1372  rudeness and tandas

Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2003 19:03:54 -0500
From: Michael Figart II <michaelfigart@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: rudeness and tandas

Hello to all from Houston,



Lot's of neat stuff flying around on Tango-L lately. I would like to
insert my opinion on tanda structure, and any rudeness associated with
breaking accepted convention.



Four songs per tanda is too much. It is very often the case that there
are many more women than men at the milongas I attend, and I really do
make an effort to dance with as many women as I can. This gets tough to
do with four songs in each tanda, so I definitely split them up into
twos or threes. I sincerely hope that my partners don't feel slighted
when I express my appreciation and leave the floor before a tanda is
over. I also sometimes need just a little rest, and one or two songs is
enough for that, so I'll sit out a couple and dance a couple.



To me, by any consideration, 4 milongas is way too much in a tanda. I
love milonga, but four in a row will have my tongue hanging out, and
sitting out the next two tandas!



I don't mind too much if tandas are structured this way at any milonga I
attend, but I sincerely hope that my non-adherence to the BsAs-accepted
tradition is not seen as rudeness on my part.



And while we're on the subject of rejection, also, I'd like to say that
there are two main reasons I don't ask some women to dance. First, a
lack of attention/involvement. I can't stand it when a follower is
looking all over the room, smacking gum (yes, it happens), or just
generally not attempting to help create the dance. Second, a lack of
desire for improvement. I don't mind at all dancing with beginners, and
I don't care about skill level necessarily. But when I see women (or
men, for that matter), who think they've got it down and there's no more
to learn, I tend to avoid them. There are plenty of followers who are
quite skillful and talented, and still have a strong desire to improve
their tango, working very hard to do so. Those are the dancers that I
admire. Workshops/classes/practice are forever!



Thanks to everyone in Denver for another wonderful time. I'm looking
forward to August!



Regards,



Michael

Houston,Tx

Date: Sat, 7 Jun 2003 04:08:31 -0500
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: rudeness and tandas

Michael wrote:

>Four songs per tanda is too much.

>I love milonga, but four in a row will have my tongue
>hanging out, and sitting out the next two tandas!

As someone who has danced tango and been a dj in a fair number of cities,
I have found that social customs at milongas vary by city and milonga. Not
every community, dj or dancer observes strict tandas. In my own city
(Dallas), a tanda of three milongas or valses is plenty. When I was the
dj at the recent Miami Tango Fantasy, I found the dancers preferred that
tandas of four milongas or valses. At the Miami Tango Fantasy, most of
the dancers chatted for an extended period as each song started. In
Dallas, people chat for a shorter time at the beginning of each song.
Consequently, the dancers at the Miami Tango Fantasy probably ended up
dancing as much milonga in a four-milonga tanda as the Dallas dancers do
in a three-milonga tanda. The dancers in Miami also got more rest between
songs.

>It is very often the case that there are many more women
>than men at the milongas I attend, and I really do make
>an effort to dance with as many women as I can. This gets
>tough to do with four songs in each tanda, so I definitely
>split them up into twos or threes.

In some communities, some of the men make an effort to dance with as many
women as possible and typically dance less than a tanda with each dance
partner. Whether this would be considered rude depends upon local
community standards. In some cities, particularly Buenos Aires, leaving
the dance floor before the end of a tanda would be considered an
indication that something has gone seriously wrong. In other cities,
changing partners more frequently than a tanda is fairly common.
Interestingly, I have found that at tango festivals and cities that have
many good tango dancers, there seems to be a greater adherence to the
custom of dancing an entire tanda with one partner.

With best regards,
Steve

Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
https://www.tejastango.com/