[Tango-L] IV Campeonato Mundial -- how the pre-championships are organized in foreign countries

[Janis Kenyon]

Last night after the first round of semifinals, I had the opportunity to
hear first-hand how a pre-championship is managed in a foreign country.  An
organizer wanted to tell me with the understanding that I neither
mention name or country.

There is a company in Buenos Aires called TCS, which makes contact with
foreign countries to hold a tango championship.   The producer hosting the
event in each country has to pay $3,000 to TCS for the exclusive rights and
agree to their contract terms.

The organizer of the pre-championship worked eight months in order to
prepare for the competition in tango salon and tango for stage.  Under the
terms of the contract with TCS, the organizer had to bring two judges from
Buenos Aires, pay all their expenses, and arrange classes for them.  The
terms of the TCS contract stipulated that these expenses be paid in advance
of travel, but the organizer refused to do so.  This business person was
savvy enough to negotiate terms of the contract to mutual satisfaction or
not do it at all.

It was necessary to obtain local sponsors for the pre-championship to fund
the event.  The participants had to pay to enter the competition.  A theater
was rented, liability insurance was paid, and tickets were sold for the
event.  The event cost $50,000,  and the organizer made nothing.  The
organizer was responsible for paying all the expenses of the two winners of
the pre-championship--two round-trip airline tickets and five days at the
Abasto Plaza Hotel in Buenos Aires.  Needless to say, the organizer will
never run another pre-championship again.

Pre-championship winners from each country do not have to dance in two days
of qualifying rounds before two different panels of judges in Buenos Aires.
They begin competing in the semifinal rounds.  If they make the cut, they go
to the finals.  Of the17 countries represented in the 2004 Campeonato
Mundial, only six of the 31 foreign couples made it to the final rounds in
the salon tango category.  Only seven foreign countries held
pre-championships in 2005, of which only three were represented in the top
ten finalists.  It is no surprise why there is less interest in foreign
participation--the majority of finalists are Argentines.

The countries represented this year are Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile,
Venezuela, Mexico, Italy, Russia, Finland (first time), France, Germany,
Spain, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Taiwan.  All except Germany held
pre-championships.  The semifinal rounds have 106 couples, of which half
will be eliminated before the final rounds on Saturday.

Tango dancers from foreign countries have been investing their time and
money to come to the Campeonato Mundial de Baile de Tango for four years.
It's about time their investment pays off with foreign champions this year.