Utopia Encuentro 2025 Announcement Summaries

Announcements #1 – 28 October, 2024
Announcements #2 – 11 November, 2024
Announcements #3 – 13 February, 2025
Announcements #4 – 22 February, 2025
Announcements #5 – 01 April, 2025
Announcements #6 – 06 April, 2025

Announcements #1 – 28 October, 2024

Hello tangueros y tangueras!

It’s hard to believe we’re less than six months away from the Utopia Encuentro 2025, but here we are! We are excited to share another wonderful weekend with you all here in Durham, NC.

In the next couple of weeks, we will send an email to present to you are DJ lineup and milonga schedule.

Mark your calendars! We will be opening pre-registration on Friday, November 15th. 

Abrazos!

Team Utopia,

Jae, Aidan, and Colleen

Announcements #2 – 11 November, 2024

Hello all!

We are nearing our pre-registration opening on November 15th!

This year, we have a fantastic line up of DJs. Check out our DJ’s bios here: DJ Bios

All event information can be found on the website: https://tangoutopia.com/wp/utopia-encuentro-2025/

We will post the registration links on the Facebook page, the website, and by email so you won’t miss out on pre-registering.

Abrazos!

Jae, Aidan, and Colleen

Announcements #3 – 13 February, 2025

Hello tangueros!

We are just shy of 2 months from the Utopia Encuentro 2025! We are excited to share another lovely, extended weekend with you all here in Durham. Below you will find a summary of some important details as you prepare for your trip here to Durham.

Lodging

If you have not booked lodging yet, we have secured a group rate for rooms at the Marriott from Thursday through Monday! You may reserve your rooms here: Group Rate. Book soon! Over half of the rooms are taken and the rate is only guaranteed through March 21.

Durham Downtown

If you’re wondering what the lay of the land is around the Encuentro, you can check out our downtown Durham map for a quick guide to all the parking, food, drinks, and lodging nearby: Utopia Encuentro Map

Attendees

We have over 200 tangueros joining us for this weekend. There are a few more spaces left. Please encourage your favorite dancers, particularly leads, to join us for a phenomenal weekend. See the list of attendees below (note that some participants have asked to not be listed).

You can find a summary of all the event information and announcements here: Utopia Encuentro 2025.

There will be one or two more updates before your arrival. We look forward to seeing you all soon! 

Abrazos,

Jae, Aidan, and Colleen

Team Utopia

Attendees: (updated 22Feb25)

  • Alain H. – Atlanta, GA
  • Alan C. – Davidson, NC
  • Alexa L. – Ann Arbor, MI
  • Alexander K. – Farmington Hills, MI
  • Alexandr W. – Miami, FL
  • Alexandra M. – Chicago, IL
  • Alexandre C. – Yorktown, VA
  • Alicia R. – Durham, NC
  • Alla A. – Wheeling, IL
  • Amiee J. – Knoxville, TN
  • Amy S. – Austin, TX
  • Ana L. – Lexington, KY
  • Andriy N. – Richmond, VA
  • Andy S. – Newport News, VA
  • Anita B. – Treasure Island, FL
  • Anna R. – Knoxville, TN
  • Artur P. – Braga, Portugal
  • Arun R. – Charlotte, NC
  • Barbara T. – Pittsboro, NC
  • Berette S. – St Louis, MO
  • Bethany C. – Charlotte, NC
  • Bruce S. – Red Bank, NJ
  • Cathy F. – Reston, VA
  • Cecil H. – Durham, NC
  • Charlene W. – Durham, NC
  • Charles K. – Wilmington, NC
  • Chie Korn (Zick) C. – Silver Spring, MD
  • Chieko M. – Portland, OR
  • Christine P. – Charleston SC
  • Christine P. – Hartford, CT
  • CHUT F. – Kirkland, WA
  • Claudia W. – Atlanta, GA
  • Claudyne W. – Boston, MA
  • Cris H. – Martinez, GA
  • Daniel P. – Columbia, MD
  • Darryl G. – Dallas, TX
  • David S. – Elon, NC
  • David L. – Seattle, WA
  • David B. – Austin, TX
  • David C. – Gainesville, FL
  • David A. – Charlottesville, VA
  • Debbie G. – Lexington, KY
  • Debora B. – Little Rock, AR
  • Deborah L. – Los Angeles, CA
  • Debra B. – Santa Cruz, CA
  • Dena R. – Charlotte, NC
  • Devrim A. – Chapel Hill, NC
  • Diane N. – Portland, OR
  • Dmitri P. – Raleigh, NC
  • Dodi L. – Chapel Hill, NC
  • Dominique P. – Pittsburgh, PA
  • Don R. – Charlotte, NC
  • Don S. – Pittsburgh, PA
  • Donald S. – Louisville, KY
  • Donna Z. – White Plains, NY
  • Eduardo L. – Durham, NC
  • Elizabeth B. – Carrboro, NC
  • Elizabeth L. – Seattle, WA
  • Elizabeth L. – New York, NY
  • Ella M. – Cincinnati, OH
  • Elmira M. – Belcamp, MD
  • Enqi B. – Durham, NC
  • Eric F. – Newport News, VA
  • Erskine T. – Albuquerque, NM
  • Eugene E. – Newton, MA
  • Eun Hee J. – Yorktown, VA
  • Ewen B. – Washington DC
  • Francesca T. – Hillsborough, NC
  • Francois-Xavier G. – Newport News, VA
  • Genya G. – Raleigh, NC
  • George T. – Washington DC
  • Gerardo S. – New Haven, CT
  • Gerd H. – Pittsford, VT
  • Gloria B. – Claremont, CA
  • Harvey S. – Fairfax, VA
  • Helen K. – Farmington Hills, MI
  • Igor V. – Charlotte, NC
  • Ihor C. – Virginia Beach,VA,USA
  • Ilona G. – Pompano Beach, FL
  • Inga K. – Durham, NC
  • Inna N. – Chicago, IL
  • Irina H. – Vernon Hills, IL
  • Jack L. – Durham, NC
  • Jack S. – New Brighton, MN
  • Jack W. – Morrisville, NC
  • Jacob M. – Cincinnati, OH
  • James R. – Treasure Island, FL
  • Janette H. – Wilmington, NC
  • Jennifer H. – Salt Lake City, UT
  • Jennifer E. – Cary, NC
  • Jennifer T. – Asheville, NC
  • Jim W. – Durham, NC
  • Jocelyn A. – Chapel Hill, NC
  • Jon M. – Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Jonathan H. – Silver Spring, MD
  • Jose O. – Washington DC
  • Jose X. – Charlotte, NC
  • Joseph C. – Springfied, VA
  • Juan Luis J. – Knoxville, TN
  • Julie J. – Dublin, OH
  • Karen M. – Silver Spring, MD
  • Karen G. – Greenbelt, MD
  • Katerina G. – Atlanta, GA
  • Kathleen K. – Philadelphia, PA
  • Kathleen R. – Skokie,IL
  • Kathy P. – Seattle, WA
  • Keiko S. – Wake Forest, NC
  • Kent O. – Atlanta, GA
  • Kim M. – Waxhaw, NC
  • Kipp C. – Albuquerque, NM
  • Kirsti A. – Lexington, KY
  • Larisa S. – Brooklyn, NY
  • Laure S. – Sarasota, FL
  • Lawrence L. – Charleston SC
  • Lawresa S. – High Point, NC
  • Lee B. – Albuquerque, NM
  • Lena H. – Atlanta, GA
  • Lens H. – Charlotte, NC
  • Lilia L. – Louisville, KY
  • Liliya V. – Charlotte, NC
  • Linda T. – Harpers Ferry, WV
  • Liuba S. – Brookline, MA
  • Luis R. – Canandaigua, NY
  • Maggie C. – Arcadia, CA
  • Manuela M. – Charlotte, NC
  • Margaret L. – Lexington, KY
  • Marianna S. – Columbia, SC
  • Marina W. – Sunny Isles Beach, FL
  • Marina M. – Las Vegas, NV
  • Marina A. – Highland Park, IL
  • Mark M. – Sherman Oaks, CA
  • Mark M. – Waxhaw, NC
  • Marni S. – Rockville, MD
  • Marsha B. – Charlotte, NC
  • Martin A. – Atlanta, GA
  • Martin R. – Boulder, CO
  • Matthew D. – Ann Arbor, MI
  • Maurice H. – Brookline, MA
  • Meela Y. – Albuquerque, NM
  • Melanie Y. – Madison, WI
  • Mercedes C. – Norfolk, VA
  • Michael M. – Atlanta, GA
  • Michelle M. – Daytona Beach, FL
  • Michelle P. – Seattle, WA
  • Nancy M. – Matawan, NJ
  • Nancy H. – Portland, OR
  • Nancy H. – Asheville, NC
  • Nanying Y. – Boston, MA
  • Natalia H. – Rochester Hills, MI
  • Natalia M. – Charlotte, NC
  • Natalie M. – Lexington, KY
  • Natalie Linthorst L. – Monrovia, CA
  • Nataliya T. – Lexington, KY
  • Natalya A. – Holmdel, NJ
  • Natalya G. – Dallas, TX
  • Natanya F. – Denver, CO
  • Ngoc (Angie) P. – Buena Vista, CO
  • Nikolai P. – Seattle, WA
  • Noemi C. – Little Rock, AR
  • Norma S. – New Brighton, MN
  • Nurzat J. – Charlotte, NC
  • Nyron M. – Gulfport, MS
  • Oksana A. – Austin, TX
  • Oleh K. – Kansas City, MO
  • Olga T. – Albuquerque, NM
  • Olga K. – Clemson, SC
  • Olimpia S. – Newport News, VA
  • Omar F. – Louisville, KY
  • Omer C. – Bethesda, MD
  • Pamela R. – Gainesville, FL
  • Parvin D. – New Orleans, LA
  • Phil C. – Albuquerque, NM
  • Phyllis W. – Dallas, TX
  • Rajesh K. – Winston-Salem, NC
  • Rashmi M. – Charlotte, NC
  • Raymond B. – Oak Park, IL
  • Reuben A. – Solon, OH
  • Rita B. – Jackson, NJ
  • Robert S. – Sarasota, FL
  • Sândina P. – Newport News, VA
  • Sandra H. – Coronado, CA
  • Sandra M. – Studio City, CA
  • Sara S. – Durham, NC
  • Sasha K. – Clemson, SC
  • Sergey Z. – Charlotte, NC
  • Sergio Z. – Lewisville, TX
  • Shahin M. – Santa Fe, NM
  • Shaun S. – St Louis, MO
  • Shaun M. – Boulder, CO
  • Snjezana H. – Charlotte, NC
  • Sodeya B. – Knoxville, TN
  • Sol H. – Atlanta, GA
  • Steven N. – Portland, OR
  • Steven S. – Seattle, WA
  • Sunny W. – Atlanta, GA
  • Susan C. – Alexandria, VA
  • Susan N. – Newport News, VA
  • Svetlana P. – Nokomis, FL
  • Tania W. – Louisville, KY
  • Tatyana K. – Newton Center, MA
  • Teresa P. – Chapel Hill, NC
  • Theodora H. – New York, NY
  • Theresa T. – Gainesville, FL
  • Thomas S. – Albany, NY
  • Thomasina G. – Denver, CO
  • Thuy C. – Gainesville, FL
  • Tim H. – Austin, TX
  • Tina M. – Asheville, NC
  • Tomas H. – Los Angeles, CA
  • Tuan T. – Rockville, MD
  • Türknur B. – Washington DC
  • Valery A. – Inver Grove Heights, MN
  • Vance R. – Austin, TX
  • Virginia D. – Sugar Hill, GA
  • Vita P. – San Francisco, CA
  • Vladimir T. – Lexington, KY
  • Yan S. – Brooklyn, NY
  • Yelena H. – Louisville, KY
  • Yidi W. – Elon, NC
  • Yulia G. – Seattle, WA
  • Yury P. – Nokomis, FL

Announcements #4 – 22 February, 2025

Hello tangueros!

We are just about 6 weeks away from the Encuentro! We excitedly await your warm embraces in another fantastic weekend in Durham. To keep us dancing for the 8 milongas all weekend long, we are pleased to announce our DJ lineup for the weekend.
DJ Susana – Thursday evening
DJ Tincho – Friday afternoon
DJ Marcelo – Friday evening
DJ Yulia – Saturday afternoon
DJ Euan – Saturday evening
DJ Daniel – Sunday afternoon
DJ Kim – Sunday evening

DJ Mitch – Monday afternoon

You can read more about each of our DJs here: The DJs

We have a couple of spaces left for couples or single leaders. Check out our list of attendees and make sure your favorite dancers are on the list! (Note, some dancers have asked to not be listed)

We have a few spaces left for lodging at the Marriott with our Tango Utopia Group Rate. If you haven’t reserved your accommodations yet, we recommend booking soon as this is only available until March 21.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Jae, Aidan, and Colleen

Announcements #5 – 01 April, 2025

Hello tangueros!

We are just a few days away from Utopia! We are excited to share the extended weekend with you all and look forward to your abrazo.

Here are some last reminders about the weekend:

  1. There has been a change in our DJ lineup. Unfortunately, DJ Marcelo will not be able to join us this year. We have adjusted our DJ schedule and have Jae Youn finishing off the Encuentro on our Monday afternoon farewell milonga. Please see: https://tangoutopia.com/wp/utopia-encuentro-2025/ for the updated DJ lineup.
  1. We will post the weather forecast on facebook, however, pollen season has just started in Durham. If you are sensitive to pollen, we recommend you bring allergy medicine.
  1. For a detailed parking and restaurant guide, please visit our website and interactive map (Map).
    • See parking rate information at the end of this email.
  1. We recommend bringing your own reusable water bottle. We DO gift you a 12 oz travel tumbler which can be used for water, hot drinks, or at the open wine bar at the evening milongas. We do NOT provide disposable drinkware at the event. 
  2. Milonga times
    • Evening milongas: 8p-midnight
    • Afternoon milongas*: 12p-4p
    • *Monday afternoon milonga: 11a-3p
  3. We have several dual role dancers joining us this weekend. Dual role dancers will be given a yellow flower or ribbon to help you know they are open to cabeceo for both roles! Dual role dancers are encouraged to dance at least 50% of their tandas as a leader.

Abrazos!

Jae, Aidan, and Colleen

Team Utopia

All previous announcements can be found here: https://tangoutopia.com/wp/utopia-encuentro-2025-announcement-email-summaries/

Parking

Public parking garages

  • Durham Centre, 300 W Morgan St, Durham, NC 27701 (catty-corner from the Armory)
  • Chapel Hill Street, 326 E Chapel Hill St, Durham, NC 27701 (1.5 blocks away)
  • $2.25/hour 8am-7pm weekdays (Durham Parking), or up to $24.75 for all day
  • Free after 7 pm Thu – Fri, all day Sat – Sun.

Street parking

Free parking (10 minute walk to Armory) in lot behind Colleen’s building

  • 412 Morris St, Durham (look for Farmer’s Market sign).

Bottom line: The afternoon milonga on Friday and Monday you may need to pay for parking (~$12-25) or use the free lot noted above. If paying for parking, we suggest using the parking garages as they are $2.25/hour and do not have a time limit. Otherwise, all parking on streets or in Parking Garages should be free after 7pm and all weekend long.

Announcements #6 – 06 April, 2025

Hello all!

I know I said that #5 would be the last batch of announcements, but there are just a few more important things to share!

  1. Códigos

At an encuentro, following the códigos, the dance etiquette, is an essential element for everyone to have an enjoyable and safe time. All Utopia Encuentro participants are expected to follow these códigos diligently. Some key códigos we expect tangueros at Utopia to follow include the cabeceo and mirada, close embrace dancing, respecting and navigating safely into and around the ronda, respecting our tango DJs by keeping chatting to a minimum while on the dance floor, absolutely no teaching on the dance floor, and exiting the floor during cortinas.

If you need a refresher of the códigos, you can find a nice summary here: https://www.siempremilonguero.org/tango-codigos-codes/. 

While it is helpful to know and follow the codigos, the reality is one does not need to memorize the códigos to make magic happen if our actions demonstrate some core values and principles. Kindness and humbleness, are the foundation of the códigos and guide our attitude and actions towards our fellow dancers, individually and communally. Grateful and generous dancers bring forth cabeceos and miradas which fill our souls with happiness and delight in each tanda. A curious and joyful spirit elevates the atmosphere of the event. This is how one experiences Tango Utopia!  

Our hope is to give you a little piece of utopia during our time together. We are working hard to provide the place, the food, the wine, and the music for you to enjoy tango in, but it will take all of us focused on these important values to experience a weekend of bliss.

  1. Seating and Floor entrances

To aid you in successfully implementing the above códigos at the Utopia Encuentro, we would like to share with you the seating arrangement we designed with our 250+ dancers attending in mind.

As you find in many encuentros, we will have both separate seating for leaders and followers, and some mixed seating. Like last year, followers will have the silver seating, leaders the gold that will be alternated around room. Non-marked seating is open seating. Rows of chairs and tables will be available around the entire dance floor with entrances to the dance floor at the corners and in the middle of the long side. Leaders, please look for recognition from leaders dancing in the ronda to know they have seen you and it is safe to enter the dance floor. While on the floor, be cognizant of admitting other couples onto the floor and into additional lanes as needed. Be mindful not to linger at the entry points and maintain a similar distance between the couple in front and behind you.

  1. Vendors
  • Ambiente dress collection by Natalia Kansburg
  • Winged Lion Jewelry by Sergey Zhiboedov
  • Artwork by Oscar Casas

   4. ‎Special Performance by Grisha

Don’t miss out on the Sunday afternoon milonga when Grisha Nisnevich will be playing his guitar for you to dance to live music.

   5. Weather

The weather is in! The days will be warm, but not hot and the evenings relatively cool. There may be some light showers on Friday. Spring brings allergies unfortunately. If you are sensitive to pollen, we recommend you bring allergy medicine.

       6. All announcements and reminders are overviewed on the website

We are anxiously awaiting your arrival to Durham! Safe travels and abrazos,

Jae, Aidan, and Colleen