with a partner, so that the delegation from each community is balanced. I may institute a "gender balance inventory system" based on each community coming evenly balanced, but I'm sure you all agree that you need BOTH men and women to take the festival energy back to your home communities.
Other special topics this year: Saturday Women's Technique Series. Sunday series on Tango Music: "Musician's Insight on Tango Music", "Recognizing Tango Orchestras", and DJ Session on "Cleaning up Tango Recordings". Sunday,
About the Denver Tango Festival:
Dance! The festival passes include early arrival milongas on Wed and Thur plus Six Weekend Milongas starting with the Friday afternoon "Welcome Milonga" to the "Hardcore All-Night Milonga" late Sunday. Tango Colorado presents the glorious outdoor milonga at Cheesman Park Pavilion on Sunday evening.
The dance floors will be arranged for social dancers: Perimeter clearly defined, Walkways for pedestrians, and Tables for watching the dancers. Floors will be crowded, but the navigation will be very good. We usually have 2-3 Buenos Aires-style lanes formed around the perimeter of the floor. The DJs will play traditional tango tandas with curtinas. Most of the dancers are accustomed to the cabeceo; try getting dances by catching your partner's eye... from 10 or 50 feet away.
Learn! All instructors have been selected for their skill as Teachers, Entertainers and Community Builders. The workshops are designed to enhance the community-nature of these festivals. Here is where you meet and get to know partners for the evening dances. The classes will include many people who are top dancers or teachers in their home communities, trading ideas and picking up new moves.
Make Tango Connections! These are tango fanatics who repeatedly visit the festivals in Denver, Ann Arbor, Atlanta or Portland, in between getting their tango fix in Buenos Aires.
2007 Featured Teachers:
- Robin Thomas, NYC & Marika Landry, Montreal
- Barbara Durr, Atlanta & Robert Hauk, Portland
- Yelena Sinelnikova & Avik Basu, Ann Arbor
- Liz Haight & Masami, Santa Fe
- Tom Stermitz & Melinda Quiat, Denver, CO
2007 Featured DJs/Musicians:
- Robin Thomas, New York City
- Ramu Pyreddy, Ann Arbor, MI
- Shorey Myers, San Francisco, CA
- Robert Hauk, Portland, OR
- Vijay Namasivayam, Portland, OR
- Gregory Nisnevich, Denver, CO
- Evan Orman - Extasis "Octet", Denver, CO
Early Arrival Milonga:
- Tue, 8:00-10:30, DJ Tom Stermitz, "TC Practice Turnverein" $8
- Wed 9:15-1:00, " Mercury Cafe Mini Milonga" $7
- Thu 9:15-2:00, DJ Vijay N. "Hotel After-Class Mini Milonga" $7
Denver 2007 Milongas:
- Fri 3:00-07:30, DJ Tom Stermitz & Avik "Welcome Mini Milonga" $15
- Fri 9:30- 02:00, Extasis & DJ Robert Hauk, "Friday Night Milonga" $15
- Sat 3:00-06:30, DJ Robin Thomas, "Alternative Music Milonga" $15
- Sat 9:30-03:00, Dj Shorey Myers, "Elegant Milonga" $20
- Sun 6:00-10:00, DJ Robert Hauk, "TC Outdoor Milonga & BBQ" $15
- Sun 11:00-Dawn, DJ Ramu Pyreddy, "All Night Hardcore Milonga" $15
2007 Denver Workshop Schedule
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Wed, 6:00 Check-in & Warmup, Mercury Cafe
Wed, 6:30 & 8:00, Robin & Marika
Thu, 6:00 Check-in & Warmup, Doubletree Hotel
Thu, 6:30 & 8:00, Robert & Barbara, Liz & Masami, Robin & Marika.
Fri, 11:00, Check-in & Warmup, Doubletree Hotel
Fri, 12:00 & 1:45 3 tracks
Fri, 6:30 Begin & 7:30, Int/Adv: Mercury with Tom & Melinda
Sat, 11:00 Check-in & Warmup, Doubletree Hotel
Sat, 12:00 & 1:45 4 tracks
Sun, 1:00 Check-in & Warmup, Doubletree Hotel
Sun, 2:00 & 3:45 4 tracks
