About the Future of Tango in our Region and Intango

Dear Tango Friends!

As the year comes to an end, there are some changes ahead for Intango. Teresa will start her professorship in Oldenburg from April onwards and won’t be able to continue her involvement with Intango to the same extent. I also want to shift my activities in the school, focusing more on training and seminars and international events. Therefore, I want to share with you my plans for the new year and the type of people I’m looking for to join our Intango team. Maybe some of you feel addressed…

Firstly, some thoughts about the tango scene:

I have established the tango scene in Heidelberg/Mannheim with a lot of effort, passion, and investments. At that time, nobody in the region wanted to dance tango. Now that tango is ‘in’ and has spread, even outsiders and people from outside want to get involved. I strongly doubt if that’s a good thing. Why?

It has always been important to me that an event is not solely focused on consumption but also contributes to tango itself. What do I mean by that? Heidelberg is not a huge city. If milongas take place simultaneously, it poses an economic risk: the venue owner wants their rent, GEMA bills come in, organizing costs money, the DJ won’t forgo their fee, etc. If the number of visitors to the milonga dwindles, the costs don’t disappear. If a tango school like Intango, which has been contributing to tango for over 25 years, goes bankrupt, a significant piece of tango culture in Heidelberg is lost. We are committed to sustainable training of tango dancers and nurturing talents. We are always looking for innovations and organizing exclusive events in special locations with an international focus. And we want to bring back what defines tango to people’s awareness.

On the other hand, if a milonga organizer, who is not originally from tango or not from Heidelberg, operates at a loss, they will shift their focus back to other events (Salsa, Standard, or whatever) or to other cities, and it won’t change anything for the tango scene. And those who just introduce another milonga or even a new traditional milonga contribute to hopeless inflation and ultimately dilute the whole thing, weakening tango and the location. This has been shown in some cities.

Just to be clear: Intango is doing well, and I have no reason to complain. But I have concerns about the development of the tango scene. Yes, I have lost my heart in Heidelberg!

As you know, I always had the claim that the best dancers come from here. I was always proud of my students. Of course, we are not the only good ones on this earth, and sure, I may exaggerate out of love for Heidelberg, but that also shows how important the scene is to me! Therefore, I don’t want to leave it to chance who will shape Intango in the future.

Here are my resolutions:

Tango Events “Worth Visiting”

I have promised myself to only let events take place that I would travel several hundred kilometers to attend.

I want lively evenings with DJs that both dancers and I believe in. No practice evenings and no evenings solely focused on superficial socializing.

Tango has many faces, and that should also be reflected in the dancers: couples and singles, young and old, from chic to casual, from classical to modern, open role. The milonga needs flow and a “basic harmony,” yes, but it must also be a bit mysterious. A few (in a positive sense) “eccentric” individuals can sometimes make a difference.

Tension, fun, playfulness, and coolness belong in the milonga. A touch of romance, nostalgia, love, and sensuality should always be in the air.

Of course, we will also have beginners (or inconsiderate advanced dancers) who try out their figures thoughtlessly in the milonga (even if we advise them against it a hundred times), but it is also our responsibility to integrate them.

No Run-of-the-Mill Events!

There are plenty of run-of-the-mill events and milongas. I want to create something special for our region and establish a “magnet” for tango dancers from around the world. The following events are planned:

1. Neo-Nights-Festival: Neo and Non-Tango music at its best with high-quality DJs and musicians.

Playing Neo and Non-Tangos at milongas can go wrong in many ways. I must admit that I consider most DJs a catastrophe. I am convinced that this was the reason why the Neo wave came to a halt from 2003 to 2008. Now Neo & Non are back, and we need to be careful and focus on quality. We want to invite only the best. By the way, being a lover of Neo/Non does not mean not liking classical music. Paradoxically, in my experience, those who master the Milonguero style play Neo/Non the best – not those who, out of spite against “classical,” randomly play James Bond, Afro music, French chansons, etc.

2. Tango Riverboat and Open Air Tango Festival: It’s Heidelberg, it’s summer, there’s the river and the castle. That’s unique.

3. Open Air Milongas und Weekends: We have invested in two dance floors to host open-air weekends in Heidelberg in summer.

4. Tango Marathon Paradiso: ViVinyl, nostalgia, and a venue that screams tango. A weekend with a lot of style should take place here annually.

5. Estación Tango: Encounter and farewell are inherent in tango like in no other music. The train station is a place that stands for that. Therefore, we organize this event in different main stations – as soon as it gets warmer in spring.

6. X meets Heidelberg: With “Berlin meets Heidelberg” and “Istanbul meets Heidelberg,” we gave young top dancers the opportunity to present themselves and work with our young dancers. We would like to continue this series.

7. Tango Camp: Diversity is key – that’s why we want to specifically inspire young people for tango with our tango camps and address young people interested in becoming dancers and considering training with us.

Good Dancers for Our Milongas!

My experience has shown that the Milonguero style does good to people and turns them into good dancers, even if they prefer to dance in an open embrace.

Under the motto “Good Dancers for Our Milongas,” I want to advocate more for the Milonguero style.

Especially in the intermediate courses, I want to teach the Milonguero style and only address the Nuevo style from the advanced level onwards. I am not a big fan of classical stage tango or Tango de Salon. Because I don’t think much of tango based on statics, hardness, pseudo-expression, and pseudo-embrace. Instead, I prioritize full flexibility and musicality. In short: it’s about coolness, sensuality, and flexibility rather than hollow technique and feigned emotions.

The Right People for Our Team

We are looking for tango teachers, DJs, and team members who resonate with our ideas, identify with our philosophy, and want to implement it together with us.

What qualities are sought after?

Empathy: We deal with people. Being empathetic is one of the most important qualities. I admit that I’m not the best at it myself, but I know that this quality is incredibly important. I learned a lot from Teresa in this respect. People who only see themselves or their own tango and are intent on satisfying their own tango consumption are not needed here. Because it’s about the future of the tango scene in our region, not about you!

Real tango lovers: people who feel addressed by our philosophy and are emotionally involved. People who love the romantic, sensual, nostalgic, but also the playful and want to bring this closer to others, both in class and in our milongas.

Solution-oriented way of thinking: There are people who are good at one thing but can bring a lot of unrest to a team. They create problems because, for example, they generate a negative competitive mindset in the team or they moan every time things don’t exactly meet their expectations. We don’t want problem seekers and problem creators. We prefer opportunity seekers and exploiters.

Speaking of which, I recently read something apt on a postcard that made me smile:

“Coffee doesn’t talk, coffee doesn’t moan, coffee just does its job. I like coffee”.

Positive thinkers and future-oriented: Image attacks and bad-mouthing of individuals or schools and the creation of bad publicity can unfortunately also be experienced in the tango scene. We want to distance ourselves from this. We do our thing and concentrate on things we are convinced of. We want to be positive about the future of the scene and protect our milongas. But thinking positively doesn’t mean being dreamers. The things we start have to have a solid foundation and we have to operate in a healthy way. Passion for tango comes first, but there doesn’t have to be losses to be passionate. 😉

Caretakers: Caretakers have an eye for detail, but also for the big picture. They feel responsible and are concerned about the events and courses because they mean something to them. They are committed to success and sometimes put their own needs aside. Carers are there when they are needed.

In short, we are looking for people who are loyal, who value Intango and its relevance for the region and who want to get involved.

Last note: It’s important for me to point out that a large part of my work is not directly related to tango, i.e. it’s not artistic in nature. Registering with Gema, planning and promoting events, keeping and analyzing Excel spreadsheets, making lots of phone calls… just to name a few things. If you have a glorified view and only think about making it big as an artist, you will soon be disappointed. And yet I would prefer to have these organizational tasks in the hands of people who have a heart for tango and a connection to the tango scene. Because I think that’s necessary to do the job well.

Your Emile

For reasons of simplification, the masculine form (e.g. dancer, teacher, student) is used in the above text. Of course, the female form is also always meant here