Today is the start of the fourth Yale Tango Fest, and at least here, and the nearby areas, based on the heat measured on Facebook, there's a great deal of excitement. Although by no means is tango hugely popular at Yale or in the host city of New Haven, there is enough of a group of dancers here and in the Northeast from which the festival draws most of the out-of-town people. But the enthusiasm is precisely due to small group of people who take pride in the ability a small town and a small tango community has to draw in great dancers around the region and the country to make such a great festival.
The preparation this year has surprised many and caused some doubts for a few months. There were rumors circulating around that the festival wasn't going to happen for reasons that rumors could not ascertain. Unlike the previous three years, this time even the inner circle of people who have contacts with the main organizers have been clearly out of the loop. And this included the president of the Yale Tango Club, the main sponsor of the Yale Tango Fest. I recall his saying that he gave it a "fifty-fifty" chance that the festival would happen. As the number of weeks dwindled before the usual weekend when past Fests happened, there was increasing anxiety, even some show of defeatism and despair here in this small community, while some people outside, larger communities, like the one in New York City, shrugged and assumed the worst and didn't really care. Many of those are now vexed that the announcement of the festival dates had come so late that they had already made other plans.
So, yes, eventually the announcement came and it drew, in addition to the minority vexation, relief and joy. Some even in disbelief. The last one was by many attendees' opinion the best. And so there was a built-up hope that this year would be at least as good. And this year the number of local enthusiasts had finally starting growing again. But last year's success was not without some dark spots, and they contributed to the silence that had prevailed before the announcement. The all-night milonga last year, although the most successful of all the milongas of all the festivals thus far, ended up causing great ire in the host of the venue: the Yale Medical School. They were extremely angry at how the milonga had left the student lounge, which was adjacent to the ball room, in total chaos and even unsanitary conditions. The school also claimed that furniture was broken. They would never again let the Yale Tango Club host an event in that ballroom again.
Without that room this year's organizers had to scramble to look for a new venue that would be large enough to host all these people. Last year more than two hundred people fit in that ballroom, which was the biggest space on campus. There was probably a lot of negotiations and searches behind the scene, but another problem was that the organizers themselves were busy doing other organizing work prior to this event. How big of an effect that was on the lateness of announcing the even date is not clear. But the delay is not entirely due to a missing venue.
Part of what makes this event so successful compared to others is the main organizer. To give a stark comparison, the other student-based tango event in this area is the Princeton Tango Fest, which had its second one last year. This year, long before there was any whisper of a possible Yale Tango Fest, the Princeton organizers had announced their festival this year, which is in October. This caused quite a bit of chuckles against the Yale Tango Fest organizers whose event usually took place at the beginning of April. But aside from this brown spot, Yale's festival excels in every way compared to Princeton's. At last year's Princeton festival, there was a great deal of confusion over where things were, that included where the schedule was being distributed. There was no introductory information about local area venues for eating and such. Going to a festival you don't just dance but you have to sleep and eat. No such information was provided, whereas at the Yale event there is a sizable booklet for out-of-towners on where to eat and where to get Wi-Fi. But when registration started, there was already information on how to obtain free housing and, if you had money, what hotels were nearby. Lodging for the Princeton event was either someone's couch or a hotel, nearby of which required a car. Princeton, the town, is not conducive to festivals.
Moreover, the crowd is more diverse and the level is clearly higher in the Yale event. Granted, the Yale event started almost two years ahead of the Princeton one. And another factor in this contrast is that the team of nearly two dozen volunteers for the Yale event dwarfs that of about half a dozen Princetonians. The organizer, Tine Herreman, a Yale aluma, is renown for her organization skills. Any volunteer could tell you how efficient, and sometimes brutally, she is in getting things done and reaching goals that in the end optimizes the experience attendees have when parting.
The comparison isn't merely to an event of a fellow Ivy League school, but to many other festivals. Most festivals have great teachers and DJs, but they lack information and answers to questions. They are often in a city that required cars to get around else you would feel trapped. Moreover, many do not cater to students and other not-so-wealthy young people, who form a disproportionate, and perhaps even majority part, in the better echelon of dancers in the North American community. The best festival is one where the attendee can do a lot more than just dance; socializing is a big part of attending a festival, and if that is curtailed, the experience is not optimal.
This afternoon, and especially this evening, people from the region are slowly trickling in. This year, because of the lateness of the announcement of the date, I don't expect nearly as many people from far away, especially if they need to take a plane. Moreover, there are more and more festivals in this gloomy economic times when traveling and hotel stays spell big expenditures for the tango enthusiasts. Nevertheless, I hope the energy will be there like last year's. Those who are flying in or coming from afar will come today. The New Yorkers have the luxury of hopping on a train tomorrow after some rest tonight. There are many unknowns but the enthusiasm has no diminished. For many Yalies and other New Haveners who had recently ventured into this world of a passionate dance, this weekend should prove to be memorable, regardless of the composition of the visiting dancers.
