[Tango-L] leaving the floor

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

Stephen Brown wrote:

Some of the djs in the United States have begun reducing
the length of tandas to three songs to promote/enable more
rotation between partners. I'm interested in opinions about
the desirablity of such an approach.

------

Sean again, I have an opinion about this approach...

I have to agree with Keith on this one. 3 Songs is rarely
enough to achieve that sublime 4th dance that keeps me
coming back. And when you do hit it at song 3, who in their
right mind would give it up?

My personal response to a milonga with 3 song tandas is to
dance two tandas with each follower. While the cortina
followed by a change in the orchestra is very disruptive,
it is still easier to get that great dance by the 5th or
6th song, rather than to start over from scratch. Of
course, that means that I dance with even fewer followers
than if the tandas were more traditional. And if the DJ
breaks from the T-T-V-T-T-M format, it gets even worse. I
will sit out the 3rd tango tanda, expecting vals or milonga
to follow. I would rather sit out than risk offending a
woman by dancing only one tanda with her on a night that I
dance two with everyone else.

Understandably, there is a lot of pressure on tango
organizers to sacrifice the best aspects of tango for the
sake of "community building". [Note that there is no need
to build a community in Bs. As., so they in particular
won't understand these compromises.] If you are in a small
community, then by all means, spend your first 5 or 10
years helping to build your community. We have all been
there. But eventually, you will have paid your dues and are
at risk of community-building-burnout. Then you have to
take care of yourself.

If you feel cheated by 3 song tandas, make the best of it,
and dance two tandas with the same partner. Think of it as
a bit of civil disobedience, a non-confrontational way to
make your point. When enough people feel as I do, (10% is
probably enough) the community builders will give up this
particular form of coercion, just to save their community.
Until then, accept the realities of the moment, but don’t
let people use you.

Sean


PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society
  Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburgh’s most popular social dance!
  http://patangos.home.comcast.net/
   



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