Boston Tango Marathon

Except in a few large cities, most tango communities in the US are still quite small. Tango enthusiasts often travel to big tango festivals around the country to dance tango. That could be quite expensive. Festival pass is $250 to $1000 per person. Private lesson of a big name teacher is $100 to $300 an hour. Round trip by air is $250 to $500 per ticket. Hotel room for four nights is $400 to $600. Rental car and gas add another $250. Plus other costs such as parking, toll and food, a couple could easily spend two to three thousand dollars for a single weekend trip, enough to travel to Buenos Aires for a few weeks.

In recent years tango marathon has replaced tango festival to become my favorite event because it allows me to focus on dancing. Unlike a tango festival, a tango marathon does not provide lessons, saving the organizer the money to hire instructors. Consequently the cost of a tango marathon is much lower. With fewer novices, the dance floor is less crowded, the level of dance is higher, and milonga codes are better observed. It has everything that serves me better than a tango festival.

Two weeks ago, I attended the Boston Tango Marathon. Although this was only their second year, thanks to the organizer Alla Lakov, Peter Simoneau and fifty volunteers of the Boston tango community, it went very well. The pass was only $100, covering 40 hours of dancing in three days plus meals, refreshments, drinks and ice creams. Obviously, it aimed at providing the dancers with a good dancing experience rather than making money. Best of all, this marathon had a theme - friendship, which was emphasized repeatedly during the event. Every time when Alla and Peter asked the participants what the theme of the marathon was, the audience replied with one voice: "Friendship!" It worked!

I appreciate the organizers' effort to make the event a warm and friendly experience for the dancers, especially now in the US where attentions often are paid only to dance and not the cultural side of the dance. In Buenos Aires, however, the opposite is true. It is regarded as their duty to provide the dancers with a welcoming environment by organizers of the BA milongas, where the guests are cordially greeted at the door, seats are meticulously arranged to facilitate cabeceo, tables are covered with pressed clean clothes, food and drinks are served to the table, and milonga codes are strictly complied. While in the US the break time is the announcement time, in Buenos Aires it often is the time for tango education, during which milonga codes are explained and problems are dressed. In one occasion, I saw two children were brought to the dance floor by some tourists, causing a little disturbance. A group of milongueros quickly discussed the matter and the parents were politely advised to take the children out. I am sure many visitors have witnessed similar stories. Richard Miller, for example, mentioned in his blog a post that he saw at the Milonga Cachirulo, which reads:

“Welcome to the best milonga in Buenos Aires. Tanguero friends, please pay attention.
• Here we dance milonguero style tango, and we learn to respect the codes of the milonga.
• We dance with a warm, respectful and close embrace.
• We follow the line of dance, in a counter-clockwise direction.
• We try not to step backwards into the line of dance, always walking forward, as it should be.
• We do not lift our feet too much from the floor; this way we avoid hitting other dancers.
• We invite women to dance through the classic 'Cabeceo del caballero'.
• Furthemore, and very important, respect is the first card we play in the game of the milonga.
Much to our regret, not respecting these codes will make it impossible to dance in Cachirulo.”

It is the efforts like these that made the BA milongas wonderful. I am glad to see that now some tango organizers in this country start to move in the same direction. Tango is a dance that is of the dancers, by the dancers and for the dancers. It should not cost an absurd amount of money to enjoy. A friendly culture governed by the milonga codes must be introduced into our tango through education and good leadership. Now, thanks to the Boston Tango Marathon, we have an example.