In connection with the registration for Sydfyn Embrace, several people asked about how they ended up on the waiting list or they made comments when we met at milongas around Denmark. In our registration terms, we have reserved the right not to provide feedback on our decision, but we have decided to write this general text about the decision-making process itself and the requirements for people participating in encuentros and similar events.

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Sydfyn Embrace is an "encuentro", meaning that we expect you to know the rules of social dancing, and that we expect you to master them to a certain extent. 

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This and other practical considerations are a part of our selection of the group that makes up Sydfyn Embrace.

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Here is a general description of how we handle the selection process:

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• If we haven't seen you at a milonga and perhaps haven't danced with you, we do our best to find out how well you follow the rules of social dancing. We check your Facebook profile for common friends and tango-related photos.

• We strive for as much gender balance as possible. The idea of "double-role" dancers, seen from a social dance perspective, only works if double-role dancers act as leaders when there are many followers sitting. We still haven't seen it work sufficiently well at milongas, so until then, we aim for as much gender balance as possible.

• Registering as a couple makes you attractive to us due to our goal of gender balance. However, we look at both the leader and the follower in terms of being a social dancer.

• For this event, which is an encuentro, it is important to us that you master close embrace.

• We look for participants whom we see as social dancers. For us, this especially means that you dance with other dancers besides your partner and dancers you know. We emphasize that you cabaceo dancers that seems to be sitting too much.

• Dancing are for us not about right or wrong; It is about respect for other dancers. Therefore, we look for dancers who can maintain their position in the line, keep the same distance from the other dancers in the line, keep their feet on the ground, leaders have eye contact with the nearest couples, that you invite/accept with cabaceo/mirada, and that you enter the dance floor with leader's cabaceo.

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Here is a test you can do:

​When you are at your local practica, try to limit your dance floor so that you have about 1 meter between each couple. Trust me, that is plenty of space! Play some rhythmic classical tango music, for example, "Olvidame" or "Mandria" by D'Arienzo from 1939, and dance. You can find the songs on YouTube, remember the year.

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The rules are: Dance in close embrace (preferably chest to chest), maintain your position in the line, keep the same distance from the others in the line both in front of you and behind you, keep your feet on the ground, and leaders have eye contact with the nearest couple.

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If you can do this, and you can feel the person you are dancing with, and others feel the same way, you probably have what it takes to dance at encuentros and milongas with a nice dance floor. If not, then you need to practice.

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It is much easier to check a timestamp on a registration email to see if people are in or not (first come, first served), but we are very much concerned about the dance floor and how the milongas work.

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Take the time to read about codes for social dancing here on our website (link), and practice them if you are not familiar with them.