Frequently Asked Questions

▲Doors Open

Prior to an event we are probably having a time out or we are very busy preparing. Therefore, we hope that you respect the times listed on the web site. 
And if you arrive way before an event starts you might be lucky to find a door open so that you can leave your stuff behind. Do not phone about this please. 
 

▲ Mobile Phones

Inside El Corte we ask you to put your phones out of sight. Especially when people sleep! 
 

▲ Internet

Allthough we have free WIFI, we ask you to keep your devices away from social gatherings. 
 

▲ Private Classes

We understand your wish to combine your visit to El Corte with a private lesson. Eric, however, is not available prior, during or immediately after events at El Corte. Other teachers are more than willing to accomodate you. Visit the dutch page privélessen to contact them. 
 

▲ Chained Salons

Everybody has questions about the chained salon. How can you be sure to get in? There is no way of guaranteeing you a place. The event is free and we do not want the fuss of making reservations. Best advice is to plan your stay from Friday. That way you will not have any travel stress on Saturday. On Saturday you have the option of doing the laboratory. In that case you are in the building before the salon starts. Mind you: we do NOT want to have a waiting lounge... we want you to participate. Therefore, we will close the doors again after the start of the laboratory.
At 15:00 sharp we will open the doors for the queue outside. And then the most painful moment is bound to happen... at 250 people Eric will stop the inflow. Simply because we all want to be safe in the building, don't we? We do do our best to organize to let those who have been coming from far enter later. And far does not mean 2 or 3 hours by car...
Between 19:00 and 22:30 we don't allow new people in at all. The dancers who are already there can, of course, go in and out as they please. Our memory works fine ;) 

 

▲ Dance flow

• Together we can create a nice flow, the onda, so that the ronda, the circular flow is dynamic and all dancers can benefit from it. Busy times on the El Corte dance floor, means three lanes are in use. The wood pattern of the floor might help you to find them ;)
• The ( silent ) cortinas are solely meant to separate the tandas. If you want to continue dancing, then stay. If not then leave the floor please.
• Keep your small talk in-between dances small.
• We appreciate dancers who are part of the space. A leader’s cabeceo is very useful for that.

 

▲ Sleeping

You can find out all about sleeping in Nijmegen in our
section where to sleep. The fact that you sleep in el corte does not give you the right to enter after the maximum attendance has been reached.
If you are on a sleeping list and you have to cancel, than please delete your name from that list or let El Corte know before the event starts. People who do not cancel their name on a sleeping list and don't show up will be put on a black list unless they pay there fees. You simply deny another needy person from having a spot, and that fact alone is not the attitude we appreciate.
 

▲ Dress Code

Come as you please. We do however appreciate the energy that you put into it.
Especially for the  the New Year's party we hope that you show us your hottest outfit(s)!
Of course we have a few theme salons. The orange ball should be as orange as possible. Disco can be disco. And the roses salon is great to show off your flowery ingredients ;)
 

▲ Fire Safety

A big issue for the staff. Although the building might give you the impression of not being updated, we assure you that everything is up to the latest standards. There are ample extinguishers and fire hoses in all areas. We bought the building at the back to create an emergency exit in the dance hall. There is emergency lighting on a seperate circuit. The building materials are non flammable. Smoking and open fires, including candles are forbidden. We sometimes do a fire drill. The staff is highly prepared for guiding you during an emergency. But we need you to comply as well: 
PUT YOUR COATS AND (SHOE)BAGS ON THE HOOKS AND OFF THE FLOOR.
Together with the maximum attendance that we strictly honor you can feel safe and sound in El Corte. 
 

▲ Mailing List

We don't want to clutter your mailbox. Just visit the web site, the forum and have a look in social media. THAT should do it.
 

▲ Nijmegen

Say: Nigh may gun. (New Market)
Nijmegen has 180.000 inhabitants, but with the suburbs it has about 350.000. The twin city of Arnhem is equally big.
Nijmegen claims to be the oldest city in the Netherlands. It dates from before Christ and has many Roman excavations. It used to be one of the most beautiful cities of the Netherlands, with a lot of parks, historical centre, water, forests and hills. WWII however radically ripped the heart out on September 17th 1944. A black day, because the Allies thought they bombed a German city. The former beauty of Nijmegen can still be seen in the quarters around the city centre.
So Nijmegen is lacking an old heart, but many of the pleasant features are still there: the river, lakes, and forests, and: Nijmegen has the most cafes and terraces per capita of the Netherlands.
As a "red" university town, Nijmegen ( Havana on the Waal ) is one of the most active cultural cities of the Netherlands. The people are open minded and in for experiments.
 

▲ Lost and Found

"Can you send us the stuff that we left behind in El Corte?"
No, but we will guard it until the stuff will be collected. We have about 3 cubic meters of your lost luggage in our caves...

Ask Komala!
 

▲ El Corte

Spanish for "the cut". In early days the word tango didn't exist. People simply describe the dance as:
'El baile con cortes y quebradas'.
Eric came up with the name to express his wish to cut away from all the - until that time - established methods of learning to dance and the entire concept of a dance community.
 

▲ Annex

How can I be on the list in case an appartment in El Corte Annex becomes available? Well just apply! We expect the first one to be available in 2018. They are rented out to expats and 1 tango dancer at this moment. The idea behind the annex is that we all want to keep on living easy when we are getting older. The appartments are equipped with the luxurious kitchen and balconies. Highly finished wooden floors and details. And of course: just around the corner is a nice tango place, a great city center and a fast way to connect to the rest of the world. We rent the appartments out, because it is part of the financial structure of El Corte. The moment that Henry and Eric are not on this planet anymore will come. Having the appartments embedded in the El Corte business structure as such will give the possibility of letting it live as a tango center for ever!

Interested? Ask Eric or Henry!
 

▲ Will Power

When Eric and Henry are dancing the tango in another heaven they made sure that El Corte can live on through wise financial planning. When time is nigh, El Corte will turn into an active foundation, ensuring that this cultural heritage will live on. We hope by then people can run the foundation and do good things to let the spirit of El Corte survive.
We know we can do a lot more if the money doesn't play an essential role. Our foundation is an ANBI registered institute for Dutch taxes, which means that you can send tax deductable gifts. At this moment the foundation is passive. Henry and Eric run El Corte as a business. But as soon as money comes in we will wake up the foundation and we will start doing good things with it.

Whilst we are still alive we would start using the foundation for organizing tango encouragement projects that would otherwise not be possible. Our concrete plan is to enable musicians to write and arrange tangos for dancers, by bringing them together for a few days a year, mixing amateur and professionals from all over the world. They should feel the magic of El Corte just as you sometimes do when you encounter all those lovely dancers from all over the world.

You might think of us when you write your will.

Interested? Ask Eric or Henry!