How does the Tango Challenge help me as a tango organizer?

The Tango Challenge shows you how to implement a proven, flexible retention for growing your community of committed, motivated learners.

Benefits that organizers have experienced:

• Retain your beginners til they get over the hump - and beyond!

• Re-engage your intermediate and advanced students by giving them leadership roles

• Increase the size of your classes and practicas during the Challenge

• Grow the size of your tango community - and maintain it over the long term

• Create a cohort of learners who are excited to help future beginners learn

• Learn new teaching and facilitation skills

• Make good money offering a sound program

• Exercise your creativity to adapt the course to you

What will I get as a Tango Challenge facilitator?

You’ll get receive proprietary knowledge bases - dozens of pages of original content that has lovingly created, revised, and refined over a decade and is already working for communities similar to yours.

• Tango Challenge Facilitator Resource Center

  • A knowledge base with best practices for Tango Challenge facilitators, collected, revised, and curated over the years

• Tango Challenge Content Center

  • An organized treasure chest will 26 substantive pieces of educational content you can use creatively with your community

• Tango Challenge Facilitator Facebook Group

  • An invite-only Facebook Group where community leaders can connect with each other and share ideas, innovations, questions, and best practices - Coming Soon

What do I need to do, if I want to offer the Tango Challenge? 

You and your community may be able to offer the Tango Challenge if:

• You have at least two nights of tango per week in your community

• You encourage and model learning both roles

• You know a small group of intermediate dancers who are up for a community building project

• You have a monthly milonga in your community

What is the cost of offering the Tango Challenge?

You set a price for the Tango Challenge that covers the cost of offering the program and feels great to you. We will work together to set up a licensing arrangement for use of the Tango Challenge materials that works for you given your circumstances, either a flat fee per Challenge or a percentage of tuition.

We want this to be a financial success for you. Past facilitators have been able to make good money offering the Tango Challenge! The Tango Challenge is a registered trademark. Our objective is to support the growth of tango, while protecting our ability to keep developing programs and innovations.

What if I want to build on the Tango Challenge concept so it fits my community better? 

YES! We want you to do that! While the Tango Challenge program is something we feel confident you can use right out-of-the-box, we encourage you to create and test out your own variations on the material, whenever you have the inspiration and bandwidth, based on your creativity and your unique community's needs!

And, you can share what you discover with the growing community of facilitators. Your license will allow you to create your own derivative works based on the materials we share with you.  

The Tango Challenge is for open-minded, brave, committed, creative, heart-centered local organizers. If that sounds like you, we’d love to explore working with you.

How do I know if the Tango Challenge is right for me and my community?

The Tango Challenge may be for you if: 

• You're dedicated to your local community and have laid roots for a few years

• You are open to try a new approach to working with your community

• You dance both roles

• You are willing to work hard

• You are comfortable using online tools, like Google Docs

• You can think of 6-8 experienced social dancers who would be excited to be involved in a creative community growth project

• You like festive things, like sparklers, treasure hunts, secret missions, etc. :)

• You are creative and excited to adapt the fresh tools we share to the unique idiosyncratic needs of your community

• You have a place where you and small group of 8-10 people can meet and dance

• In your community there is at least 1 solid practica and 2 group classes you endorse (it is fine if you or others teach/host these)

• You have the skills to produce a milonga, or you can partner with someone to pull it off

• You are open to learn new skills in consultative sales

• You can imagine directing 4-5 hours per week to this new community-building project

• You are excited to explore new sources of income

The Tango Challenge probably isn't for you if: 

• You want to be spoon-fed a system.

• You like for your students to choose only one role

• You don't want to try something new

• You get very stressed about anything involving the internet

• You travel a lot or your work is very unpredictable

What if I want to build on the Tango Challenge concept so it fits my community better? 

YES! We want you to do that!! While the Tango Challenge program is something we feel confident you can use right out-of-the-box, we encourage you to create and test out your own variations on the material, whenever you have the inspiration and bandwidth, based on your creativity and your unique community's needs! And, you can share what you discover with the growing community of facilitators. Your license will allow you to create your own derivative works based on the materials we share with you.  

What is the cost of offering the Tango Challenge? 

The Tango Challenge is a registered trademark. We have found that most new facilitators need about 10 hours of training to get a successful Tango Challenge off the ground. So, to offer the Tango Challenge you will need: 

• Training: $1000, which gives you access to 10 hours of 1:1 video-based training time to be taken anytime in your first year. In this time we can also address other related aspects of tango teaching and community building.

• Licensing: 20% of each student's tuition. We will determine pricing together.

Our objective is to support the growth of tango, while protecting our ability to keep developing programs and innovations. With successful facilitating partners we will look to reduce licensing fees based on longer terms of commitment and create opportunities for you to train others. 

Is there any financial assistance? 

We would be happy to work with you to brainstorm ways. Some things to consider would include putting on a benefit milonga to support your training, or asking for support from someone in your community who you know cares about fostering more quality and interconnectedness. 

What will I learn as I get trained to be a Tango Challenge facilitator? 

As you get trained in the Tango Challenge, you'll learn about the following themes: 

• The Container: Intro to the Challenge: Structure, format, roles

• Magnetism: Pricing, marketing, sales: How to Fill a Team

• Deep Listening & Boundaries: Mini Lessons and Journals

• The Magical Potential: The Tango Buddy System

• What They Want To Know: The 8 Projects

• Teach Without Teaching: The Weekly Class

• Visualizing, Affirmation, Lovingkindness: The Day-To-Day

• Meaningful Celebration: The Graduation Ball

• Creativity & Taking It Forward: Troubleshooting, Evaluation, Iteration

"After 10 years of teaching tango in Minneapolis, and failing to see real growth in our community I reached out to Mitra Martin. With her help and use of extensive curriculum I was able to introduce The Tango Challenge to the Twin Cities. 2 challenges later, we see many new bright smiles on the dance floors, classes, practicas and milongas. The Challenge students simply stick to it! Together with their team mates they have crossed tango thresholds, and found a deep appreciation for the Argentine Tango and their newfound friends and dance partners. Mitra was generous with her ideas, to the point with comments, bountiful with resources. Her efficient use of our online time together has benefited me and our community in a tremendous way forward." - Sabine Ibes