Encuentros.. Please explain. thx

The main problem for organizers is that they have to almost completely exclude the local community, especially since they often additionally host a regular local milonga. Guests of an encuentro book travel and accomodation to meet other guests who have booked travel and accomodation; that's simply the business case.

itwillhappen said:
in one, new participants are given priority
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At this particular encuentro, a large festival is taking place 20km away on the next date. This doesn't necessarily mean there was any ill intent; festivals have many constraints. However, coordination or consideration for each other is unlikely; but a "milonga of the uninvited" is also possible.
 
Don’t Encuentros usually limit to 100-150. I think we have three local ones. One of them started last month. All three have more than 50% local attendance. One of them does it on first come first serve basis. Locals are too familiar with the concept. Whether a local festival or marathon, there is always a milonga or two that attracts locals.

I don’t see a point in paying more expensive fees to dance with the same people and some guests that I can dance with at local milongas.

Europe is different. There are multiple options almost every weekend. Which can be reached within hour or two of flight.
 
Bailango said:
I think we have three local ones.
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It seems to be a matter of definition between encuentro, marathon and festival. As @itwillhappen says, encuentros are, or maybe were, a select club designed to exclude locals who might just turn up (if there are any local AT dancers). Marathons may have an open night - ostensibly to promote AT to locals (but it's also increased income). Festivals seem to be open to all who pay (sometimes limited due to legal reasons of numbers in the space), and some almost slip into holidays, or may involve the local scene if there is one. But maybe I'm misreading my experiences. Any better clarifications? I'll just go with encuentro as a select club and then other instances of 'milongas' as the scene evolves.

Bailango said:
Europe is different. There are multiple options almost every weekend. Which can be reached within hour or two of flight.
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Having just booked an 'hour or two of flight' within Europe, it's no longer cheap as it once was! It would have to offer something extra to make that visit worthwhile.
 
itwillhappen said:
I recently attended a hotel-based encuentro, where - even due to the cost structure - senior couples are the target audience. My partner pointed out that there were no PYTs (and no YTs) there, absolutely none. Do senior couples want PYTs as competition at such an event? Probably not, at least not the women(*)! Why should the organizers wife allow them, at least as long as she can (and must) make a selection?
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I doubt any of them attempted to sign up in the first place.
 
Bailango said:
Don’t Encuentros usually limit to 100-150.
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I think that's a good size; anything larger gets difficult due to the distances and seating arrangements at cabeceo. But I've been repeatedly to an encuentro with more than twice that number of people:



Bailango said:
I don’t see a point in paying more expensive fees to dance with the same people and some guests that I can dance with at local milongas.
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Every format needs to find a group of participants for whom the benefits are clear and justify the costs, from a local practica to an international festival. If an event has a stable, recurring format, there's no need to question its advantages or criticize videos from the outside. The only thing that matters is understanding who benefits from it and how!

We constantly hear complaints from female followers about male leaders: that they push them around, dance unmusically, walk through figures, have bad manners when inviting. And in most Western cultures - good male leaders are quite rare.

One solution is long-distance travel, exploiting the wealth gap, for example to Buenos Aires or Istanbul. But what could be an obvious solution for female followers who essentially bring along a good male leader? Of course, an event where each female follower brings along a good male leader.
 
Half a page dedicated to codigos and prerequisites… in a condescending tone no less. No thank you. Even though time and place is quite doable for me. But thanks for posting. Also, not many hours of dancing per day. But have fun if you go, I’m sure there’ll be some good dancers. I like traditional close embrace dancing *also*, but don’t want to be told like from a kindergarten teacher when to do what. But I’m sure there’ll organizers felt there was s good reason to post it like that.
 
Miradamiranda said:
Half a page dedicated to codigos and prerequisites… in a condescending tone no less. No thank you. Even though time and place is quite doable for me. But thanks for posting. Also, not many hours of dancing per day. But have fun if you go, I’m sure there’ll be some good dancers. I like traditional close embrace dancing *also*, but don’t want to be told like from a kindergarten teacher when to do what. But I’m sure there’ll organizers felt there was s good reason to post it like that.
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The description automatically filters for the intended participants, that's a feature. I wouldn't go either.
 
Rabbit said:
The description automatically filters for the intended participants, that's a feature. I wouldn't go either.
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Miradamiranda said:
Half a page dedicated to codigos and prerequisites… in a condescending tone no less.
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The prerequisites section reads like a description of a full tango course and the códigos are essentially strict, inflexible rules masquerading as etiquette (which are supposed to be guidelines that people generally follow and there have flexibility).

I think this event is organised by and targeted towards people who think (consciously or subconsciously) they're better than others because they follow these códigos and dance in a such a prescribed way.
 
Miradamiranda said:
Half a page dedicated to codigos and prerequisites… in a condescending tone no less. No thank you. Even though time and place is quite doable for me. But thanks for posting. Also, not many hours of dancing per day. But have fun if you go, I’m sure there’ll be some good dancers. I like traditional close embrace dancing *also*, but don’t want to be told like from a kindergarten teacher when to do what. But I’m sure there’ll organizers felt there was s good reason to post it like that.
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I attended one of them and it was wonderful. A dancer needs a lot of skill to attend which is the message I think was sent. The floor was like a chess board and for one tanda, every space was taken. Couples had to stay in the SAME square for the ENTIRE tanda. There were NO collisions and kicks from boleos.

The organizer set expectations for a successful encuentro. I wasn't upset by the rules. The organizer created a milonga as in Buenos Aires with cabeceo and everything else.

BTW, it was sold out when I went in 2024, and in 2025 when I couldn't get an invitation.
 
pianistamediano said:
..I think this event is ...targeted towards people who think.. they're better than others because they follow these códigos and dance in a such a prescribed way.
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Hmm, couldn't it be the other way around, too? Perhaps these are people who are uncertain, who have doubts, need a precise picture, predictability, and who also take out insurance for their flight ticket.
 
Miradamiranda said:
Half a page dedicated to codigos and prerequisites… in a condescending tone no less. No thank you. Even though time and place is quite doable for me. But thanks for posting. Also, not many hours of dancing per day. But have fun if you go, I’m sure there’ll be some good dancers. I like traditional close embrace dancing *also*, but don’t want to be told like from a kindergarten teacher when to do what. But I’m sure there’ll organizers felt there was s good reason to post it like that.
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Many websites are full of codigo-related nonsense with no real basis; I wouldn't put much stock in that.
What's more interesting is the person the organizer, the team. And if this encuentro has already taken place a few times, then there should be pictures, videos, and facebook posts, e.g.:



I'm not going to comment on that. What I miss in the schedule are shared brunches and dinners for socializing. All the encuentros and marathons I've really enjoyed organize something like that.
 
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opendoor said:
Hmm, couldn't it be the other way around, too? Perhaps these are people who are uncertain, who have doubts, need a precise picture, predictability, and who also take out insurance for their flight ticket.
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Pure fantasy. There are simply people there who think that's the best opportunity for them to dance that weekend.
 
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