Marathon Organizer Handbook
This is a collection of best-practises for organizers of Tango Events, especially Tango Marathons. It is published under an open source license (CC-by-nc-sa), and everyone is invited to add to it in the spirit of making the world of tango events better.
Currently, the main author is Daniel de Kay and individual feedback of many events and from many people has been included.
Why?
Events targeting traveling dancers are exploding and thus also diversifying, both in formats and in quality. Disappointment among dancers should be avoided: they might never return to an event and also share their disappointment with their friends, making it hard for beginner organizers to get it right. On the other hand, events are a financial risk, especially for beginning organizers.
The authors of the Marathon Organizer Handbook would like to offer the following pages to (future) organizers as a guide to designing their own events.
Historically, the handbook started with a list of questions for organizers to guide them through all aspects of an event. It has grown beyond that, giving examples and advice for some of these aspects.
Disclaimer
This handbook is free to use, and doesn't offer guarantees of anything, nor does it claim to be the only truth there is. Your mileage may vary. You are welcome to ask questions, or even improve the content when you have the time!
Get started
- Be clear and honest with yourself: Why do you want to do this? What do you want your event to be? Who do you do it for? List of questions.
- Take a look at the list of questions: they will help you get started and get organized.
- A tango marathon brings dancers into a venue, where they will dance to music provided by DJs. Between DJ-sets dancers will need food and drinks. The venue has a dance floor, a sound system, lights, and more.
- The organizers will need to plan ahead, which includes thinking about money, legal aspects, helpers, accommodation, health and safety
- Guests will usually have to register, and registrations must be handled.
- A communication plan must include everything from marketing before the event, to communication with guests before, during and after the event.
All pages of the handbook are found here.
Additional Resources
- Checklists
- Questions for organizers: Use these questions to get started and cover most important aspects
- Useful Links
- Case Studies, where example event concepts ar described in more detail
- todo list