Tango de los Muertos 2009, Boston, MA: Feedback

I've been before and enjoyed it.
I heard it was the last one.
I wanted to take workshops.
I wanted to dance, dance, dance.
I enjoy the costumes.
I like all the live music.
I wanted to play in the Monster Orchestra and/or Tango Jam.
I live in Boston and most other tango events were canceled.
Other:

What was your overall impression of Tango de los Muertos 2009?

THE MILONGAS

The Music

Ben Bogart y los Gatos Azules, Saturday night

The Monster Orchestra led by Korey Ireland, Sunday night

Comments about the live music?

The DJs

Sean Dockery (Thursday Evening), Mitra Martin (Friday Mixer [only music related comments here please]), Avik Basu (Friday Evening), Homer Ladas (Friday Evening Alternative), Jake Spatz (Saturday Afternoon), Robin Thomas ( Saturday Evening), Anarky (Saturday Evening Alternative), Jacob Eggers(Sunday Afternoon), Shorey Myers (Sunday Evening)

Were there any DJs that you were particularly disappointed or impressed by? Please explain:

Other Milonga Thoughts

In 2008, we heard that some people had trouble getting dances either at all, or with particular people they were seeking. We can't do much about gender balance (people were vehement in their feedback last year that they wanted to be able to just show up to milongas at the last minute; and that efforts to gender balance milongas rarely work), but we tried several other things this year in hopes of friendli-fying the festival and getting people mixing.

First, did you notice a gender imbalance?

No, I didn't notice.
Sometimes, but it wasn't too bad.
Yes, I had a really hard time getting dances.

Did you participate in the games at the Mixer Milonga on Friday? If so, how were they? If not, why not?

There were a lot of complaints last year about the "cool kids" sitting on the stage and only dancing with each other. Since we can't and don't want to dictate who people dance with, we decided the best solution to this problem was to eliminate the stage as a seating area. So, we pushed tables right up against it. Yes, this meant that people had to walk on the dance floor to reach the seats (and yes, the tables were too close together) but since chairs on the floor are more anonymous than the butts on the stage, our impression was that it made people fixate less on certain people.

Now that you know our thinking, what were your impressions of the stage area table setup? Was it more annoying to have people walk on the dance floor than it was beneficial to eliminate the very visible cool kid hang out?

How was the floorcraft?

Surprisingly good, given how many people were there.
There were a few people crashing around, but overall it was good.
There were some people who were bad navigators and they really scared and/or angered me.
It was awful and I've got the bruised shins/toes to prove it.

Comments and suggestions about the floorcraft, food, decorations, and yes, the costumes:

THE WORKSHOPS

Did you take workshops?

Carolina del Rivero & Donato Juarez - Melina Sedo & Detlef Engel - Veronica Toumanova & Fausto Carpino - Korey Ireland - Mitra Martin, Stefan Fabry, Rebecca Rorick Smith and Eric Lindgren (MIT Beginning Workshops)

I chose the workshops/teachers that I did because (check all that apply):

I've taken class with them before and so I know I like them.
I haven't taken class with them and wanted to try them out.
I had heard they were really good.
I read their bios and/or watched performances and was intrigued.
I knew they must be good if they were teaching at this festival.
I liked the class title(s) and description(s).
I had schedule conflicts at other times.
I took what was available by the time that I registered.
They were the only ones teaching Beginning workshops and that's what I wanted.

Were there any teachers that you were particularly disappointed or impressed by? Please explain:

Accurately judging your dance level and class level is very difficult. We posted level requirements on the website that were specific and stringent, but we got the impression that some people "upgraded" themselves anyway.

Do you think the level of the participants was on target? Do you think that you accurately judged your own level?

Please offer a suggestion for achieving the right level of participants in the workshops:

THE OTHER STUFF

Because of how hot and sweaty some of the milongas were in 2008, we put a lot of effort this year into keeping Springstep cool. We got a lot of complaints about how cold it was during the early part of the weekend and then very few on Saturday and Sunday.

Do you have any final comments about the overall temperature, or of Springstep in general?

This year we added lectures and guided stretching to the schedule, and brought back vendors and the Tango Jam.

Any comments about the vendors, lectures, Tango Jam or guided stretching?

The Game was a new idea for us this year. We hoped it would get people meeting each other and enjoying more opportunities for creative expression. We had lots more ideas for the Game then we were able to implement, and had to dramatically alter plans on the fly based on how people were interacting with it, so it really was a "work in progress"!

Thinking about this year's Game as a starting point for future tango-related zaniness, what do you think worked and what didn't? Any overall game suggestions?

What did you think of the overall festival organization and the volunteers?

And finally...

Yes, it really is the last Tango de los Muertos. No one is taking it over, and we're done with organizing events for a while. We learned so much and had a great time with it all, but it's time to break. Thank you so much for all your support and enthusiasm over the years!

How do you think they sounded?	How enjoyable were they to dance to?
I didn't really like them. They were okay. I thought they were good. I thought they were amazing!	I didn't really like them. They were okay. I thought they were good. I thought they were amazing!

How do you think they sounded?	How enjoyable were they to dance to?
I didn't really like them. They were okay. I thought they were good. I thought they were amazing!	I didn't really like them. They were okay. I thought they were good. I thought they were amazing!

Festival Feedback Form...

What drew you to Tango de los Muertos (check all that apply)?