Milonga Information
The Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon and evening milongas will all take place at Springstep. The location for the Thursday milonga will be announced soon. Information on music and performances will be posted here in due time.
Costume Notes
You may have noticed that costumes are suggested at most of the milongas. It's fun to get into the spirit of the festival (it's Halloween, after all!) by wearing a costume. However, since this festival is really about dancing not dressing up, you must make sure that you can move easily in your costume. Below we propose some ideas to keep in mind, but before that we want to answer a question you may be wondering....
Why all the costumes?
First of all, we must note that there's certainly no reason why you can't dress however you want all weekend - t-shirt and jeans all the way or a suit the whole time, no problem, there is no dress code! But here's a brief explanation of why costumes are encouraged: there's a collective joy and unity that we get out of seeing someone be creative, take a risk, and tango happily and with total concentration on the dance while wearing a two-foot-tall purple wig and go-go boots or as a cross-dresser for the evening in a vampy 1930s gown or a tux with tails. It's just delightful.
Costume Caution
Be careful when choosing your costumes to make sure there is nothing that will prevent you from having a comfortable embrace, or to prevent a free range of movement. Keep your head pretty simple: certain types of hats and most masks (which are so popular on Halloween) will prevent a close embrace, as will decorative makeup that rubs off on your partner. And even if you don't want to dance close for some (strange) reason, don't wear anything that sticks out much further than usual (it would feel like driving a minivan when you're used to driving a car - you and others aren't sure how close you can cut the corners). If you wear something a little bit on the edge that you're not sure you'll be able to dance in, then don't forget to bring a backup outfit!
...and (drumroll, please)
Costume Themes*
Thursday – Dia de los Muertos Milonga
Are you Mexican or a skeleton? Dia de los Muertos, the day of the dead, is celebrated at the beginning of November each year in Mexico. It's rich, colorful imagery is a strong visual inspiration for Tango de los Muertos. For this milonga, dress in traditional Mexican garb, or wear your favorite fashion-forward skull and skeleton clothes. Viva los Muertos!
(Pancho Villa, by the way, was supposedly a dancer of legendary stamina. Biographer John Reed claims Villa arrived late for an important battle, after an all-night dancing stint.)
Friday – The Language Milonga
Now's your chance - what would you like to say? Use the written word or a visual interpretation of body language to communicate with your fellow dancers. Or maybe you would like to artfully express your favorite letter, punctuation mark, or part of speech. Whatever you want your words to convey, make
Saturday – Gods and Goddesses
Perhaps you'll dress as a Greek god or Marilyn Monroe, but however you choose to interpret this theme -- whether literally or figuratively -- this is the night to be elegant.
Sunday – The Natural World
Dancing the nights away, we're more likely to see the sun come up and hear the birds awaken when we're heading home from a milonga, and not at the beginning of a day in the forest or on the water. S for this milonga, let's bring nature to us! Enjoy dressing as a plant, mammal, insect, land form, mineral, or weather, just don't forget what you came for (to dance!) so you're sure to retain your ability to move easily.
*These themes are still subject to change, so don't go out an buy a centurion costume just yet...
