The festival proved this statement to be true:
What do you get when you have a milonga full of salon, milonguero and nuevo dancers?
A community!
The 2010 Tucson Tango Festival just ended for the community at 12:30 AM on March 9th. For Joanne and I it will end tomorrow afternoon… then we will sleep all day Wednesday.
I learned some very valuable things this year:
- Say Yes!
If I had not said yest to so many peripheral and last minute ideas, this festival would not have been such a success.
- Delegation works!
I used a different tact this year, I said, “Do you understand?” they said, “Yes.” I said, “Good because I won’t check on this. It is all up to you to make it happen and I walked away.” 99% of what I asked happened!
- Listen!
Sometimes I knew the answer before the question was even asked. But it aways helped to hear the answer and the proposed solution – it makes everyone feel better… and I did so happen to learn a thing or two.
- Give love first!
As Murat said at the round table on opening night: It is easy to be bad or mean. It takes effort to be virtuous. He is right. I gave a special effort to be kind, thoughtful and loving through out the festival and it seems to have worked! And the reward I have received are ten times the amount of effort it took.
Thanks to everyone for all of your love support and help!
Love & Gratitude,
Rusty
Posted 1 year, 11 months ago at 2:44 am. Add a comment
The Tucson Tango Festival —> Ready —> Set —> Go!!!
March 4-8th, 2010
www.TucsonTangoFestival.com
All Events Held at One Venue!
You don’t need to rent a car!
Call the hotel for a free ride from the airport!
Holiday Inn Palo Verde
4550 South Palo Verde Road
Tucson, Arizona 85714
Reservations: 1 877 834 3613 – Your Reservation Code is: TTF
Phone: (520) 746-1161
E-mail: holidayinntucson@jqh.com
FREE Shuttle service!
The only events held off site are the Guerrilla Milonga (for which there is a bus) and the
Hangover Milonga on Monday night for which we have lined up locals to help with rides.
View Larger Map
Gender Balance As of February 24th, 2010
44% 56% – Leaders to Followers –
This always works: Ladies blow some horns and whistles we need a few more men!
We Have Couple/Partner Prices!
Why promote couple prices? To help keep the gender balance as high as possible!
Register with a partner and save $45.00
Last year on opening day we were 50-50 lets do it again this year!!!
NOTICE: Share your breakfast chips!!!
Holiday Inn will be serving waffles at the all night milonga.
You will need a breakfast chip to get free waffles at 3:AM – otherwise there will be a charge… so since most tango dancers don’t do breakfast be sure to save and share your chips with those that might not be staying at the venue.
Instructors:
o Oscar Casas
o Mary Ann Henderson
o Murat Erdemsel
o Michelle Erdemsel
o Daniela Pucci
o Luis Bianchi
o Daniela Borgialli
o Jay Abling
o Varo Boyajyan
DJs:
o Vijay Namasivayam
o Sabah Chammas
o Paul Akmajian
o Jay Abling
o Varo Boyajyan
o Clay Nelson & Beth Anne Osborn
Highlights:
Murat Erdemsel’s Musicality Video – Lecture
Dancing the Rhythms of Tango.
This event is free to all and promises to be very enlightening.
It was rated 97% Excellent by Portland Valentango participants!
World Class Guitarist: Gabriel Ayala Live at the Tucson Tango Festival!
Gabriel Ayala will play three songs for us at eh afternoon milonga between 3-7:PM on opening day Thursday, March 4th.This is a must hear artists! A real treat for our festival guests!
Vladamir Estrin and Meng Wang
This Hilarious Male Duo will tickle your funny bone. You may run out and buy the latest copy of “Tango Dog and Pony Tricks” and begin to practice immediately!Seriously, this partnership cannot be taken seriously! All in good fun with blazingly hilarious technique, this uproarious performance is sure to bring a smile to your face and light to your heart! Saturday Night at the Gran Milonga
(Meng, Vladamir and Varo tell me they are being followed to Tucson by an outstanding Los Angeles tango contingent!!!)
Tango Rapper: Momo Smitt performs at the alternative milonga:
Momo was recently smitten by the tango bug, so it overlapped into his singing and writing career as a rapper.
Momo has recently wowed them in Portland, Austin and Houston tango festivals.
Now he will grace the alternative milonga at the Tucson Tango Festival with a couple of his own compositions of “tango rap”… you gotta catch this outrageous performance!
P.S. Momo is learning tango and he will be studying tango at the workshop classes.
Tucson Ambassador Program is in Full Swing:
When you arrive in Tucson expect to be greeted by any one of our scores of local ambassadors. We are here to make you feel at home. Our local tango community have all pulled together to make sure you have help if you need it. If you need information, dinner rides or even a tanda, you will be greeted and treated like a welcome guest!
Masters Session Round Table Discussion on Tango Foundations and Local Training
We are inviting any community building instructors visiting our festival to a round table discussion with the master instructors.
To keep this intimate and to the point, this will be an invitation only event.
To Request an Invitation and Get More Details:
If you are an instructor in your local community visiting the Tucson Tango Festival:
Send an email to info@tucsontangofestival.com to request an invitation.
Community Building Seminar by Clay Nelson, Portland.
Free to Full Festival Pass Holders or $3.00 per person. Tucson Tango Festival will donate $3.00 for every Full Festival Pass Holder who attends. Proceeds go to the Tucson Tango Society
History of Argentina Seminario and Buenos Aires by Juan C. Lopez Tonazzi
Free to Full Festival Pass Holders or $3.00 per person. Tucson Tango Festival will donate $3.00 for every Full Festival Pass Holder who attends. Proceeds go to the Tucson Tango Society
Absolute Beginners Class and Special Milonga
Free to Full Festival Pass Holders or $35.00 per person. All proceeds go to Tucson Tango Society.
To encourage growth and help: Free to experienced dancers!
Come support tango growth. Send your friends to the beginners classes.
- Pay back your karma: Come to the beginners classes and the beginners milonga.
- You know you owe all those nice patient leaders and followers that helped you become the dancer you are today!
- Give back and support tango growth!
YES! All Classes and Milongas are Under One ROOF!!!
I have had some inquiries about this so here are some FAQs answers:
You do not need a rental car. All events, except the Monday night milonga, are happening in the hotel!
The hotel has a shuttle that we will see to it makes going out to dinner easier,
Plus some locals have volunteered help by taking guests with them out to dinner.
We have an FAQ page:
http://tucsontangofestival.com/tucson-tango-festival-faqs/tucson-tango-festival/faqs/
We are Well Prepared:
There is plenty of flooring on the the truck and we will have prepared ample dance space and good floor craft!!
We have some advice on floor craft posted here:
http://tucsontangofestival.com/category/tucson-tango-festival/floor-craft-tucson-tango-festival/
We have visitors from:
Albuquerque, NM
Asheville, NC
Ashland, OR
Aspen, CO
Aurora, CO
Austin, TX
Basalt, CO
Berkeley, CA
Beverly Hills, CA
Boston, MA
Boulder, CO
Buenos Aires, AR
Carefree, AZ
Cave Creek, AZ
Cedar Rapids, IA
Centennial, CO
Chandler, AZ
Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX
Deerfield, WI
Denver, CO
Elfin Forest, CA
Encinitas, CA
Englewood, CO
Eugene, OR
Evanston, IL
Flagstaff, AZ
Fountain Hills, AZ
Glendale, AZ
Glendale, CA
Hailey, ID
Hollywood, CA
Henderson, NV
Houston, TX
Lafayette, CA
Las Cruces, NM
Little Rock, AR
Littleton, CO
Los Angeles, CA
Madison, WI
Mesilla, NM
New York, NY
Palm Springs, CA
Paradise Valley, AZ
Pasadena, CA
Parkville, MD
Phoenix, AZ
Portland, OR
Richardson, TX
Roseville, CA
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
Sandia Park, NM
Santa Fe, NM
Santa Monica, CA
Scottsdale, AZ
Sedona, AZ
Shoreline, WA
Spokane Valle, WA
Suttons Bay, MI
Takoma Park, MD
Taos, NM
Tempe, AZ
Toms River, NJ
Tucson, AZ
Twentynine Palms, CA
Washington DC
Westminster, CO
Whitney, TX
Williamstown, MA
Misc Notes:
There is a schedule of events posted here: http://tucsontangofestival.com/2010-schedule.pdf
The registration table opens at 10:00 AM on Thursday morning in the lobby of the Holiday Inn.
We have a lobby full of vendors so come prepared to shop!!
We have posted some advice on how to make the most of your festival here:
http://tucsontangofestival.com/category/tucson-tango-festival/festival-tips-tricks/
With Excitement and Gratitude,
The Tucson Argentine Tango Communit
Posted 1 year, 11 months ago at 11:58 pm. Add a comment
Posted 1 year, 11 months ago at 11:03 am. Add a comment
Thanks to Natalia Lopera (and Judy Miller) at the Arizona Daily Star we are getting lots of inquiries and interest in tango…
Only two more weeks and we will be in full swing at the Tucson Tango Festival.
See you all soon!
Love-Light-Gratitude,
Rusty
Posted 1 year, 11 months ago at 2:06 pm. Add a comment
Remember the Early Bird Discount expires on February 18th!
Winter Showers bring Spring Flowers!!
Tucson is getting rain right now! Rain in January and February is always followed by the wonders of a desert in bloom. This means you can expect the gardens at the Tucson Tango Festival Venue to be a heavenly bouquet of sweet citrus fragrances! Nothing beats the aroma of blooming grapefruit and orange trees!!
The temperature is predicted to be 72° to 75° F
While the music, tandas and abrazos promise to be a blazing 98.6° F
Remember the Early Bird Discount expires on February 18th!
Book Your Rooms Now as the Room Block Discount is Expiring Today!!!
Gender Balance: Leaders 47% Followers: 53% not too bad!! – Bring on the men ladies!!!
Come guys, climb aboard! (I listed this backward last time, this time it is accurate)
The Tucson Tango Festival is excited to announce a high energy performance by:
Vladamir Estrin and Meng Wang
This Hilarious Male Duo will tickle your funny bone. You may run out and buy the latest copy of “Tango Dog and Pony Tricks” and begin to practice immediately!
Seriously, this partnership cannot be taken seriously!
All in good fun with blazingly hilarious technique, this uproarious performance is sure to bring a smile to your face and light to your heart!
Saturday Night at the Gran Milonga
Meng, Vladamir and Varo tell me they are being followed to Tucson by an outstanding Los Angeles tango contingent!!!
World Class Guitarist: Gabriel Ayala Live at the Tucson Tango Festival!
Gabriel Ayala will play three songs for us at eh afternoon milonga between 3-7:PM on opening day Thursday, March 4th. This is a must hear artists! A real treat for our festival guests!
Tango Rapper: Momo Smitt performs at the alternative milonga:
Momo was recently smitten by the tango bug, so it overlapped into his singing and writing career as a rapper. Momo has recently wowed them in Portland, Austin and Houston tango festivals. Now he will grace the alternative milonga at the Tucson Tango Festival with a couple of his own compositions of “tango rap”… you gotta catch this outrageous performance! P.S. Momo is learning tango and he will be studying tango at the workshop classes.
Tucson Ambassador Program is in Full Swing:
When you arrive in Tucson expect to be greeted by any one of our scores of local ambassadors. We are here to make you feel at home. Our local tango community have all pulled together to make sure you have help if you need it. If you need information, dinner rides or even a tanda, you will be greeted and treated like a welcome guest!
Master’s Round Table Discussion – invitation only:
We have invited every instructor in Arizona to join us in a discussion of tango community building and instruction.
In hopes of helping local instructors improve their local tango education, we posed these topics to the master instructors:
- Top five essential tango techniques that should always be taught!
- Foundational tango techniques you commonly find missing in the tango communities you visit? This is an opportunity to say: I really wish more local tango instructors addressed “this or that” – share with us deficits you find in outlying tango communities.
- Any ideas and advice to increase tango growth and comprehension.
- What percentage of instruction should be patterns or figuras verses technique and musicality?
- Share with us your pet peeves in social tango.
Joining us at the round table will be the master instructors at this year’s festival:
- Oscar Casas
- Mary Ann Henderson
- Murat Erdemsel
- Michelle Erdemsel
- Daniela Pucci
- Luis Bianchi
- PLUS: Clay Nelson of Ashland Tango Festival, Tangofest & Valentango in Portland
- All of our Spotlight Instructors: Varo Boyajyan, Jay Abling, Amanda Archuleta and Daniela Borgialli
- Arizona’s Tango Instructors, Organizers and Community Builders
Any Instructor at the festival that wants to participate – just drop us an email.
If you are a community builder, organizer or instructor and would like to attend send us an email to get your invitation.
The Guerrilla Milonga is SOLD OUT!
We are ready now and awaiting your arrival. We have almost everything done, Joanne and I plan on being able to dance more at this year’s festival – Hey what’s the point in having a festival on our own door step if we can’t dance, too? Save us a tanda!!! See you in three weeks!!!
Lovingly Lit,
Rusty
Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness. – Bertrand Russell
We have visitors from:
Albuquerque, NM
Asheville, NC
Ashland, OR
Aurora, CO
Austin, TX
Basalt, CO
Berkeley, CA
Beverly Hills, CA
Boston, MA
Boulder, CO
Buenos Aires, AR
Carefree, AZ
Cave Creek, AZ
Centennial, CO
Chandler, AZ
Chicago, IL
Deerfield, WI
Denver, CO
Elfin Forest, CA
Encinitas, CA
Englewood, CO
Eugene, OR
Evanston, IL
Flagstaff, AZ
Fountain Hills, AZ
Glendale, AZ
Glendale, CA
Hailey, ID
Hollywood, CA
Henderson, NV
Houston, TX
Lafayette, CA
Las Cruces, NM
Little Rock, AR
Littleton, CO
Los Angeles, CA
Madison, WI
Mesilla, NM
New York, NY
Palm Springs, CA
Paradise Valley, AZ
Pasadena, CA
Parkville, MD
Phoenix, AZ
Portland, OR
Roseville, CA
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
Sandia Park, NM
Santa Fe, NM
Scottsdale, AZ
Sedona, AZ
Spokane Valle, WA
Takoma Park, MD
Tempe, AZ
Toms River, NJ
Tucson, AZ
Twentynine Palms, CA
Washington DC
Westminster, CO
Whitney, TX
Williamstown, MA
Posted 1 year, 12 months ago at 1:15 am. Add a comment