There is less than one week to the start of the 4th annual Chicago Mini Tango Festival (www.chicagotangofestival.com). The 2009 Festival is scheduled for April 17-19, 2009. Pre-festival workshops will also be held on Thursday, April 16, 2009.
There are still some slots available for couples and leaders for the Chicago Mini Tango Festival passes (full festival pass, Saturday arrival pass, full festival student pass, and day pass) for workshops and milongas. In order to maintain our gender balance, registration for followers for Festival passes is closed. If you are interested in being place on a wait list, please contact me. Festival milonga passes are still available. Included in the milonga pass will be entry to an all night milonga that will go from 2-6am after the Saturday milonga. More details on the all night milonga will be announced shortly. For complete pricing and registration information, please go to: http://www.chicagotangofestival.com/Payment_Registration.php This year we are having a wonderful set of the most recognized and respected instructors from Buenos Aires: Ramiro and Elina Roldan, Ruben Harymbat (Ruben de Pompeya) and Enriqueta Kleinman, and Gustavo Benzecry and Maria Olivera. In addition, my good friend, Oscar Casas, also from Buenos Aires, will be coming for the Festival and has agreed to do the special workshops on Saturday and Sunday evening and also the Tango 101 and 102 classes for the total beginner (advance registration recommended). Oscar and Mary Ann Casas will in Chicago this fall for a series of workshops. In addition the Festival will include a great set of djs including Vijay Namasivayam (San Francisco), Ko Tanaka (New York), Ilene Marder (Woodstock, NY), and Paul Akmajian (Albuquerque, New Mexico). For more information on the Festival instructors and Djs, please go to: http://chicagotangofestival.com/Instructors.php MASTER CLASS There are still some openings available for the special Master Class taught by Elina Roldan and Enriqueta Kleinman titled: ""DOS MIRADAS SOBRE EL TANGO SALON Y MILONGUERO" or "Two Looks at Tango Salon and Tango Milonguero". There is limited enrollment and only available to people who have purchased a weekend Festival pass. A separate payment will be required. A description of the class can be found at: http://chicagotangofestival.com/Masterclass.php SUNDAY CHAT SESSION There will also be a special chat session on Sunday afternoon on the "History of Golden Era of Tango" given by Gusatvo Benzecry, who has written several books on tango, and Maria Olivera. Gustavo has published “Tango Danza Glossary”, a unique book in its genre that unites more than 300 terms related to Tango, as well as all the Tango Styles and "La Pista del Abrazo” where he studies the characteristics of Tango Salon. Their presentation will include a DVD presentation with interviews with a lot of the great masters of tango. They will open the session up for discussion after the DVD presentation. VENDORS AND SPONSORS We are delighted to have Chicago Dance Supply and Argo Tea as our sponsors. We are also delighted to have as vendors at the Festival: Diva Boutique from Florida and Chicago, Chicago Dance Supply, Soft Chocolate Designs by Betsy Henderson of Minnesota, Tango Tarts from New Mexico, 100% LLC from Chicago, Ritz Tango Café from Chicago, and Verizon. Argo Tea will be providing us with treats each day of the Festival. Ritz Tango Café plans to provide mate for the Festival participants during the Saturday afternoon milonga. For more information the vendors, please go to http://chicagotangofestival.com/Accessories.php SCHEDULE AND PRIVATE LESSONS For the updated schedule and information on private classes please go to http://www.chicagotangofestival.com/Schedule.php. If you are interested in a private lesson during the festival, please send an email to [email protected] The Pre Festival Classes on Thursday are open to the general public. They will be held at the University Church, 5655 S. University, and Chicago. There is a separate charge for the pre-festival classes. Registration for the Festival will start on Friday afternoon at 1:30pm. Registration will also be held at the 1st floor of the University Church. Contact Information Please let your friends know if they would like to receive updated information they can subscribe to our mailing list by sending an email to Ray Barbosa at [email protected]. Looking forward to seeing you in Chicago in a couple of days. Take care, Ray Barbosa Organizers and contributors: Chicago Milonguero, Ltd. and the Argentine Tango Club of the University of Chicago. Chicago Dance Supply (www.chicagodancesupply.com) and Argo Tea are the official sponsors of the 2009 Chicago Mini Tango Festival
