1802  The State of the Tango

Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2003 13:28:36 -0700
From: Rick FromPortland <pruneshrub04@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: The State of the Tango

Seeing how we're temporarily in the doldrums, perhaps I can float another query.
Anyone care to comment on what the market is like for, say TangoFestivals?
or bringing out of town teachers for workshops? I hear various rumblings here & there...
Thanks if anyone has anything to share,
R

Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 10:13:23 -0500
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: The State of the Tango

Rick wrote:

>Anyone care to comment on what the market
>is like for, say TangoFestivals?

From all appearances, the supply of tango festivals seems to be growing.
During 2003, we have seen several weekends with multiple tango festivals
in the United States and tango weeks in close proximity to each other.In
addition, some organizers report that demand for tango festivals has
moderated because it remains cheap and has become cheap to visit Buenos
Aires, and a number of festivals are now being organized there now too.
Consequently, attendance at some tango festivals has dropped off a bit or
failed to live up to organizer expectations.

An additional issue is that as tango dancers in the United States are
maturing in their dance skills, the demand for festivals that place
instruction ahead dancing may be lessening. To maintain strong
attendance, the festivals that emphasize instruction are more dependent a
continued growth of tango in the United States. Beginning and
intermediate dancers are the most interested in learning with a variety of
instructors. Although many tango communities continue to grow, the rate
growth of most tango communities has slowed over recent years.

Some attribute the slower growth of tango in the United States to overall
economic conditions, but one might also suspect the natural capacity to
grow was much greater 12-15 years ago when the number of Argentine tango
dancers in the United States was probably less than 500.

With best regards,
Steve

Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
https://www.tejastango.com/

Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 13:53:57 -0700
From: Trini or Sean - PATangoS <patangos@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: The State of the Tango

--- Rick FromPortland <pruneshrub04@YAHOO.COM> wrote:

> Seeing how we're temporarily in the doldrums,
> perhaps I can float another query.
> Anyone care to comment on what the market is like
> for, say TangoFestivals?
> or bringing out of town teachers for workshops? I
> hear various rumblings here & there...
> Thanks if anyone has anything to share,
> R

The market for bringing in out-of-town teachers is at
an all-time high in the Pittsburgh/Cleveland/Ann Arbor
area, which also helps the Erie, Columbus, Detroit
areas. This is largely due to the formation of two
new tango groups and increased communication/support
between the different cities. Attendance at workshops
continue to increase.

Interest in workshops have shifted from learning steps
to using what we know better. Close-embrace and
apilado are also new to the area (begun in May 2001),
and have caught dancers' interest.

Also new this year is that two area organizers are
planning workshops a year in advance. The next 3-4
months, which has workshops occuring every few weeks,
however, may test the strength of the communities.

We've also heard of more locals traveling to attend
Tango Festivals.

Trini of Pittsburgh



=====
PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society
Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburgh's most popular social dance.
https://www.pitt.edu/~mcph/PATangoWeb.htm