Event Category: Festival
Profile
It’s a different kind of tango festival—one where the vibe is friendly, the focus is solidly on the dancing, and the magic spell of the milongas is protected from the intrusion of seemingly endless performances and announcements.
For 2023:
- Fantastic new venue: The Embassy Suites by Hilton Albuquerque!
- Fun new “dancing to alternative music” class track.
- The return of Maja Petrović and Marko Miljević!
What Makes this Festival Different?
- Size: Typically, 800+ dancers participate in the Albuquerque Tango Festival. Individual milongas often exceed 500 dancers.
- A giant dance floor: A spacious, not overly crowded floor is important to us. We use a 3,000-square-foot main floor and two 1,500-square-foot overflow floors to make sure every dancer has ample room to dance.
- Uninterrupted milongas: The emphasis of this festival is on the social dancing of Argentine tango. We limit interruptions to milongas, including instructor performances and announcements. We have only one short performance, with all instructors dancing a non-choreographed tango/vals/milonga tanda together. There are generally no other interruptions to any of the milongas.
- A courteous and orderly floor: We strongly encourage the use of good floor craft and courtesy to all other dancers. We also strongly encourage the use of the cabeceo.
- Cake: We provide a different cake at every milonga! Sure, we wish we could provide something more nutritious, but outside food is generally prohibited at this venue. The only exception to the rule is cake (for weddings). So we provide the best and most interesting cakes we can have baked for us.
What’s New for 2023?
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A great new venue! The Albuquerque Tango Festival has moved to a new venue, the Embassy Suites by Hilton Albuquerque, an attractive, well-located facility with an abundance of very nice rooms at a reasonable nightly rate without a nightly “amenity fee” (I hate hotel junk fees).
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A fun alternative music class track! Guest instructor Tara Fortier will teach two classes on tango technique specifically for alternative music and then will DJ our Saturday afternoon alternative milonga.
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Total class passes are capped. Total attendance for all group classes combined will be capped at 400 (we hold four classes at a time). This means that we will cap sales of full passes (because they include classes) at 400. Once 400 full passes are sold, no additional class passes will be offered.
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Earlier start and end times. Coming out of the pandemic, I have heard many people say that they are not used to staying up as late as they once did. Our classes and milongas will be the same duration as they always have been, but this year they will start and end a bit earlier than in prior years.
General Questions
Q. Do I need a dance partner to attend this festival?
A. No.
Q. What level of experience is required to attend?
A. This festival is for intermediate-level and above dancers of social Argentine tango. Typically this means 2 to 3 years of study and practice specific to Argentine tango. This is particularly important for leaders, as a high level of floor craft is required to safely and courteously navigate floor with 400 to 500 other dancers.
Q. What level of classes are offered?
A. Intermediate and advanced only. There are no beginner’s classes offered.
A. Intermediate and advanced only. There are no beginner’s classes offered.
Q. Do I need to register for individual classes that I wish to attend?
A. No. If you purchase a class pass, you can enter any class you wish. If you do not care for that class or find that it is too crowded or the gender balance is off, you are free to switch to another class.Q. Where can I read the class descriptions and topics?
A. They will be posted in early October.
A. No. If you purchase a class pass, you can enter any class you wish. If you do not care for that class or find that it is too crowded or the gender balance is off, you are free to switch to another class.Q. Where can I read the class descriptions and topics?
A. They will be posted in early October.
Q. Where can I see a detailed schedule for the festival?
A. A detailed schedule will be posted in late August.
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