WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FIRST ANNUAL U.S. TANGO ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS?
A funny thing happened on the way the awards forum. It got hijacked! No Kidding!
A typical format could be:
Awarded the "Boycutt" by the "name of the person or organization that did it"
"NYC" - Lafayette Grill & Bar / January 13th/2008.
A brief write
I'm Michael Foster. I'm a businessman (Some say...) who have introduce the first original Argentine Tango dance program called T&B (Technique & Balance)., a full 7-Hour certificate granting course. I have also been dancing and Instructing Argentine tango here in New York City for a number of years. Tango has given me so many things I can't begin to adequately describe its effect on my personal and professional life. For some years I've been wanting to find a formal way to honor the achievements of the people who make up the tango community here and who have made New York a destination for tango afficionados from all over the world. Among other things, I thought an annual Tango Achievement Awards ceremony would be one way of doing so.
I scheduled it for January 2008 and spent all of last year in preparation: booking the space, orchestrating the event, arranging for ticket sales, etc. It was going to be superb.
But in late December 2007, something strange began to happen. I began getting calls on my company's tango telephone service hotline. They were complaints from all over the world questioning a $12.99 charge on their credit card bills. Then I began getting hundreds of calls.
I made reports to the FBI, Visa and MasterCard, who have launched investigations. I also filed a formal complaint to the New York State Department of Business Affairs and I have consulted with other local state agencies.
I had no choice but to cancel the event until the investigations produced results I could understand. At least one credit card processing company has admitted to the erroneous charges, but we won't know the full story for a while.
But for those who have been waiting for this awards ceremony--which would have been a first in the U.S. and a first outside of Argentina as far as I know--all I can say is, please wait till we get to the bottom of this.
In the meantime, if you have been a victim, please call my tango hotline for instructions. The number is 917-720-7292
Also, please visit my company's tango website at www.newyorktango.org for the latest updates.
Hopefully my friends and supporters won't be affected by this, nor my dance students, which include some high-profile and celebrity clientele.
In the meantime, I still want to give back to the community. Since there is no longer free dancing at Chelsea Market c/o Triangulo, I began formal discussions with the management of the IBM Building in midtown (at 590 Madison Avenue). Unfortunately, the management ultimately declined the idea for now, but I'll keep trying other venues, including ones through my business connections.
And that's the story.
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