[Tango-L] Tango-L Digest, Vol 24, Issue 16

[Huck Kennedy]

David Thorn <thorn-inside at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Huck Kennedy wrote:
> >
> > The tanda structure is not an anachronism. Like other Argentine
> > codigos, it evolved over time to what it is today because it serves a
> > very useful purpose.
>
> But I do not understand the blind conservatism, in any life endeavor, that argues that "we do it the way we do it because that is how we do it" and then proceeds to defend "it" as being the only true way on this basis.  Sorry, but this is probably the scientist nerd in me rearing its head.

     And what I do not understand is why anyone, let alone a
"scientist," would delight in constructing and then heroically tearing
down strawmen.

     If you will reread my posting, you will see that I explicitly
state that we do not observe tandas and other codigos out of blind
conservatism (my specific words were "as a gratuitous expression of
culture"), but rather because they work, and they work very well, on
many levels, to make the milonga experience a nice one for experienced
dancers.  In this day and age.  And not just in Buenos Aires.

      Here is a nice quote I found on someone's tango blog about
cortinas, but it deals with tandas as well (since they go hand in
hand):

http://www.loksze.com/thoughts/2007/01/

begin excerpt:

But for me, cortina means more than that. I'm so much into the music
that, I need a "break" in-between tandas or something to make me
forget about the previous tanda. Otherwise, I will have a hard time to
pull my emotion out from what has been played, then I cannot dance the
next set of music. In a nutshell, I cannot immediately jump from Di
Sarli to Donato, I need something to "wash away" my Di Sarli mood so
that I can change myself into Donato mode, and that's what cortina
means to me. I don't need a very long cortina, a 20 second or 30
second cortina is good enough. I don't know if you feel the same, but
I know I'm not alone to feel this way. I noticed how much I appreciate
having cortinas in-between tandas after dancing in milongas where
there were no tandas and cortinas. For example the music could be like
this - a Pugliese's vals "Desde el alma" -> a Canaro's milonga
"Milonga Brava" -> a Di Sarli's tango "Bahia Blanca" -> a De Angelis's
tango "Pavadita"… It felt like a big "rojak" (a mix salad in
Singapore). I know many people don't mind and may even like it, but to
dance on all these pieces one after the other and be true to each of
them with my heart, no I can't.

end excerpt

     In other words, waltz has its own mood, milonga has its own mood,
and each tango orchestra has its own mood.  When the tanda starts, an
experienced dancer knows what the mood of the next four songs will be,
and can figure out if it matches his own mood and whether or not to
participate in that particular tanda.  Then once out on the floor, he
can cultivate that mood into a climax.  Constantly flip-flopping
between moods one song at a time gives experienced dancers a feeling
of schizophrenia.

     Another reason for tandas is that it eliminates the awkwardness
of deciding when to stop dancing with one person and begin dancing
with another.  Nobody has to wonder, "Gee, does he (or she) want to
stop dancing now because they don't like me, regardless of what they
say to make me feel better?"  The tanda ends, and you both sit down.

     A third reason is it helps encourage more mixing up of partners
if everyone clears the floor after the tanda is over.  You get less
"hogging" of good dancers.

     Finally, there is the classic tanda ritual, where you feel out a
new partner in the first two songs of the tanda, then really start
clicking in the third song after you've figured out each other's
idiosyncrasies, then in the fourth song you reach nirvana, at which
point you breathlessly tear apart from each other, sit down, and savor
the experience before setting off on your next mini-adventure.  Again,
when you do set out again depends upon the mood of the upcoming tanda,
and whether it fits your current mood and/or musical taste in general.

Huck