doble-ocho

The Spirit of Doble Ocho

Kunstburo Lucien Lecarme organised together with El Corte this first Doble OCho Festival in 2004 in Nijmegen. Since than it has become an annual event. I took my fist tango lessons with Eric somewhere in 1988, and experienced magic moments of tango in the space he creates. For this, Eric is to me a magician, a creator of conditions in where everybody can feel free to experience his or her sublime moment, and share. But it is still up to the dancers to fill the space he creates with the DJ. Maybe to have a frustating night, or to 'Become one body on the dancefloor '. To this belongs the continious search for new music, exploring new bounderies, and give time to the visitors to find this moment, with no obligations. From the 'knollenpad' untill the current space, the danceflour is still Eric's living room he is sharing with friends. And he still welcomes every new face. This is still special in Holland and abroad, alltough copied in different variations, El Corte stays unique in this way

From the first experimental classes in 1987, the official start on februari 11th 1988,

the opening by Pugliese of the 'Knollenpad' in 1990, classes by Pepito and the first workshops with Gustavo in the Netherlands, untill 400 people attending the monthly salon in april 2003, the international weeks, tango marathons, continiously teaching in total up to 25 countries, the inspiration of more than 80 tango teachers, we can say that Eric, his staff and El Corte have become a major source of inspiration, joy and tango-home for many tangueros and tangueras around the world. The words tango and Nijmegen have a magical impact worldwide. They stand for quality and admiration.

The Vereeniging, a beautifull art deco style concert hall, just 5 minutes walk from El Corte is the basic venue and offers 3 different dancefloors. There are still 2 salons in El Corte. The festival will have small surprises, made public during the festival. Highlight is the tango music competition and the tangofusion Night on thursdays. For the workshops and salons, of course, visitors can subscribe via this website, but also via El Corte during the first saturday weekends. With hotels and pensions, special deals are made. You will find the list in this site.

Our goal is to offer possibilities (similar to what is possible in El Corte) and opportunity to attend lots of workshops, to dance in El Corte, to experiment, to encounter new music, to find old friends. The festival will generate it's own soul, built up by the energy of it's participants, creating intimate moments on different unique locations and places.