Bailonga’s weekly Alternative Tango social dance has survived nearly two decades of community ups and downs, venue closures, a pandemic, and has received the contributions of dozens of different volunteers and organizers over the years. We have had less than $50 to our name and we have hosted internationally acclaimed tango musicians during their world tour. Instructors from Buenos Aires, Argentina have confided in us that out of all the places they’ve traveled to, Bailonga is their favorite tango community. Bailonga is a very special event and we are excited to have you join its team.
Bailonga’s Mission
Bailonga started out back in 2006 pursuing three goals: Fundraising to benefit the local community, supporting live music, and encouraging play, creativity, experimentation through tango dancing to alternative and nuevo music.
These fundamental concepts have informed Bailonga’s development over the many years it has existed, and it has since expanded its values to include the following:
- Introducing new people to tango dancing through music they can easily connect to
- Celebrating tango’s roots and grounding our technique through the addition of traditional music
- Making tango welcoming, accessible, and inclusive to a broad range of people
- Cultivating crossover with other tango and non-tango dance communities
- Creating novel tango-based experiences for our community.
We defy typical music conventions by keeping our default event format 50/50 alternative and traditional, which allows our occasional all-traditional nights to be special occasions.
We seek to be the beginning of as many tango addictions as possible and to harbor a community of caring, safe, and creative people who are connected by the dance that they love.
What It Means to Be a Volunteer vs. Organizer
Volunteers and Organizers of Bailonga are largely unpaid workers dedicated to supporting and running our tango event, and our event wouldn’t be able to happen without them.
Our organizers are a select team of community members who oversee the planning, decision making, administration, and problem-solving involved in running an event. Organizing is a largely invisible job that is absolutely crucial to events’ functioning. It requires a lot of flexibility, the willingness to consistently carry out your responsibilities every week, come rain or shine, a strong motivation to support our community, and skill in collaboration and communication. We want our team to be full of people who are passionate about upholding Bailonga’s mission, identity, and legacy.
All organizers are always offered free attendance to Bailonga for as long as they are part of the organizer team (though they are allowed to contribute financially if they wish to do so) and the ability to have input on decisions regarding the functioning of the event. To be an organizer, view our list of currently available positions and contact us at bailonga.eugene@gmail.com about your interest and relevant experience.
Our volunteers are individual community members who wish to donate a portion of their evening to support the organizers and connect with the dancers in the community, and they fall into two categories: One-off volunteers and ongoing volunteers. One-off volunteers are only expected to perform their duties for the individual evening they have agreed to do so, and their contribution does not imply any future commitment to the event. Ongoing volunteers are volunteers Bailonga has an ongoing relationship with and an expectation that we can call on their services when needed.
One-off volunteers are offered free attendance for the specific event during which they provide their services. Ongoing volunteers are also offered free attendance, though whether it is specific to the event of their services or for all events depends on the specific agreement negotiated with the organizers.
If you are interested in joining our volunteer team in some capacity, see our list of available volunteer opportunities.
Commitment
Helping out with a weekly social dance can be very rewarding but it also requires commitment. Organizers depend on volunteers and on other organizers to be reliable and trust worthy in order to complete their responsibilities. Being clear about the time you are able to commit and informing the (other) organizers if you are not going to be able to fulfill your responsibilities as planned or need to take a hiatus from them is essential.
One-off volunteers, by definition, only need to commit to the event they’ve signed up for. Ongoing volunteers have full control over how frequent or how long they volunteer for, we just ask that you give us at least a few weeks of notice if you are no longer going to be available to contribute in the way you have previously. We do expect ongoing volunteers whose jobs take place at the event itself to arrive on time for their scheduled role and to contact an organizer if a last minute absence or delay is inevitable.
Organizers are asked to commit to a minimum of 6 months in their position in order to maintain continuity in the team and necessary planning. For organizer roles that require attendance, organizers are expected to attend a minimum of 2 weeks a month, though more frequently may be necessary depending on the role, and longer leaves of absence should be arranged several months ahead of time.
Benefits
When you volunteer for Bailonga, you will..
- Meet and dance with new friends in a fun and welcoming community
- Get to learn and utilize new valuable skills
- Earn free attendance to events, including special events with guest instructors or live music
- Support the continuation of the Eugene tango community
Local DJ’s and instructors are also offered a courtesy payment for their time, though they are free to waive this payment and donate their time instead.
Joining the Team
If you are interested in taking on one of our organizer or volunteer roles, please send an inquiry to bailonga.eugene@gmail.com naming which role(s), what existing skills or abilities you have to offer, what your availability will be, and any other questions or restricting factors you have.
If the role is determined to be a good fit, you’ll be provided with the training and resources necessary to complete your assigned tasks. Continued support and answers to questions will be available through other organizers, and you’ll likely receive a recommendation of who to direct your questions to by default.
Volunteer/Organizer Conduct
All volunteers and organizers are expected to adhere to Bailonga’s Code of Conduct but because of their positions of influence over the larger community, this code of conduct is expanded to include the following:
- Both Volunteers and Organizers are expected to report violations of the code of conduct that they witness to the appropriate organizer or use our anonymous digital complaint form to report the incident. If a community member comes to them with a problem you believe to be a violation, the organizer/volunteer should also refer them to our options for reporting complaints and encourage them to do so, so that we can keep the community safe and welcoming for everyone. They may also use the complaint form for issues they themselves encounter.
- Volunteers in public facing roles are serving as temporary representatives of Bailonga as an organization and as such, it’s particularly important that their treatment of community members is at a high level and that they are acting in alignment with Bailonga’s values when acting in a public facing capacity.
- Organizers occupy a position of power and therefore have a greater responsibility to use that power and influence responsibility and treat volunteers and community members with a greater degree of respect and professionalism. Organizers should refrain from engaging in personal attacks, mean spirited mockery, or gossip regarding community members when in the presence of other event attendees. As an organizer, you are not obligated to like everyone in the community, and you may decline to dance or work closely with anyone for any reason, but you are expected to behave in a civil manner towards those you may dislike while acting in the capacity of an organizer for our event.
Volunteers and organizers also have specific jobs, and with those jobs come basic expectations for how that job needs to be performed, as defined in their job description. Repeated failure to meet these expectations could result in the volunteer or organizer having their responsibilities restricted, removed, or being asked to leave the team, following the processes documented below.
Removal of a Volunteer or Organizer
Complaints against community members follow our enforcement policy as detailed in our Code of Conduct. Complaints against organizers and volunteers follow a similar process; however, the consequences are directly connected to their responsibilities rather than just their ability to attend the event. This includes complaints related to our Code of Conduct and failure to meet the expectations of the volunteer/organizer role they’ve committed to.
For a one-off volunteer job such as working the desk, failure to meet the job’s needs the first time OR a community complaint will result in a conversation re-establishing the expectations of the job and the event. If a second occasion of a similar problem arises, that person will no longer have access to the privilege of volunteering for Bailonga. Further complaints related to the Code of Conduct will follow our normal enforcement policy.
For Organizers and volunteers whose service is ongoing:
- After 1 infraction, a conversation will be held between the organizer/volunteer in question and at least one other organizer to discuss the expectations of their job, to examine whether they can make changes to ensure the problem isn’t repeated, and to formulate a plan to ensure that it isn’t.
- “Appeal” Process for Organizers: In the event that an organizer with at least one infraction related to completing their responsibilities believes a. They did indeed meet the expectations of their role b. Breaking those expectations was justified in those specific circumstances or c. The definition of those expectations should be changed in response to new developments, and an agreement can not be found between the two organizers in the discussion, the full team of organizers will then vote on whether to issue a pass for this instance, whether to redefine the expectations, or whether to document the incident as an infraction. Majority will determine the path forward.
- “Appeal” Process for Ongoing Volunteers: A volunteer with at least 1 infraction may at any point request that their enforcement be handled by a different organizer to account for potential bias or personal histories and ask that this new organizer reconsider the most recent judgement. If the replacement organizer does not feel comfortable making this evaluation on their own, they may call in a vote from the full organizer team to determine next steps.
- After 2 infractions, the organizer/volunteer’s responsibilities will be subject to limitation and/or supervision depending on the job, for 30 days. (Example: An organizer in charge of finances with multiple complaints of unaccounted for funds will need to carry out counting and bill paying in the presence of another organizer.) Return to their full responsibilities will be contingent on a willingness to recommit to upholding the expectations of their role and demonstration of that ability during the restricted period.
- If, after the first 30-day restriction, there is another infraction, it will result in a 90-day restriction, additional responsibilities may be removed altogether, and attendance may also be restricted.
- If there are any further infringements after the 90-day restriction, the violating organizer/volunteer will be removed from the team permanently, and depending on the nature and severity of the violations, may be asked not to return as an attendee.
- Retaliation of any kind against the violated parties, other organizers and volunteers, or witnesses for reporting the incident(s) will be considered another infringement and will prompt the process to escalate to the next step.
- Offending organizers may repeat the “appeal” process at every step of the enforcement process.
Bailonga organizers reserve the right to follow these steps at their discretion, depending on the severity of the violation, and may escalate faster for more severe offenses.
Attendance and Illness
Volunteers and organizers whose attendance is required should do their best to be present and on time for each event unless otherwise scheduled. If you know that you will be late or unable to attend, please contact an organizer before the event so that alternate plans can be made.
While attendance is important, we put a high priority on physical safety and health of our community. If you are feeling ill, please err on the side of staying home rather than risk exposing others in the community to a contagious illness. We have multiple members of our community who are vulnerable to health complications, and we appreciate your dedication to protecting their safety. We offer masks and hand sanitizer at every event, but during the contagious/unknown stage of an illness, we would prefer you play it safe and just stay home.
If you become aware of a positive Covid-19 test within a week of attending one of Bailonga’s events, please contact an organizer so they can notify the community appropriately of the existing risk.
Alcohol/Drug Use
While Bailonga is not an explicitly sober event, alcohol is not allowed in the Ballroom, Colonial Room, or Upstairs Studio, and tango requires a high level of physical awareness to keep everyone safe. If you choose to partake, please do so somewhere other than the venue and moderate your consumption to keep you functional enough for your responsibilities.
Discontinuation of Volunteer Service
If you wish to discontinue your commitment to volunteering or organizing for Bailonga, please contact Kella at K.HannaWayne@gmail.com with at least two weeks of notice so that we have an opportunity to find coverage for your responsibilities. You are free to do this at any time for any reason, but giving us notice makes that transition easier on us.
Similarly, if you wish to change the scope of what you offer to the event or take a leave of absence from your responsibilities, you may do so at any time, and the earlier you communicate these needed changes to the organizers, the easier it will be to accommodate them.
Policies
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Bailonga is committed to promoting and protecting equity, diversity, and inclusion in our community and among our volunteers, and we do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind. We select and dismiss volunteers/organizers based on merit and performance, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, and age.
Physical Demands & Accommodations
While Argentine Tango is a highly physical dance, one of the primary organizers of the last decade has been a disabled woman, so finding unique ways to work around physical or cognitive limitations is explicitly welcomed in addition to a legal expectation of our organization. Most organizer positions require the ability to regularly engage with email and other digital communications but not significant physical ability. Please see current volunteer and organizer opportunities for details on the physical needs of specific roles.
If a volunteer or organizer needs an accommodation, they may contact Kella at K.HannaWayne@gmail.com. Bailonga will make reasonable accommodations for the known disability, unless undue hardship on the operation of the organization would result.
Courtesy Payments
Bailonga’s instructors and DJ’s are offered a courtesy payment for the additional labor done outside of the event itself for these roles. Instructors are offered $10 for a 45-minute lesson, and DJ’s are offered $20 for a 2-hour set, or a 1-1.5 hour set interrupted by a performance. Anyone working regularly in these positions may turn down the offer of payment for any reason or request that the offer be reinstated at any time. Any money donated back to Bailonga will simply be reinvested in the future of the community. Please see our full payment policy for information regarding guest instructors, DJ’s, and live musicians.
Thanks
Thanks to the Orlando Ballet, People Dancing, and to Bailonga community members for inspiration, structure, and language used in the above document. Feel free to use this, as-is or in a modified form, for your own dance event.
Last updated: 2/25/26