In 2013, there has been an explosion of so-called Encuentros or Festivalitos Milongueros. So, those who love social Tango in a close embrace can nowadays chose amongst several options per month. Funnily, most events have still been sold out, so the demand seems to have increased as well. I have not been to all Encuentros, so I will only list those, that I have visited personally or that are organised or visited by people, whom I know personally and who can vouch for the genuine "milongueroness" of an event.
Some dates have not yet been set, but I will update this list regularly. Organisers, please send me your dates, as soon as you've got them.
Festivalito Milonguero du nouvel an, Embrun, France, January 2-5
Pasionara Milonguera, Côte D'Azur, France, January 24-26
Encontro Milongueiro A Promotora, Lisbon, Portugal, February 6-9
RDV Milonguero, Bologna, Italy, February 13-16
Mirame - Encuentro Milonguero, Montpellier, France
Encontro Milongueiro A Promotora, Lisbon, Portugal, February 6-9
RDV Milonguero, Bologna, Italy, February 13-16
Mirame - Encuentro Milonguero, Montpellier, France
Viento Norte - Festivalito Milonguero (Tangokombinat Sección Norte), Eckernförde, Germany, March, 7-9
Encuentro MiLYONguero, Lyon, France, March 28-30
Encuentro MiLYONguero, Lyon, France, March 28-30
Yo soy Milonguero, Crema, Italy, April 18-21 (read review)
Montecatini Terme Tango Festivalito, Montecatini, Italy, April 11-13 (read review)
Abrazos - Encuentro Milonguero (Tangokombinat UK), Devon, United Kingdom, May 2-4 (read review)
Raduno Rural, Slovenia (read review by Ms. Hedhehog), June 20-22
Raduno Rural, Slovenia (read review by Ms. Hedhehog), June 20-22
Les Cigales, France, (read review by Ms. Hedgehog)
Festiv'à La Milonguita, Gap, France, July 3-6
Dans tes bras, Paris, France, July 11-13
Embrace Norway, Lillehammer, Norway, July 4-6
Dans tes bras, Paris, France, July 11-13
Embrace Norway, Lillehammer, Norway, July 4-6
Stockholm in a close embrace, Stockholm, Sweden, August 1-3
Festivalito Porteño, Constanta, Romania, August 7-10
La Franteña, France, August 14-17 (invitation only)
Silueta Porteña, Hamburg, Germany, August 29-31 (NEW!)
Festivalito Porteño, Constanta, Romania, August 7-10
La Franteña, France, August 14-17 (invitation only)
Silueta Porteña, Hamburg, Germany, August 29-31 (NEW!)
Festivalito Rural, Verzej, Slovenia, August 29-31 (read review) (NEW LOCATION!)
Encuentro Milonguero, Kehl, Germany, September
Encuentro una Mirada, Bristol, England, September 26-28 (NEW!)
Ensueños, Porto, Portugal, October 3-5
Encuentro Milonguero, Kehl, Germany, September
Encuentro una Mirada, Bristol, England, September 26-28 (NEW!)
Ensueños, Porto, Portugal, October 3-5
FCA (Tangokombinat, private party)
Raduno Milonguero, Impruneta, Italy, around November 1
Te Quiero Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal, November 14-17
Te Quiero Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal, November 14-17
Abrazame, Barcelona, Spain, December (I guess there WILL be another edition)
In case that you don't know, what a Festivalito or Encuentro Milonguero is, please check out MsHedgehog's blog. She describes the general features and gives lots of useful tips.
And, as I have been asked repeatedly. These are my criteria for taking an event into this list:
- close embrace Tango with focus on quality of dance and not quantity of moves
- traditional music in Tandas and with Cortinas presented by DJs who know their trade
- invitations in general done by Mirada & Cabeceo
- a setup that allows for Mirada & Cabeceo (appropriate light and seating arrangements)
- social dancing with respect to the ronda and the other couples
- equal number of leaders & followers
- in case there is a demo: short, social dance in close embrace, no choreographies
- in case there are classes: social dance only
- duration of event: minimum 3 days
- separate Milongas (no non-stop dancing as in a Marathon)
- no live music during the Milongas
There are numerous local Milongas or more local Festivalitos which might fit to some (but not all) of the criteria, but it is not my goal to give an overview of the whole "traditional" Tango scene.The above mentioned events are of international reputation and will adhere to all the requirements.
In case that you don't know, what a Festivalito or Encuentro Milonguero is, please check out MsHedgehog's blog. She describes the general features and gives lots of useful tips.
And, as I have been asked repeatedly. These are my criteria for taking an event into this list:
- close embrace Tango with focus on quality of dance and not quantity of moves
- traditional music in Tandas and with Cortinas presented by DJs who know their trade
- invitations in general done by Mirada & Cabeceo
- a setup that allows for Mirada & Cabeceo (appropriate light and seating arrangements)
- social dancing with respect to the ronda and the other couples
- equal number of leaders & followers
- in case there is a demo: short, social dance in close embrace, no choreographies
- in case there are classes: social dance only
- duration of event: minimum 3 days
- separate Milongas (no non-stop dancing as in a Marathon)
- no live music during the Milongas
There are numerous local Milongas or more local Festivalitos which might fit to some (but not all) of the criteria, but it is not my goal to give an overview of the whole "traditional" Tango scene.The above mentioned events are of international reputation and will adhere to all the requirements.
Melina, I think that it good to have a definition for the Encuentro concept, and yours seems very good. There are two elements, however, that I would not fully agree with: (1) Live music is NOT allowed, and (2) performance tango ("demos" we applaud) is allowed.
ReplyDeleteRegarding #1: My best tandas have been with LIVE, excellent danceable music. I think most tangueros/-as agree that musicians who disparage dancers harm tango. I will add: Dancers who disparage musicians harm tango. We are presently a live dancing community with dead musicians. We do NOT live in a new Golden Age (revisited) because, in my opinion, we only love our dead musicians, and our new musicians starve.
Regarding #2: I come to dance and dance on the same floor of great teachers, not to sit. Tangosutra follows the second rule -- a Washington DC encuentro (by your definition). No Performances Allowed. It was a dance-only zone.
Hi TT.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment.
My criteria do not necessarily describe my personal view of what is good or not so good, but just define the genre as it manifested itself.
ok... that's not totally correct, as my blog contributed to the definition of the genre and my opinions about what makes a good Encuentro/Festivalito obviously had an impact on several events all over Europe.
But: this article is not about what is right or wrong, it just defines and lists. You will have a hard time finding an Encuentro that includes lifemusic. But you'll find several that include demos of SOCIAL Tango. ;-)
Tangosutra is - in my opinion - no Encuentro, or at least it was none when I visited way back in 2006:
- Number of not/followers were not equal.
- Invitations were not done by Mirada/Cabeceo and it was much too dark to do so.
- I don't remember if there were Cortinas...
- Quite a few dancers opened the embrace.
But this may be different nowadays.
Good night,
M.