Clay's Dance Studio

Portland ValenTango XII
Wed-Mon, Feb 11-16, 2009

Lost & Found: Contact Marion (503) 702-0916

YouTube Vidoes of performances:

Stefano and Marcela Vals:

Kudos from last year:

Awesome, ValenTango is one of my favorites..

We were enthralled!!!

It was so far my best Tango Festival experience.

WoW! Changed my life!

OMG the Grande ball was fantastic.

Topics on this page (click to go directly there). Portland Skyline

Mission
Printable Schedule [PDF]
Festival Poster [PDF]
Instructors
Orchestra & DJs
Summary of Festival Features
Prices & Pre-Registration
New This Year
Information for First-Time Attendees
Lodging
Venues
City Map with Hotels, Venues and Restaurants [PDF]
Carpooling Blog
Transportation from Airport to City Center
Private lessons and practice space
Vendors
Biking in Portland
Volunteers

Mission:

Spend an intense/passionate/romantic four days together in "tango friendly" Portland with friends and your favorite instructors, DJ's, musicians and tango partners learning, dancing, schmoozing, eating, and hanging out at the unique Portland ballrooms, coffee shops, cafes, and restaurants. Last year over 600-700 tangueros attended ValenTango making it and the Portland October TangoFest two of the most popular and successful tango events in North America. (For more infomation about the city, visit City of Portland Web Site.)

Instructors (listed top to bottom): [back to top]

Marcela & Stefano (Italy)
Murat & Michelle Erdemsel (Washington, DC)
Oliver & Silvina (Buenos aires)
Nick & Amy (Denver)
Ruben and Enriqueta (Buenos Aires)
Daniel Trenner (Northampton)
Felipe & Rosa (Madrid, Spain)
Rachel Greenberg (Buenos Aires)
Korey & Mila (Kansas City)

Orchestra & DJs: [back to top]

Orquesta Tipica under direction of Alex Krebs (from various cities)
Avik Basu (Ann Arbor)
Dan Boccia (Anchorage)
Robin Thomas (New York)
Homer Ladas (San Francisco)
Shorey Myers (Berkeley)
Kathryn Kruger (Seattle)
Felipe Martinez (Madrid)
Ramu Pyreddy (Ann Arbor)
Yulia Kriskovets (Washington, DC)

Summary of Festival Features: [back to top]

50 Different classes ranging from absolute beginners to advanced couples.
3 Supervised practicas with instructors available for individual questions and help.
5 Traditional evening milongas.
1 Grande Milonga with live orchestra, DJ, performances and a beginners lesson.
2 Diagnostic Sessions in which students can receive a10-minute private evalutation by a festival instructor.
3 Afternoon alternative/traditional milongas.
1 Milonga Follies with a theatrical twist. Enjoy great music, super dancing, and an entertaining presentation of some of the tips and traps of the milonga.
1 Milonga con los Maestros with instructors available to dance with students.
1 Tango Underground Cafe serving breakfast, lunch, snack, juices, coffee etc.
2 All night milongas.
4 One-hour Spanish Lessons for Tangueros.

New This Year [back to top]

Instructors: Marcela & Stefano (Italy), Ruben & Enriqueta (Buenos Aires), Rachel Greenberg (Buenos Aires), and Daniel Trenner (Northampton)
Class Summary Video Blog: As always, all classes will end with a 5-minute summary at which time students with cameras can video tape (no special video pass is required). What's new this year is that I have created a special blog called Clay's Festival Videos for students to post these videos to. To take part in sharing your videos, send me an email requesting to be put on the Authors List and I'll then send you an invitation, which you will need to respond to--and after which you can post your videos and you can write comments and thoughts about the festival. In this sense, and the fact that the videos will all pertain to a single event and be located at a single site, the blog will be different then posting your videos on You-Tube.
History & Developement of Tango in the U.S.: Brown bag lecture on Sat 12:15-1:15p by Daniel Trenner. No charge.
Spanish/Tango Culture Lessons: A program of four workshops held in the afternoon and dedicated to the Spanish language and tango culture. You can find a description of these classes at tangospanish.
Tango Jam Practica: Under the direction of Homer and Korey, tango musicians will play for the Fri Practica 4:30-6:00p. If you are a musician and would like to participate, please send an email to Homer. Admision to the practica is free to anyone taking a class on Friday. ($10 otherwise.)
Thu Milonga con los Maestros, 10:00p-2:00a: Instructors will be available to dance one tanda with any student who has purchased a special $5 ticket. Tickets will be sold only in the bar that night and all money will go directly to the instructors. Admission to the milonga is $10
Sun Matinee Milonga, 4:00-7:00pm: Will be mostly traditional music with some alternative. DJ'd by Homer. Admission $10.

Information for First-Time Attendees (what to do first!): [back to top]

Registration: Starting Thursday Feb 12 the registration desk in the basement of Norse Hall (please enter through the South Side door), 111 NE 11th Ave will be open daily from 10:00a-4:00p. Before taking any classes you must obtain an admission badge. If you pre-registered, your admission badge may be picked up at the desk or at the Wed or Thu evening milongas. If you are not pre-registered, fill out a special registration form and present it at the desk along with payment by cash, check, VISA, MasterCard or Diner's.
Diagnostic Sessions: At noon on Fri and Sat upstairs in Norse Hall, festival instructors are available for a 10-minute private evaluation session. Instructors will rate you on posture, embrace, lead/follow, navigtation, rhythm, vocabulary and give you a recommendation of what level class they think you should attend. Cost is $20.
Classes: You do not need to name the specific class you are registering for--only the time slot that it occurs at. Once you have paid for a specific time slot, you can go to any of the four concurrent classes that are taking place at that time. You do not need a partner for any of the classes except for the Adv Couples classes which take place in the Ankeny St Studio.
Opening Milonga: If you arrive in Portland by Wednesday Feb 11, come to the Opening Milonga at Paradise Studio, 826 SE Belmont from 9:00p-1:00a. If you pre-purchased a Full-Milonga Pass, it will be available for you to pick up at the door. If you wish to purchase a Full-Milonga Pass, it will also be on sale at the door.
Milongas: If you are not taking classes but just going to milongas, you do not need to register and you can pay at the door of each milonga. However, if you pre-purchased or wish to purchase a full milonga pass for $95, then again you must go to the registration desk in Norse Hall and pick up your Full-Milonga Pass.
Maps: Most classes and milongas are within a few blocks walking distance. Maps will be available in your pre-registration packet and at the registration deck in the Norse Hall basement. (Also, click here for Portland City map)

Lodging: [back to top]

Festival Attendees: The mojority of attendees stay at one of three nearby hotels, or with local residents (who may or may not charge a fee). For details, click here.

Portland Residents: If you have a house, room, or apartment that you are willing to share or rent out, there's a special "Festival Lodging Offer's Blog" that you can post this information to.

Venues--address and parking information: [back to top]

PDF map of local venues.
Ankeny Street Studio, SE corner of 9th and Ankeny. Map. Free street parking. Parking lot on the south side of building becomes a tow-away zone after 6:00 PM and on weekends.
Bossanova, 722 E Burnside. Map. Free street parking except rush hour on Burnside--your car will be towed!
Imago Theatre, 17 SE 8th. Map. Free street parking.
Lenora's Room, 615 SE Alder. Map. Free street parking..
Norse Hall, 111 NE 11th. Map. Free street parking and free lot west of building available evenings and weekends.
Paradise Ballroom, 826 SE Belmont. Map. Free street parking.
PPAA, 618 SE Alder. Map. Free street parking and free US Bank lot at 6th & Alder available on weekends.
Scottish Rite Temple, 1510 SW Morrison St. Map. Location is only one block from Tiffay Center, so you can use the same parking location as for Tiffany Center.
Tiffany Center, 1410 SW Morrison St. Map. The "U-Park" lot at SW corner of 14th and Alder (1 block N of Tiffany Center) has been reserved exclusively for attendees of the Sat Grande Tango Ball up until 6:00am--after that cars will be towed. However, do not leave your care there overnight. Metered street parking (Mon-Sat 8:00 AM-6:00 PM) and various paid lots nearby (weekend rates are flat $5).

Transportation from Airport to City Center: [back to top]

Tri-Met "Red Line" light rail. $2.30 takes you to any stop. (Suggestion: call taxi en route and have them meet you at Convention Center or Rose Garden stop to take you to your hotel.)
Cabs @ $45 from airport to center. (503) 227-1234 or (503) 227-1212
Shuttles @ $15.
Suggestion: check out Portland Oregon Visitor Center (POVA) and call their contact phone number to get answers about visiting Portland.

Private lessons and practice space: [back to top]

Please coordinate and negociate times, locations, and prices directly with the TangoFest instructors that you would like a lesson with. (Use instructor links above for communication.) The following locations will be available for privates and/or for practicing

Ankeny Street Private Studio 9th & Ankeny (this is a different space but the same building as the classroom). $25/hour. Available at various times. Contact Jane (503) 233-4601 to schedule.
Imago Ballroom (upstairs), 17 SE 8th Ave. No charge. Available only on Thu-Sat 12:15pm-1:15pm.
Norse Hall Main Ballroom, 111 NE 11th Ave. No charge. Available only Thu-Fri 12:15pm-1:15pm.
Norse Hall Lodge Room (upstairs), 111 NE 11th Ave. No charge. Available only on Thu 12:15pm-1:15pm and Sun 5-6pm.
Paradise Ballroom, 826 E Belmont. $15/hour. Pay at the door. Available Thu, Fri 10:00-5:00 and Sun 10:00-4:30. Schedule with Greg Krolicki: 360-907-8476.

Vendors: [back to top]

Various vendors selling tango shoes, clothing, pictures, jewelery, music, etc will be available in the basement of Norse Hall. If you are interested in being a vendor, email or call our vendor coordinator, Jay Rabe at 503-752-3664.

Biking in Portland [back to top]

Portland is especially great when seen by bike. Many people who dance in Portland ride a bike to milongas, practicas, workshops, etc. We welcome you to join in the great experience of riding bikes to and from dancing!
More information can on be found on Jeff Mandel's web site and at:

Jupiter Hotel - fleet of 7 bikes for rental to guests; $20 per 8 hours or inquire about full day rentals
Ace Hotel - 2 loaner bikes for guests, first come first serve
Hotel Monaco - 4 loaner bikes for guests, no extra charge, first come first serve
Hotel Aloft - 9 loaner bicycles for guests, no extra charge, first come first serve

Volunteers [back to top]

If you are interested in being a voluneer at this year's TangoFest, please contact Megan or Polly. However, keep in mind that first priority is always given to tangueros who live in the Portland Area. Thus you must state in your email what city you live in.

Portland ValenTango XII Wed-Mon, Feb 11-16, 2009