[Date October 7 ]Location:Online

About this Biltmore Ball Donations to Artists and Gativo Tango Festival

Ball Cancellation for Biltmore

Unfortunately, owing to unforeseeable circumstances, we must postpone the Biltmore Ball. Your tickets will be automatically reimbursed. Please give the refund 10 days to process.

We are grateful to everyone who spread the news about this amazing event and shared our enthusiasm. We much appreciate your understanding as we go forward with our plans to continue producing inspirational events.

Again, many thanks.

Mikey, Shesha, and Nikki

NUCLEAR Ballroom

Additional details as well as a note from the organisers:

I’m quite upset by what’s happened lately. As a tiny, independent company, Atomic Ballroom hosted the “Biltmore Ball,” a special partnership with the Gavito Tango Festival. Thanks to Dennis Cante, Tanya Spektor, and their festival, the event aspired to unite Argentine Tango, Swing, and Salsa in a historical setting.

The “Boycott Biltmore” campaign, which we came across two weeks before to the event but didn’t target the Tango or Salsa portions, was directed at our Swing segment. We want to make it clear that, rather than the hotel chain, our collaboration was with Dennis, Tanya, and the Gavito Tango Festival. A stunning ballroom with an ideal dance floor had been reserved for us.

Sadly, we made the decision to postpone the event till Monday and refund all tickets. We didn’t want to foster conflict inside our neighbourhood. We didn’t want the community, musicians, performers, volunteers, or even the event organisers to have to decide whether or not it was moral to attend. We decided to put peace and harmony first.

The performers, organisers, and the Gavito Tango Festival are all impacted by our decision to cancel. We’ve put a lot of money into this thing, and now we’re in trouble financially. The fact that the boycott’s organisers are asking for donations for the artists while oblivious to the circumstances, interacting with us, having links to these artists, or even being aware of the prices is frightening.

The boycott’s organisers did not communicate with us to explore alternatives or gather data. A discussion prior to the boycott’s implementation would have been appreciated. This nationwide campaign slowed ticket sales and led to several refund requests.

Those who are fighting for improved pay and working conditions have our full support. Unfortunately, because of our collaboration with the Gavito Tango Festival, moving or postponing the event was not an option. While difficult, this choice is essential for all parties.

The harm is irreparable even if we now know that the hotel and the union have come to a settlement and the strike is finished. We’ve suffered huge losses. That our modest company was made a target in a larger conflict is depressing. If they had been in touch with us, theywould have been aware that discussions for peace were being held.

I won’t mention their names, but they are aware of who they are.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dennis, Tanya, the Gavito Tango Festival, as well as our performers and staff for their patience throughout this trying week. We are looking forward to working with you again in the future.

Next week, from October 4–8, the magnificent Biltmore Hotel will host the Gativo Tango Festival. We hope you’ll check out their salsa and tango activities.

Please click tickets and choose your contribution amount if you would like to support the performers that lost their pay as well as the Gativo Tango Festival for their venue and dance floor.