The Tango world in our area has been strong and varied for many years now, and I’d like to think that we’ve been part of that story. Many good milongas help to sustain the community, and make it attractive to dancers from other areas too.
Cooperation is a big part of this. We try to support the other events going on locally; it’s great to get to meet up with other dancers and connect with the local dance community. So we know what’s going on and share our enthusiasm and support.
And we always make sure we avoid running events that clash with other Tango events locally i.e. not on the same day, and not within an hour’s drive.
Let’s face it, it’s just plain good old common sense all round, isn’t it?
Yes, I understand that nobody has the right to ‘own’ a date for an event. But to give events the best chance of attracting a good crowd, then it seems logical to not force dancers to choose between competing milongas. If there’s a choice of events, then obviously each of those organisers will attract will have a reduced number of dancers.
And obliging dancers to choose between events is divisive; it doesn’t encourage a cohesive local community.
You’d think that was obvious, but not everyone seems to think so. Over the years since we started running milongas several people have established local milongas that clash with our existing events, and the consequences have been predictable.
Despite that, it’s still happening *sigh*
