[Tango-L] Origin of Tandas

[tangosmith@cox.net]

Thanks for the comments on tandas.  I don't find them surprising.  

Huck, I totally agree that we don’t cater to beginners, that we generally
hold the codigos more important than any compromise.  As you said, our
approach is to favor those with (ten) years of experience.  

As far as asking beginners to dance with only one or two songs left in a
tanda, I agree that it’s an excellent idea.  Unfortunately, beginner men
generally don't have an opportunity to ask in the middle of a tanda.  But
from past comments from women on this list and what I’ve seen and heard
first hand, in reality I don’t think they are being asked late in a tanda
very much.  I hope you are one that practices it regularly.

As far as playing anything other than tandas having to be awful, I’m less
inclined to go along.  I go to other types of dances with DJ’ed music. 
It’s generally played with some kind of organization and is rarely, to use
your term, played willy-nilly.  It is not played in strict 4 song sequences
without partner changes in between.  Also, it sounds like the Finns use a
somewhat different structure, a modified tanda of only 2 songs with
encouraged (mandatory?) changes between.  While their style of tango is
certainly not the traditional Argentine tango, it certainly appears to have
achieved immense popularity there.  

That returns me to my original question, that perhaps we believe that the
codigos are in fact more important, perhaps even essential, to Argentine
tango than any compromise that could be made for increased accessibility. 
What impact do we think this might have on the future of Argentine tango? 
Do we think that there will always be those few who “get it” and will be
willing to put in the years?  

No flames please. I’m not exactly sure where I’m at myself on these
questions.  I seriously don’t know the answers and am offering this only
for consideration.



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