[Tango-L] Just do it

[Ecsedy Áron]

> As for the difficulty of developing a separate milonga for nuevo dancers, what the heck do you think it was like creating a milonga in a city in the first place?  Hello!!!  My first weekly milonga had 15 people at its grand opening, and dropped to 5-7 people a week for months at a time when my city was losing population big-time.  Ten years later its at critical mass and I've stopped keeping counts long ago.  So don't say that 40-60 people at a milonga is not enough people.  That's an insult to those in your community that started with only a handful of people and worked their butts off to make a viable community.  If nuevo and traditionalists can get along great in your community, then fine.
>   
I think I am not bragging if I say, I was (am) one of the few who made 
it happen. As for traditionalists and nuevo getting along, there is only 
one teaching couple who can be called traditionalist (actually they 
dance mostly canyengue) in Hungary (they organized the first milonga, 
but the scene did not grow for ages as this milonga grew out of a 
practica for their single class in the week and they had a very little 
interest in expanding further). Their students frequent all the other 
milongas with heavy nuevo influence and vice versa. Also, the teachers 
themselves are pretty much interested in nuevo lately as a possibility 
to further their studies.
> If you're passionate about something, work on your own to create it.  Don't rely on the backs of others to do the work for you.  Yes, it can be a financial risk, but so was the first milonga in your community.
>   
Please, tell me about it... The first (or really any) milonga in Hungary 
at the beginning was no real risk as places were cheap to rent (if any) 
and taxes are still not collected if you don't pay them voluntarily 
(although a few month ago one of the milongas were hit by ~IRS 
equivalent agents). Of course, when you have a large school (such as I) 
and a milonga in it, it is unwise not to. I am the founder of probably 
the only dancestudio in Hungary which DOES take the risk, and most 
likely one of the really very few organizers in Europe (next time you 
visit a festival see if you get any invoice, check if there is a proper 
company bank account, tax number - PayPal is the best money laundering 
tool there is) who pay its taxes as required - which at present time 
means a personal tax rate of over 60%, plus a VAT of 25%, along with 
costs that are - at PPP - over three to five times higher than in 
Austria, our neighbour. The result is that a milonga with 60 people is 
not even breaking even (that, considering zero rental fee as we are the 
organizers). Price increase is not an option as people would just quit 
dancing if we would.

If this is to be an international mailing list, please start to think 
globally, as - apparently - our problems are not at the same stage all 
over. Also, at some places the evolution of the scene solved some 
problems that still exist in others (strangely, in the older ones). I 
believe that many problems with communities in Western Europe and the US 
is that there are a lot more beginners around at a milonga. I suspect, 
that the tendency that most Hungarians - even with a lot of 
encouragement by the teachers - can't imagine themselves to be able to 
dance at a milonga without feeling inferior for at least a year or more, 
while your average German or US couple will start to visit a milonga 
right away (or even before attending a single class - happened here a 
few times: mostly with expats), produces an entirely different general 
level of skills at the milongas (unfortunately after this point many 
people stall in their development - especially the 'traditionalists').

Aron

-- 
Ecsedy Áron
***********
Aron ECSEDY

Tel: +36 20 66-36-006

http://www.milonga.hu/
http://www.holgyvalasz.hu/



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