The day I ate with tango dancers
There is something beautiful that happens when you sit down and eat with someone.
People connect over food.
It’s part of who we are.
Social creatures around a ‘fire’ nourishing our body.
And it is hard to find a culture that didn’t have a dance after a feast.
We talk, we eat, we laugh, we dance, and life suddenly doesn’t feel so difficult.
I had one of my first tango lunches at the Lisbon Tango Marathon., one of my favourite tango marathons.
The organiser, Augusto Gemelli, is a chef and an avid marathon goer.
He knows the tango dancers inside out, their desires and dislikes, and his marathon has at least 3 times more applicants than participants.
But the ones who do manage to join are not treated like numbers.
Augusto and his team make us feel as friends, welcome, accepted, nourished.
The experience of eating together with random tango dancers was just amazing.
Great food, a team of 6-7 fellow tango dancers serving us and some more in the kitchen.
We were seated next to each other enjoying, getting to know the people we danced with.
And then… lots of dance to burn those calories.
The energy of that milonga was different.
It was a group of friends experiencing life together.
I immediately started asking:
Can this be brought to more communities?
I talked with Augusto.
‘I’ve been bringing it to tango events for years, my friend,’ he said with his Italian accent and smile.
‘I know it’s not easy to make a profit out of a marathon or festival. Adding such a service… Isn’t that expensive for the organizers? ’
‘Not the way I do it,’ he smiled again.
‘But you have a team of like 10 people with you.’
He went on to explain to me how he manages to make it a great deal for organizers and participants.
It was simple and effective.
I won’t get into details, this is not the point.
My point is this:
There are wonderful ways to create tango events that become experiences people never forget, experiences that they will talk to others about so that the next event is overbooked.
The best marketing is a great event that makes people want to talk about it to others.
It’s a win-win-win for organizers, participants, and providers.
Augusto and many other members of the tango community understand what the dancers want.
‘The secret recipe is to welcome the people and help them find the feeling they came here looking for,’ Augusto told me and I completely agree.
Sometimes we need to stop looking outside the community for solutions.
We need to stop complicating stuff.
Do you want an inclusive community and event, where people feel like friends, share, talk, dance with each other?
Bring (GOOD) food.
Watch the magic unfold.
If you are travelling to events, tell the organisers.
They want to make you happy, help them do it.
My two cents.
Other resources:
How to dance more in milongas – For followers
How to become the dancer that women want to dance with in milongas – For leaders
Bunions and big toe pain in tango: how to avoid it
Argentine Tango Music in Images
Tango Stories: a collection of real tango stories from the past.
How to master the Cabeceo – for shy followers
Tangofulness: Exploring Connection, Awareness, and Meaning in Tango: in 12 languages