[Tango-L] Tango Co-op?

[buffmilonguera@aol.com]

thanks Tom - I've already incorporated the Buffalo Artgentine Tango 
Society as a non-profit, and I regularly get 25-35 folks to the 
milongas I organize, 40-50 (not necessarily all tango dancers) for a 
gala "dress-up" events associated with visiting artists, and sell maybe 
50 workshops when I bring someone in....(that doesn't mean 50 people, 
because any 1 person can take more than one workshop, etc.)

I see BATS as a portal - sort of.  I organize a couple of milongas each 
month - I advertise that they are free and open to the public, and I do 
them at various bars, restaurants - this brings folks in.  Then they 
get on my e-mail list, find out about new events, and so on and so on 
:).  I have also successfully partnered with other non-profits by 
providing entertainment and demonstrations.  Generally, we're just 
there to dance, so it's really just a milonga to us...to the event's 
attendees its great music, fun to watch and something they've never 
seen before.   Sometimes, the visitng artists perform at these 
fundraisers.  I had a great experience bringing two artists to a 
performing arts high school here, and those kids really, REALLY took to 
it!

Other than bringing folks from out of town in, BATS does not directly 
work with any local teachers - or, more accurately, works with all of 
them.  I do not (and will not) teach, and  I promote everyone's events. 
  If there are teachers at my events (other than the monthly milongas), 
I always offer them an opportunity to perform something - even folks 
 from those "franchise" dance studios.  I also encourage teachers to 
bring any brochures or flyers they want to, and announce up-coming 
events.

So far, I have been fortunate in that I could personally absorb some of 
the up-front costs of a weekend of workshops, etc., and then have those 
costs reimbursed.  But my ability to do that is limited and if I want 
to go to another level, I need working capital.  Also, so far I have 
never been in the red - although a couple of times, I just broke even.  
But I know it's coming - an inadvertant conflict with another event, 
bad weather or burst pipes at the venue I've rented  - something is 
bound to happen that will screw up my budget.....so having some working 
capital for that too would be helpful....which is why I was interested 
in what other communities do.

thanks everyone for your ideas and suggestions....
barbra


Have you joined the Buffalo Argentine Tango Society Yahoo! group yet? 
It's easy, and the best way to make sure you know what we're doing and 
what's going on with the Argentine tango in and around Buffalo......go 
to www.yahoo.com > select Groups > search for Buffalo Argentine Tango 
Society > follow the directions to join BATS_tango. Thanks!


-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Stermitz <stermitz at tango.org>
To: Tango-L <tango-L at mit.edu>
Sent: Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:26 am
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Tango Co-op?



The first and most important question is "What is the purpose of the
Club?"

In my opinion, the best role of a tango club is to nurture community,
which means taking a neutral or encouraging stance with respect to
local teachers.


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