[Tango-L] Cortinas (not the old car from the '70s)

[Jake Spatz (TangoDC.com)]

Hi Dani (and Neil),

Well, I look at it like this... Not everyone is going to clear the 
floor, since people sometimes dance more than a tanda together. So it's 
not my job as a DJ to _force_ them off. It's my job to mark the change 
between tandas. That's how I (and others) deal with the context we've 
got. To dictate a different manner of conduct, when it doesn't really 
matter all that much, is simply rude. After all, some of us aren't 
acting out of ignorance: we're adapting to the conditions at hand.

As for people who dance to the cortinas... Well, if the DJ plays salsa 
or swing or whatever, who really cares? People come to dance, and even 
if they annoy me a little, it's hardly worth condemning them for the way 
they have fun. Honestly, I pay more attention to picking out my socks.

Another matter, however, are the cortinas played before or after 
alternative sets... These can get genuinely confusing. Some DJs, I 
notice, don't even play a cortina before an alternative set-- a breaking 
of the pattern that just throws people off. After an alternative set, 
the cortina, I think, should be markedly NOT dance music, so that 
dancers understand what's going on.

But for that matter, alternative sets also need to be selected with a 
bit of care... I once heard a DJ play an obscure Piazzolla number at a 
very well-attended milonga, and my partner and I were the only ones who 
started dancing to it. Everyone else just stood around confused. 
Reacting to the crowd, as he should have, the DJ faded it out after 45 
seconds, pretended it was a cortina, and played a traditional tanda. I 
wanted to dance to the song, sure; but he acted appropriately, and 
clarified matters for the other 80 or so people present-- which is every 
DJ's primary function, once they've got their tandas and cortinas worked 
out.

The crowd at hand comes first. Everything else comes third.

Jake Spatz
DC


Club~Tango*La Dolce Vita~ wrote:
> Hi Christopher, Jake, Manuel... everybody
>  
> I think your suggestion is favourable with me, Christopher. Assess the 
> length required on a 'need-to-effect' basis.
>  
> I was considering what you both suggest, Jake and Manuel. Trouble is 
> that with longer 'set' lengths, there is always the invariable numpty 
> who feels they have to get up and dance to the cortina... nothing more 
> annoying.
>  
> What do you think?
>  
> Dani
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Christopher L. Everett <ceverett at ceverett.com>
> To: Dani Iannarelli <dani at tango-la-dolce-vita.eu>
> Cc: Tango-L at mit.edu
> Sent: Thursday, 5 October, 2006 8:49:09 PM
> Subject: Re: [Tango-L] Cortinas (not the old car from the '70s)
>
> Dani Iannarelli wrote:
> > Hello all,
> >  
> > With regard to the 'refresh' button for the milonga dance floor :-) .ie
> > cortinas :-)
> >  
> > Just wondering what members would consider the optimum length?
> >  
> However long it takes for people to clear the floor.  No
> more, no less.  Big floor, lots of people with difficult egress,
> you might need as much as 90 seconds.  Tiny floor, small
> crowd, easy to get on/off the floor, 10-15 seconds.
>
> Christopher
>