Yesterday, the city of Nice hosted the 6th edition of the Nice International Tango Festival. From August 6 to 10, the public is invited to discover this very demanding popular art form, which is Tango. The program includes outdoor evening events, workshops held at the CAL in Nice, and introductory sessions.
Only 20 minutes after the volunteers arrived at the cafรฉ Le Garibaldi, eight couples are already dancing and five others are seated. Fรฉlix Candela, a volunteer treasurer of the association, is delighted. “We are here from 3 PM to 6:30 PM. Around 5:30 PM, Hakim, a dance instructor from Cannes, comes to help us with the Tango initiation for an hour,” the volunteer explains. According to Felix Candela, this festival always generates as much enthusiasm as in previous years. Tango is a dance that remains sociable and friendly, despite its high level of technicality.
“As a treasurer, I can still point out some obstacles we face. To be able to dance the Tango, we need a place that welcomes us with tiles and enough space to dance. We no longer know where to dance. Since the construction of the green corridor, we have lost an ideal outdoor dance floor allowing people to dance the Tango,” he laments. Just watching the couples dance reveals the importance of the tiling: the steps of the Tango require dancers to glide their shoes on the floor. For this, the floor must be somewhat smooth.
Moreover, “the only source of income comes from the evening shows at the Palais de la Mรฉditerranรฉe. It offers us a 200 mยฒ dance floor so that the artists have enough space to dance. However, SACEM, the copyright organization, comes down on us if we don’t pay. It costs us between 200 and 250 euros per evening. We are here for five days, the calculation is easy to make. To address this, we place donation boxes. Everyone gives what they can and want,” explains the treasurer.
Given the number of Tango enthusiasts in Nice, wouldn’t it be interesting to promote this artistic event by having the city provide a venue where the dance floor would allow them to pursue this passion and enliven the city of Nice?
