Thanks for bravely joining us on this crazy experiment to hold a tango festival over Zoom. This page will provide advice for having the best experience possible.

For most of you, your zoom links are in the receipt(s) that got emailed to you when you registered. If you registered before we had the zoom links figured out, you have received a personal email from me. If you can’t find the email, check your spam and promotions folders. You can also login to your yogareg account to view your receipt.

Please never share any zoom links in a public format like social media or on a website. There are people looking for those links to cause mischief, and we want to keep that away from the festival. Thank you!

Before the festival

• Download the latest version of Zoom before the festival https://zoom.us/download.
• Check that you have the latest version by clicking your profile picture in the top right corner, then click “Check for Updates.”
• It is recommended to use zoom on a computer when possible, rather than on a mobile device.
• You can test your device and configuration settings before the meeting: https://zoom.us/test.
• Find a headset with headphones/microphone and use that when you are sitting in front of the computer for a lecture.
• Figure out how to connect your computer to a good sound system for the concerts (or use headphones). The concerts will sound much better through good speakers or headphones, rather than through your computer speakers.
• Test out the space where you are going to dance (if you are taking dance classes). Make sure you have enough space and a smooth floor. Make sure you can hear the computer audio and see the screen.
• All registrants should now have their zoom links. Please email Meredith immediately if you are missing the links you need to logon to the activities your registered for.

During the festival

• World Clock so you know when activities are happening in your local time zone.
• Use the link that has been sent to you by email to login to each activity you are registered for. (The links for free activities will also be sent to all registrants.) Each festival activity has its own link.
• Enter the meeting ID, password, and your display name when prompted.
  - If you’re already signed in, change your name if you don’t want your default name to appear.
  - If you’re not signed in, simply enter your name as you wish it to appear.
  - Select if you would like to connect audio and/or video and click Join.
• Check out this great PDF with screen shots for each step, created by one of our amazing volunteers.
• In most cases, you will enter the event muted. Please default to being muted, except when you are invited to talk by the teacher/lecturer or monitor/moderator. Zoom fails miserably when multiple people are talking at once. It’s not good for group talk and small talk. (During the Virtual Happy Hour, you will be sent into “breakout” rooms where the number of people is small enough that you can talk more comfortably.)
• Questions are best asked via the chat. If an instructor/monitor needs you to verbally clarify a question, you will be unmuted.
• Users can choose two views in zoom: gallery view gives you the “Brady Bunch” experience, while “speaker view” focuses on the presenter or person talking. Except for group activities like the Virtual Happy Hour or other breakout room experiences, it usually will make sense for you to choose “speaker view.” This is very easy to do with a toggle at the top right corner of the screen on your computer. It requires a lot of swiping on handheld devices.

Zoom Help
If you are unable to solve a zoom problem on your own, the following two volunteers are making themselves available, along with the festival director, to help you by email. For fastest results, please send a group email to the three contacts below and put VTF Zoom Help in the subject line:

• Brenda: essencematpilates at gmail.com
• Jessie: jessie.c.sherwood at gmail.com
• Meredith (festival director): meredithklein at gmail.com
  (Note that you have to “reassemble” each of those email addresses.)

If you have a customer service inquiry during the festival, please send it to all three emails above as well.

If you need to submit a new registration, you will get your zoom link instantaneously if you register through our registration site.

If that does not work, you may pay by paypal, and send proof of payment, along with your event choices, to all three email addresses. We commit to get back to you within five hours, but will do everything possible to respond sooner. Thank you for your understanding.