Hug you in 2021 !

Hug you in 2021 <3

We've been holding out hope that Mountain Milonga could happen in August 2020 despite the threat of COVID19. Perhaps the disease could be controlled so successfully that social activities receive a green light to reopen (in recent weeks the state of Utah transitioned from the "red" danger level to orange and then partly to yellow, only one step from the wished-for "green"). Perhaps the pandemic would just fade away just for the summer period, like seasonal flu. Perhaps an effective medication will make the disease less of a threat. Or perhaps antibody testing would improve so much that some of us will get credible "certificates of immunity".

We are two months from the scheduled start of our beloved retreat, and none of these hopes are coming true. Not even close. The infection rate flared up after the restrictions eased. On Friday June 5th, the Governor of Utah rejected calls to reopen the state further, lamenting the lack of adherence to the sanitary recommendations in our population and state-wide flare-ups of the disease. The Governor insisted that "code yellow" is already good enough for most businesses, and any further opening steps must wait until the situation improves.

The epi-curve graph is a bit outdated, alas. Today we saw another 20% growth :(

What does "code yellow" mean for tango? Utah state rules are actually quite specific about dancing. It's allowed, sort of, even at the orange level. At yellow, people can dance together as long as couples belong to the same household, and maintain 10 ft distance between couples. It would mean limiting Mountain Milonga attendance to no more than 30 people; denying registration to anyone except couples living together; and banning partner changes. Needless to say, it formally means that our Retreat is impossible at the yellow level.

Informally, too, the things don't look favorable for tango at large, and the potential hazards are even harder for the events like ours, with our emphasis on communal eating and living, and round-the-clock social communication.

The danger of creative social activities in tight spaces is exemplified by the story of a Washington state choir with 53 out of 61 rehearsal attendees contracting the virus after just one evening together. A performance in Amsterdam ended up with 102 out of 130 cast members contracting the virus.  Another example in Korea linked 187 infections to one night of dancing by one virus carrier.

Buffet-style eating is considered so dangerous that buffet restaurants haven't been allowed to reopen, although the strongest buffet horror story is a simulation study rather than the real virus. Shared restrooms have been implicated in some office-building outbreaks as well.

Anecdotally, we heard about some tango maniacs flouting the rules and dancing in smaller groups and staying in one piece, but 100 people from all corners of the continent, dancing together for days, living together in bunks and shared rooms, eating and showering communal-style ... that's not the wildest anarchist's idea of ignoring the rules and getting away with it.

We've requested the transfer of our venue lease to August 2021. Keep your fingers crossed please.