[Tango-L] leaving the floor

['Mash]

Why don't tango DJs, DJ like the other music DJs?
I understand the thinking behind setting a pattern so that people can rotate but more and more I think this is just making things more complicated and what I have witnessed so far, does little for the atmosphere. 

The DJ's job in my mind is the most important. They are there to create, keep and lead the atmosphere to dance. Since the dawn of DJing the DJ chooses the music according to the response from the dancers. I really have a problem with this almost clinical Tango tanda whateveryoucallit. It is the pits seeing a dance floor full of intense couples dancing and then (cue tumbleweed) the whole thing is brought to a standstill as the tempo, style and music changes. There is part of me that thinks milongas should cater for the type of people rather then having this set musical rotation.  

This talk of people sitting out. Personally I think that this should not be the job of the DJ but the job of the dancers themselves. This may sound harsh but a couple of things come to mind. Make friends, join a Tango class and go as a group. You can even plan your dance partners for the evening. Make yourself look available to dance and more so look like someone with whome someone would like to dance. Personally the ice queens on the side of the floor don't do much for me whether they are the best dancers there or not. I would rather dance with a bubbly smiling charismatic beginner and enjoy the evening. And the men, if you want to dance find the balance between looking like a lost kitten and someone with a lost kitten down the front of his pants. 

I fully understand the limitations of my extremely low level of experience and I am not trying to pass judgement on something I know very little about. But there are times when I want to give up on Tango altogether as the world I see around it seems to be from another planet!?

Maybe I have got it all wrong and will through time merge into the understanding that everyone else appears to have. I am though not sure whether to look forward to it or fear it. 

'Mash
London, UK

"Tango, a bit like eating lobster."


On Thu, Jan 03, 2008 at 05:07:09PM -0500, Crrtango at aol.com wrote:
>  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. >
>