Opening night @ Stenungsbaden

Oh my god, what is this! This hotel that we’re in is something different. It’s on a hill, with view on the sea/lake, beach volley outside, and lots of light. The milongas take place on the sixth floor, which makes for a great panorama.

The first milonga on Thursday started with a baile de maestros and the fabulous Sexteto Milonguero.

It also featured the by now legendary parlando intro on Cafe Dominguez by Esteban. Something tells us we might be expected some Brazilian improvisation tonight, when the Sexteto plays again.

And then, of course there was a milonga, where the international crowd could meet with the Swedish locals. A very friendly bunch, as far as we can tell now.

Tangocamp behind the scenes

The film crew here is very active, and have made some really nice ‘official’ trailers, but some of the material was a bit too chaotic to be shown in those. So they made a ‘behind the scenes’ video. Enjoy!

Tangocamp 2010 Italy Behind the scenes from DK Video Productions on Vimeo.

Teaser video: Tangocamp Italy

Just like they did for Germany, the excellent video team (Georgios, Dimitris & Efi) has compiled a teaser video from the best shots of Tangocamp Italy.

 

Tangocamp 2010 Italy teaser from DK Video Productions on Vimeo.

Sunday performances @ Rome

Sunday featured a ‘DJ battle’ between Peppe di Gennaro and Luca Lamberti, which was actually much more harmonious than it sounds.

The demos started with the Roman teacher couple Daniel Montano & Natalia Ochoa, with a powerful and dynamic exhibition.

Then came Javier & Andrea, displaying their mastery of the Villa Urquiza style.

The performances ended with the top of the bill Gustavo Naveira & Giselle Ann, who amused the crowd with their feeling for drama and delicate dancing.

And so the demos ended for Roma, and the floor filled with dancers for a lot more hours after that.

Saturday performances @ Rome

On Saturday the DJ was not just a DJ, it was the Tango Groovemaster SuperSabino from Venice. With an excellent selection of tango songs and memorable cortinas from the 80’s he took the crowd on a wonderful tango trip from the evening until the morning.

 

 

Still, we also had some demonstrations from maestros around midnight. First came Mr Smooth Mazen Kiwan, from Lebanon, together with the gracious Maria Filali from Paris, doing their first show of the festival.

Then it was time for Esteban and Evelyn from Uruguay. They got a enthusiastic reaction from the crowd for their masterful display of musicality.

The last show was by Alejandra and Adrian, who not only danced with elegance and skill, but undoubtedly were the best dressed couple of the evening.

Friday performances @ Rome

DJ on duty was Enzo Climaco from Naples and he certainly lived up to his nickname DJ Climax.

After some warm-up dancing Sexteto Milonguero started with a steaming set and made the crowd go bananas.

Sometimes unexpected performers joined in to add some (e.g. Uruguayan) flavor.

Then there was the baile de maestros, the introduction of the teachers, followed by the first demos of the festival.

The demo of special guests Loukas and Georgia from Athens, Greece was very well received.

Yanick & Eugenia demonstrated impeccable technique, a flair for drama and some acrobatic moves.

And then Diego ‘El Pajaro’ and Maria Belen took the floor with style, humor and a beautiful pregnant belly. Their last performance turned into a group dance with the Sexteto Milonguero and some innocent bystanders.

A great start of an even greater evening!

Teaser video: Tangocamp Germany

Tangocamp also has a film crew, consisting of 3 brave Greeks dashing around with heavy cameras, tripod and lights. They try to capture some of the life at Tangocamp. The material from Germany resulted in the following video:

Tangocamp 2010 Germany Teaser from DK Video Productions on Vimeo.

Tangocamp Germany milongas

Lest we forget, the Tangocamp experience is also lots and lots of dancing at excellent milongas in beautiful locations.

Check all the pictures in the Düsseldorf album!

Last performances @ Düsseldorf

After four days of workshops, milongas and demonstrations Tangocamp Germany had to end, and to some extent, that’s a good thing because there’s a limit to the number of nights you can dance until 5AM.

The demos took place in the other room this evening, and I took a position on the 1st floor, which explains my bird-eye view at times.

Yanick & Eugenia danced 3 beautiful songs, of which the last one was very special both in the music and the acrobatic and theatrical moves.

Then Diego showed off his excellent milonguero skills, with the radiant and über-pregant Maria Belen. Their last song was really cute, with Diego pretending(!) to smoke and answering a phonecall in the middle.

After which people danced out their last drops of energy, before Monday, when normal life started again.

Saturday performances @ Düsseldorf

After two days of awesome demos, Saturday couldn’t bring us any less, and it sure didn’t. First Frank Obregon & Jenny Gil from Venezuela, who had been visiting the festival for the last 3 days, got invited to do a small demo.

Then came the maestros from Uruguay, Esteban & Evelyn, with some dances that showed their impeccable sense of timing and beautiful musicality.

After that came Alejandra & Adrian, combining precision and originality with their abundant elegance. A worthy end of the Saturday demos!

Check out all the pictures on Tangocamp Germany Dusseldorf