A Tango festival "By Dancers; For Dancers"
Non-stop parties for all tango dancers who love the social 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. Expect attendance to be 350 - 400, 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. This means that skill level in classes will high. We will not be offering Beginner classes. Intermediate classes assume you already are pretty decent with the basics of tango, i.e. ochos, ocho-cortados, improvisation, and navigation. Adv-Intermediate & Advanced classes don't present much vocabulary; 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.
What's different this year?
Please note the following Important changes for May 2007: (1) New hotel: Red Lion Central, a few blocks North of the Doubletree. Same management. Same price. Same free shuttle. (2) Workshop restrictions: Due to high demand, we will restrict attendance in some workshops to 50 people. This means your tickets will be allocated. Specifically, a Gold Pass holder will receive TWO tickets for Eric's classes, and will have to hand them in at the door to keep attendance at each class controlled.
About the Denver Tango Festival:
Dance! We'll have six milongas from 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. PLUS, early arrivals will want to come in for the Tuesday Tango Colorado practice, or classes and milongas on Wednesday, Friday or Thursday.
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 Denver Featured Instructors:
- Eric Jorissen, Nijmegen, Holland
- Rebecca Shulman, New York, NY
- Hsueh-tze Lee, Boston, MA.
- Christopher & Caroline, San Francisco, CA.
- Tom Stermitz & Melinda Quiat, Denver, CO
2007 Featured DJs:
- Robin Thomas, New York City, NY
- Vijay Namasivayam, Ann Arbor, MI
- Ramu Pyreddy, Ann Arbor, MI
- Robert Hauk, Portland, OR
Early Arrival Milonga:
- Tue, 8:00-10:30, DJ Martin Rybczynski, "TC Practice Turnverein" $8
- Wed 9:45-1:00, DJ Robert Hauk, " Mercury Cafe Mini Milonga" $5
- Thu 9:45-2:00, DJ Christopher, "Hotel After-Class Mini Milonga" $5
Denver 2007 Milongas:
- Fri 3:30-06:30, DK Tom Stermitz & Ramu "Welcome Mini Milonga" $15
- Fri 9:30- 02:00, Extasis Octet & DJ Robin, "Friday Night Milonga" $15
- Sat 3:30-06:30, DJ Robin Thomas, "Alternative Music Milonga" $15
- Sat 9:30-03:00, Dj Vijay Namasivayam, "Elegant Milonga" $20
- Sun 6:00-10:00, DJ Robert Hauk, "TC Outdoor Milonga & BBQ" $12
- Sun 11:00-Dawn, DJ Ramu Pyreddy, "All Night Hardcore Milonga" $15
2007 Denver Workshop Schedule
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Wed, 6:30 Check-in & Warmup
Wed, 7:00 & 8:30, Christopher
Thu, 7:00 Check-in & Warmup
Thu, 7:30 & 9:00, 2 tracks: Rebecca & Eric
Fri, 11:30, Check-in & Warmup
Fri, 12:15 & 2:00 3 tracks
Fri, 6:30 Begin & 7:30, Int/Adv: Mercury with Tom & Melinda
Sat, 11:30 Check-in & Warmup
Sat, 12:15 & 2:00 4 tracks
Sun, 11:30 Check-in & Warmup
Sun, 12:15 & 2:00 4 tracks Wed, 6:30 Check-in & Warmup
Wed, 7:00 & 8:30, Hsueh-tze
