doble-ocho

Tango in times of crisis

It is now just a few weeks to the festival ! We have a lot of work handling all the subscriptions, but that's better than waiting for people to come. We are happy to know that despite the economical circumstances, our visitors appreciate the festival and choose to be there, on Doble Ocho. Because in these times, it's all a matter of choice. But see it from a different perspective ! When people wait to buy new cars, houses, fridges, LCD and plasma TV's, interior design stuff, new phones etc etc, there is more money left to either save or spent ! And some people will choose to keep on spending and investing in their social life !
In times of crisis, sociologists and economists have found out, that consumers tend to look more again to their social life ! We just had a decade or two of individualisation and self-enrichment, let's call it the bling bling era. Looking back at it, it does feel a bit empty, all these people chasing money and putting materialism as their main target. But let's say that real value lies in human interaction. What we learn from life and from eachother, through writing, art, music, dance...
We are moving slowly towards a new era of social entrepeneurship and management, sustainable growth ( not because it is trendy, but out of pure necessity), green innovations and the introduction of morality over individuality. The focus will also shift slowly on our social interactions and the sheer celebration of living on this great magical planet.
And at this moment, people start to invest on their social lifes more, and for most tango people the tangodance is their social life ! But also spending more time with family and friends, eating together, just talking together, and dancing together.
OK, this sound pretty optimistic ! some people would say, people like to go to festivals or concerts to forget their daily troubles !, and.. what if you just lost your job ? Well, my answer would be, a crisis is allways a start of transformation, and transformation is essential for growth and a fundamental part of our human excistence.

Lucien Lecarme
Doble Ocho festival Director