188  How do you tell if you are a tango community? Be Like Denver

Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 00:57:24 -0500
From: Karen Whitesell <kglass@MNTVERNON.NET>
Subject: How do you tell if you are a tango community? Be Like Denver

How do you tell if you are a good tango community?

1. If you have great organizers and all help support you.
No one is an island and all have to pool their efforts. Tom Stermitz and
Tango Colorado did this.

2. If you have great teachers willing to come for a song.
Dedicated people that want communities to grow will come. Robert Hauk, Chris
Nassoupoulos and Caroline Peattie and Hsueh-Tze Lee, they came. 3 milongas,
4 classes, Brunch, picnic...Tom must have given out a lot of songs.

3. If you have great people to open their homes for visitors
My hostess was Pat Muscari who was willing to roll UP the carpet for us.
How do I know she had a good time, too? She is not going to put the carpet
back! She even opened her home for one of those we can't stop dancing after
the milonga parties. How many more homes danced the sun up, I wonder?

4. If you have great music from live musicians as well as live DJs.
Musicians just make the moment, especially proud of Christine on violin from
Missouri. I say "live DJ" for that Dan Bocci was also in my guest home and
he literally lives, eats, and breaths tango music 24 hours a day. And it
showed, great job, Dan. He may even come from Alaska for your Milonga, ask
him.

5. If you have a great milonga place that looks like a milonga place.
Owner, Marilyn, deserves the credit. I was talking to Daniel Trenner and he
gave Marilyn the nicest compliment. He told me to model my building just
like the Mercury. I'll have to do a natural foods restaurant, poetry
reading, art strewn on the walls, guest artist exhibits, and a dog.

6. If you have great dancers willing to dance with all.
I was told the local dancers were instructed not to just dance with their
normal partners, but I think they would have done this anyway. The level of
dancing was very high. Bill Alsup told me he was surprised at how many GOOD
followers were there. Thank him if you go to Portland.

And one more of many of how do you tell if you have a real tango community?

6. If you teach people what they want to learn.
It was obvious a lot of people wanted to learn the close embrace
techniques. We all want our communities to grow so this style will be the
only one for no room to dance dancing. We all want to learn what keeps
tango tango. As Daniela Arcuri said to me, there is ALWAYS the close
embrace.

Congratulations, Denver, you are a great tango community.

Karen
of Mount Vernon, Missouri, the closest city to the population center of the
USA.