FRIDAY, 28th of FEBRUARY 2025
22H00----22H30: Reception and welcoming
22h30----02h00: Milonga with Dj Gato Milongueiro (PT)
SATURDAY, 1th of MARCH 2025
10H30----12H30: Seminar with Michael Lavocah (UK) – Osvaldo Pugliese
14H00----18H00: Milonga with Dj Michael Lavocah (UK)
21h00-----01h00: Milonga with Dj Patrícia Santos (PT)
SUNDAY, 2nd of MARCH 2025
11H00----12H30: Seminar with Michael Lavocah (UK) – Pedro Laurenz & Pedro Maffia
14H00----18H00: Milonga with Dj Silencio (PT)
21h00-----01h00: Milonga with Dj Fred Romero (ES/FR)
MONDAY, 3rd of MARCH 2025
13h00-----15h00: Lunch
15H00----21H00: Milonga with Dj Lampis (GR/USA)
ADDITIONAL MILONGA
TUESDAY, 4th of MARCH 2025
20h00-----00h00: Milonga with Dj Lua (IT/PT)
Pack of Milongas (28th of February to the 3rd of March): 175€
(Drinks & snack included)
Additional Milonga (4th of March): 20€
Despedida Lunch: 25€
Gato Milongueiro (PT)
It's a huge privilege for me to prepare and care for the milonga with my DJing – after all, it's all about the hard and demanding care needed for all the "milongueros" of the ball room...
...y siga el Tango!
Michael Lavocah (UK)
DJing is an act of sharing something that I love: tango music. My aim as a DJ is to build a relationship with the dancers based on trust, and then to create a flow that is coherent and harmonious from the beginning to the end of the milonga, without abrupt transitions, but still offering a variety of emotions and colours.
The music I play varies according to the occasion. At ‘A Promotora’ expect to hear: D’Agostino; old Canaro valses; Laurenz; D’Arienzo from 1935-1937; anything from 1943; Troilo; Di Sarli. Maybe (highlights): the sextets of Fresedo and Maglio; Demare; Pugliese with Chanel.
To be asked to play at ‘A Promotora’ is a privilege. As ever, I will try to remember the advice that Pugliese received from his father: “Watch the feet of the dancers”.
Patrícia Santos (PT)
Patrícia was born in the city of Porto (Portugal) and discoverd tango in 2005. Five years later she began Djing in milongas. As a milonguera she believes in the impact that music can produce in the dance/milonga and, in this sense, while she is Djing, tries to enfatize the orquestras that, is her own view, allow the dancefloor to keep its proper order and that also create a unique feeling of sharing between milongueros that, in that moment and space can (re)find themselves.
She also organizes the encontro milonguero Ensueños.
Silencio (PT)
For me, djing is an art of caring about what drives us to dance – the music.
This task takes anyone that wishes to do it well to study all his life.
I expect a tango dj to have the ability to put himself in the place of everyone in the dancefloor (and in the milonga) and, therefore, chose with coherence, focus on the dancefloor, intelligence, altruism and intuition.
I choose carefully each musical piece and try to find, among the variety of the “musical emotions” the ones that best harmonizes with each “milonguero”.
I start with the “spirit of each Orquestra Típica” and, with each dancer, I aim to choose and contribute so that each and every single one present in the milonga can live a beautiful and happy experience.
To Dj in traditional milongas an Encuentros milongueros is a responsibility I treasure because with “milongueros” giving deep importance to the love for the embrace and (the interpretation) of the music. Also due to this the milonga is, already, closer to the feeling of “a dance heaven”
Fred Romero (ES/FR)
Fred is a frequent presence in milongas that are of tango milonguero type - which he teaches- for more than 10 years. He has a good knowledge of the dancefloor movement and the expectations of the dancers. His musicalization is of classical and traditional form and the passion that gives the energy to the milonga with a brilliant selection of cortinas that are sometimes compromised ones.
The excellence of its musical selection takes more and more organizers of encuentro milongueros to request his abilities.
Lampis (GR/USA)
Lampis has been fascinated by tango and continuously tries to expand his understanding of this complex art form. He strongly believes that appropriate music is a critical factor for an emotionally fulfilling evening of dancing and he aims to achieve exactly that with his music selections. He focuses on traditional music that brings the dancers on the dance floor keeping them there until the very end of the milonga. Lampis is a sought-after DJ and has been DJing festivals and major events from coast to coast in the USA as well as all in Europe and Asia.
Lua (IT/PT)
Lua is Italian and lives in Lisbon. She discovered tango in 2004 while walking along the Seine River and was completely fascinated.
Since 2011, she has been organizing tango events in Lisbon (“Milonga da Lua”) and playing her music at milongas and encuentros all over Europe and the Unites States. For her, each milonga is unique. Each tanda tells a story. Each tango brings back memories of past dances. Today, her musical selection combines the diverse tastes of the dancers she has met in tango.
Associação Promotora de Tango Social
Largo Fontainhas Nº 19 - Alcântara LISBOA
emapromotora@gmail.com, associacaopromotoratangosocial@gmail.com
+351 915131234 / +351 966434469
OPTIONS CLOSE TO THE MILONGAS PLACE:
HOTEL VILA GALÉ ÓPERA-4 STARS HOTEL
(at 800m from PROMOTORA )
Address:Travessa do Conde da Ponte -1300 -141 Lisboa
Telephone:(00351) 213 605 400
Website:www.vilagale.pt
OTHER OPTIONS:
There are several apartments available in sites like airbnb.com at a walkable distance from Promotora
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:
Every year we receive a lot more inscriptions than the room capacity and the identity of the event allow us to accept and the task of selecting the participants for each edition is time consuming as it takes care and attention. We want to be fair and, at the same time, guarantee all participants have a special experience and to live up to your expectations or, perhaps, to exceed them.
Registrations will remain open for at least two hours. We ask everyone to carefully read the application form and to take time to fill it in calmly. It is not a speed competition and we will not make any distinction based on the order of entry of registrations made during this period.
Both individual and couple registrations are welcome. The registrations are treated in the same way, always ensuring parity between leaders and followers. When we accept a couple place, this is conditional on both partners being accepted to the event. For this reason, we only recommend couple registrations to those where it does not make sense to participate in the Encuentro without their partner.
Registrations are for the 4-day milongas pack. The additional milonga and the meal are optional and there is no preference given to those who sign up for any or all of these for acceptance of your inscription.
The additional milonga is not open to the local community. Only the participants of the Encuentro can participate in this milonga. This milonga is more intimate than those during the main event and the venue is prepared in the same way as the regular monthly milonga A Promotora. This milonga exists for those who want to experience a little more of the spirit of the Encontro A Promotora.
The lectures with Michael Lavocah, included in the program, are free for the participants of the Encuentro. No prior registration is required.
We want to ensure that all participants know and comply with the codes of the milonga (on and off the dance floor), and are respectful with all other participants, dance socially taking care of the group and the integration of all and that are comfortable to dance in close embrace and in small spaces. These are, for us, essential points that override any other criteria.
A Promotora is not a closed meeting for friends. Friends are important and naturally welcome, but we always try to give everyone the opportunity to share with us the intensity of these days.
We will try to balance the Encuentro with new participants and with participants who have been present in previous editions without jeopardizing the identity of the event.
We also pay attention to those who have been on the waiting list in previous years and we will try to get some of them in, this time.
This is the way we’ve found to ensure transparency in the acceptance of registrations so that nobody feels hurt. We believe it to be the best way for everyone to feel the same esteem, care, consideration and respect and, at the same time, assure all participants a full Encuentro Milonguero.
The team of A Promotora,
On the dance floor
• The imaginary line composed with the pairs of dancers on the same lane is called the line of dance. In this line, the dancers move in an anticlockwise direction.
• There can be, in parallel, several lines of dance (1st exterior, 2nd exterior, interior). We try to dance following one of the lanes, avoiding changing lane if at all possible. If this happens, due to any disturbance or a line being "too full", it should be ensured that no other pair is bothered.
• We do not move to another line of dance during the course of a song.
• There is no overtaking because we are all part of the same ronda and it is a place of respect among all rather than a race
• We do not do "back steps" or movements in the opposite direction to the circulation of the ronda. The space that a dancing couple leaves behind belongs to the dancers that follow in the ronda.
• We maintain the fluidity of the dance floor. This means that if we can, we move forward, we will not stay on one spot without advancing for too long nor push the pair in front of us.
• It is the responsibility of the leader to take care of the person with whom he is dancing. We avoid bumping into other couples on the dance floor; if this happens we show our care by apologising, regardless of who or what motivated the collision.
• Stage or show movements that promote dancers to raise their feet off the floor and occupy a lot of space do not make sense in a place where the embrace is the essence and meaning of the tango milonguero.
• We are careful of the position of the elbows so that they are directed downward in the direction of the floor and so are not dangerous to other participants.
• At an encuentro we show our ability to take care of our partners and with all the other dancers. We do not show our abilities in an exhibitionistic way.
Outside the dance floor and when inviting to dance
• Invitations are made by mirada & cabeceo. This is only possible if there is a visual contact, at a distance, between the two elements of the pair that can chose each other freely and mutually. Only this way can we be sure that both want to dance together the current tanda.
• If the ronda is already moving, do not cross it to get to your next dance partner. Go around the dance floor so that you don’t disturb the other dancers
• The dancers on the ronda have priority over those who want to enter. When we enter the dance floor, we make sure the leader of the pair already dancing gives us way to get in. For this and before entering the ronda, we try to establish a visual contact with him and wait for his signal.
• Tandas (sequences of tracks separated by a cortina) consist of three or four songs. Between tandas you will hear a short piece of different music called a cortina or curtain music. This cortina exists to signal the end of a tanda to the dancers and tell them that there will be a music from a different orchestra played next and allow them to also choose a different person to dance with. You should not stay on the dance floor during the cortina nor at the beginning of the tanda because you can block the view of other participants who wish to use mirada and cabeceo to invite a partner across the dance floor.
• At the end of the tanda, the leader takes the follower to place where they were when one invited the other to dance.
• The milonga is a social space. We try to dance with a large number of participants, taking care of the group and the integration of all the participants.
• The milonga is a space of respect. No one shall disrespect any participant or staff member, regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, role preference, etc.
• The milonga is a safe and protected space. Attitudes or behaviors that endanger the moral or physical integrity of other participants or team members, or any type of moral or sexual harassment, are not tolerated.
• We all take care of everyone. Any participant who feels disrespected or witnesses such situations should immediately communicate it to a member of the organization who will take the necessary and appropriate measures.
With your application, we ask you to be committed to comply with these codes. In this way we can all truly and completely enjoy the milongas
Seminars with Michael Lavocah (UK)
Canaro & Fresedo: Giants of the 20s and 30s
A generation before the irruption of D’Arienzo, Troilo, Di Sarli & Pugliese and the “Golden Decade” of the 1940s, another “Big 4” reigned supreme: Canaro, Firpo, De Caro & Fresedo. But of all these famous orchestras, just two played on three continents: those of Francisco Canaro & Osvaldo Fresedo. For ‘A Promotora’ 2024 we explore their life and music.
Canaro held to the beat and Fresedo to the melody, but their careers enjoyed many parallels. In the late 1930s they ruled the tango scene, each with his iconic singer: Canaro with Roberto Maida, and Fresedo with Roberto Ray; but for the connoisseur, it is the period just before this that is full of hidden treasure.
It is a real pleasure for me to return to ‘A Promotora’ and offer these presentations to you. They will be given in English.
Seminars with Michael Lavocah (UK)
Osvaldo Pugliese y Pedro Laurenz & pedro Maffia
Michael Lavocah brings tango music to life. A leading expert on the music of tango’s Golden Age, he is also a natural raconteur. In his seminars he connects the dancers to the musicians who created this beautiful music by telling something of their stories and explaining the relationship between their lives and their music. His presentations are captivating, entertaining and informative.
Seminars will be in English