Tango Price Tag

“How much is a tanda?” she wondered. “42 cents,” I said. “However, total costs of a tanda are around 1,25 euros.” “Wow, but…What?” “The entrance fee is 10 euros. I divide by roughly 24 tandas, for a regular milonga night. Hence, 42 cents. However, there are indirect costs to consider. Let’s add 20 euros for travel costs; that’s 30 euros for a night. Dividing by 24 computes to 1,25 euros per tanda if you exhaust your body until La Cumparsita, a whopping 31 cents per tango. If you dance only 10 tandas, the total costs per tanda are 3 euros; 75 cents per tango.” “That’s…very interesting,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You may have noticed I don’t sit a lot on a milonga night. Now you understand why.”

I know there probably isn’t much rationality in a tango dancer’s choices, or anyone’s, for that matter. As an organizer, I have often wondered why tango in one place is much more expensive than in others for a comparable experience. Price elasticity, the degree to which prices for a product impact demand, is high. “Remember when the price of our milonga was 5 euros? We were an idealistic bunch and wanted the poorer tango addicts to dance, only to discover that they preferred to pay 15 euros for a similar event with similar dancers. It boggled my organizer’s mind. “Maybe the high price created a perception of exclusivity?” “I was tempted to double the price, but, you know, my principles hurt revenue.”

A guy working for Unilever once told me that the perception of a product’s value is entirely a construct in consumers’ minds. “Many of our products are soap, really, in some form. The marketing promises to fulfil some dream of youth, romance, adventure, or virility.” Years later, a Mercedes salesman told me: “Most modern cars are great. They all take you from A to B. People choose emotionally. I’m so grateful for that. Mercedes would go out of business if it weren’t.” I also remembered questions I had to ask random male shoppers in a mall during a student summer job. “Does this bottle of gin seem to you more feminine or more masculine?” It had more curves than the Zandvoort circuit, so after a while, I stopped asking and filled out the form myself.

‘What’s intriguing are the costs of a tanda in international marathons,’ I said. ‘First, you pay 179 euros for a three-day event: 4 or 5 plus-sized milongas, including two brunches and some nighttime snacks, in a prime location. Indirect costs are two nights of room rental at 75 euros, if you share lodging. Let’s add 120 euros for transport and assume you dance 50 tandas during the entire event’ – I got out my phone and tapped the numbers – ‘that would be 449 euros, divided by 50, which computes to a rounded 9 euros per tanda. 2,25 euros per tango!’ She smiled. “But when they return from those events, they seem so happy!” “They must be in denial, surely. Nobody likes to admit to overspending by a factor of three to five.” She nodded. “If there are 1 or 2 really mind-blowing tandas among those 50…that would be..” “Priceless,” I agreed. I saw her point. “Do you go to international marathons yourself?” she asked. “Of course. Think I’m stupid?”