My guiding principal has always been to create tango festivals which bring happiness and pleasure into people’s lives at a reasonable price! Towards that end, I endeavor to provide the best staff, venues, features and schedule as possible–and to always be searching for ways to improve each festival.
With this in mind, for 2018 I’ve made the following change to the classrooms. The two rooms that had been used for the Advanced and Advance Couples classes, will be combined into one room–doubling its size to 2000 sq ft of dance floor. Each day this combined room will be used for three Advanced Classes and for one of Advanced Couples Class. In addition, the Cascade Ballroom upstairs (2000 sq ft) will also be used for an additional Advanced Couples Class in the morning. I think this is will be a huge improvement for the advanced students.
I also learned that giving you, the participant, as much up front information as possible will mean a more satisfying experience. With this in mind, below is a run down of some of the highlights and features to expect. (Click here for Complete Schedule.)
- Lodging: The DoubleTree always sells out, so my advice is to book your room ASAP. But if you don’t get in, here’s a list of Nearby Hotels and a place to connect with locals that have Private Lodging.
- Mixers: This year there will be three: the MishMash Mixer on Thursday, the Equal Opportunity Mixer on Friday, and the Texas Tango Hold ‘Em on Saturday. These mixers are a great way to meet new people, have fun and maybe win a prize,
- Performances: Instructor performances are on Friday and Saturday evening at 11:00pm
- Tokens: For admission to a class you need either a Full Pass Wrist Band or a Class Token. In addition, extra tokens may be given to a friend or partner; and/or have a $20 value towards admission to any milonga.
- Wristbands: With 600-700 attendees, our staff cannot know everyone. Thus if you purchased a Full Pass or Milonga pass, you must wear the wrist band on your wrist for the duration of the festival. Even I will be wearing one.
- Facebook: To keep up to date and communicate with others via Facebook, check out the ValenTango™ Event and the ValenTango™ Page.
- Putting on the Glitz: Katy Farrell will be offering a free seminar on secrets and tips for ladies on how to get more dances. (This seminar is for ladies only!)
- Companion: You can connect up with a companion to share a room, take classes and/or practice with at Companion Search.
- Changing Partners: Occasionally, a couple will not want to change partners. Although this may (or may not) benefit them individually, from years of experience I know that classes as a whole progress faster when everyone participates and changes partners. Thus, if you don’t want to change, I recommend private lessons or the Advanced Classes for Couples.
- Private Lessons: All instructors are available for private lessons and all arrangements (time, location price etc) should be made directly with the instructor of your choice. To help out, go to Private Lesson Spreadsheet.
- Parking: All hotel guests and ValenTango participants may use the DoubleTree parking lot. If you are not a hotel guest, pick up a daily parking pass at the registration desk.
- Monday after ValenTango™: Sticking around Monday after ValenTango? There’s lot’s to do–just check out Monday Schedule.
Happy Tangoing….