San Diego New Years Tango Festival

5th San Diego New Years Tango Festival:San Diego Harbor Lightsr
Dec 30 2010 - Jan 3, 2011

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A Tango festival "By Dancers; For Dancers"

T he San Diego Tango Festivals are a special treat for all tango dancers who love the social tango popular in the milongas of Buenos Aires: close, subtle & romantic. We hire some of the top DJs in the US. "For Dancers, By Dancers", which means everything is designed with the dancers in mind. Dance floors will be arranged with tables around the edge so walkers don't disturb the line of dance. The floors will be crowded, but courteous. Expect two or three lanes and Buenos Aires style floorcraft. DJs will play tandas with cortinas. Most people are familiar with the cabeceo to get dances, and the teachers will emphasize navigation and floorcraft in their classes.

This will be the 5th San Diego Tango Festival. These Festivals never fail to attract a high level of dancer. San Diego has a friendly, welcoming tango community, and you will see many of your friends from past festivals.

Last Minute Notices and Details

(1) Kay McNiven will present an hour of gentle yoga on Friday, Saturday and Sunday before the workshops. This yoga will be "Restorative for feet, knees and hips and will re-energize the body". Please bring a mat if you can.

(2) We have a massage therapist scheduled to be in attendance.

(3) Joe Leonardo is bringing his short Silent Films.

(4) Thursday and Late Sunday are off-site, but there will be carpools from the hotel. Please check the maps at the festival website. MAYBE you will have to take a taxi one way to meet your schedule, but there will be many people returning to the hotel at the end of the events.

(5) The hotel is not far from the airport, and there is a free shuttle. Call the Kona Kai to schedule a shuttle: 800-566-2524

(6) The "non-view" rate at the hotel is $99/night. Non-view means looking at the pools, patios and/or marina, rather than the bay.

What's New and Different This Time?

Friday, New Year's Eve is a holiday, so we have expanded the basic festival to cover THREE full days of workshops. The festival pass also includes America Mauhar's Thursday evening, kick-off milonga at Dancing Unlimited.

The special, kickoff teachers on Thursday, December 30 will be Jaimes Friedgen & Christa Rodriguez of Seattle, WA.

The Kona Kai hotel is a beautiful, Shelter Island hotel with view rooms ($114) across the bay and "non-view" rooms ($99) into the harbor full of sailing boats. The hotel has an airport shuttle, so you don't need to rent a car.

We will not be offering Beginner classes at this festival. All classes are Intermediate or above, which assumes you already know the basics of tango, i.e. ochos, ocho-cortados, improvisation, and navigation. Adv-Intermediate & Advanced classes don't present much vocabulary; instead they focus on concepts, musicality, technique, and dance skills. Workshops are oriented to SOCIAL tango dancing, not STAGE tango. The level is generally pretty high, and many advanced dancers will be attending workshops. This is where you meet and get to know partners for dancing later at the milongas.


San Diego Tango Festival Featured Instructors:

Featured DJs & Musicians:

  • America Mauhar, San Diego, CA
  • Christa Rodriguez, Seatlle, WA
  • Lampis Zalavras, Orange County, CA
  • Joe Leonardo, Portland, OR
  • Sabah Chammas, San Diego, CA

Pricing for Festival Passes

  • Milonga Pass $85 (6 milongas Thu - Sun, SAVE $25)
  • Workshop Pass - $130 (6 Classes, Fri - Sun) SAVE $20
  • Festival Pass - $215 (6 Milongas, 6 Classes Thu - Sun) SAVE $45
  • Early Arrival Pass - $250 (6 Milongas, 8 Classes Thu - Sun) SAVE $60