It's not too late :: El Fandango de Tango

The Fandango, as we call it here in Austin, starts on Wednesday with the first classes and milonga. It's not too late to book a flight and a room. Drive on in if you are close enough. Although in Texas, that's a loaded statement. Nothing's close in Texas.

Los "maestros" are:

Fabian Salas y Maria Paz Giorgi
Guillermo Merlo y Fernanda Ghi
Diego di Falco y Carolina Zokalski
Nito y Elba Garcia
Alex Krebs y Luciana Valle
Pablo Pugliese y Noel Strazza

The topics of the classes are not announced until the morning of the day of the classes. The DJ's for the milongas are not announced in advance either. You find out when you get there. It's one of the most expensive, if not the most expensive festivals in the U.S. $589 for the full, unlimited pass. $159 for the "all milonga" pass (seven milongas), $119 if you skip the Thanksgiving brunch milonga (six milongas). Plus, there's no 'a la carte' class pricing, only full day passes. You could ski all four mountains in Aspen, rent skis, have lunch and drink apres ski at Ajax Tavern for less. Ricardo won't like that I am being negative, but it's a festival that really discriminates against local dancers (especially our UT student contingent), and sometimes the truth hurts. But, he's been doing it for 10 years now, and I'm sure he knows what works for him.

The hotel/venue is a nice one - the Omni Hotel Southpark - 5 minutes away. I had a luxurious delusion at one point of getting a suite, and having a "hospitality suite", sort of like a green room that all festivals are sorely lacking. It's an extravagance I can't justify right now. My recent move and then the long road trip set me back about four or five festivals, including airfare and hotel. Or two festivals in Europe, or three trips to Buenos Aires. Or one Nikon D-3 body. Oh well. We do what we gotta do.

This festival has a "ballroomy" undertone to it. At least that's what I felt last year. I understand that the organizer Ricardo comes from the ballroom world, and I hear that the event organization and pricing structure is similar to what you might encounter for a ballroom dance event.

That being said, I had some really good dances last year, one or two amazing dances, reconnected with old friends, and made some new ones. I'm looking forward to seeing friends from Dallas and Houston. My Phoenix cohorts can't make it though. Bummer.

Upcoming Tango Festivals! :: Make your plans now!

It's not too early to book airline tickets and make hotel reservations for two upcoming tango festivals in Texas.

The first is the 10th Annual Fandango de Tango in Austin over Thanksgiving. It's billed as "An Immersion in the Art of Argentine Tango". I know this is a conflict for most people - family and Thanksgiving celebrations surely over-ride a tango festival. But, if you can make it, it's a good one!

Here is the info:

Nov 26-30
Omni Austin Hotel at Southpark
6 milongas :: 90 hours of classes
Early registration deadline is October 1. [$200 deposit by Oct 1, balance by Nov 1]

"Headliners" ::
Fabian Salas
Nito y Elba Garcia
Guillermo Merlo & Fernanda Ghi
Diego di Falco y Carolina Zokalski
Pablo Pugliese y Noel Strazza
Alex Krebs y Luciana Valle

Here is the flyer.
Here is the website.
Here is the registration form.



The other one is the Houston Tango Festival January 22-25, 2009.

Here is the line-up ::

Teachers
Brigitta Winkler Berlin
Tomas Howlin BsAs/Montreal
Cecilia Gonzalez BsAs
Donato Juarez BsAs
Javier Rochwarger BsAs
w/ Monica Caivano Austin
Tova & Carlos Moreno Boston

Special Master Classes
Horacio Godoy & Cecilia Garcia BsAs

Immersion Tango Workshop for Beginners
Ector Gutierrez Baton Rouge/New Orleans

DJs
Avik Basu Ann Arbor
Jason Laughlin North Carolina
Ramu Pyreddy Philadelphia/DC
Shorey Meyers San Francisco
Vijay Namasivayam San Francisco
Yulia Kriskovets DC

Orquestra
Glovertango Austin

Yoga
Andrew Dugas Houston/Eugene, OR

I hope to see some of you there. I'll be attending both!