5586  How do you decide who to dance with?

Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 08:03:55 GMT
From: "larrynla@juno.com" <larrynla@juno.com>
Subject: [Tango-L] How do you decide who to dance with?
To: tango-L@mit.edu

Tonight I went to one of my favorite milongas, which is at the L.A.
Argentine Association. I like go early to get a good parking spot and
my favorite table. Not many people come that early so I was idly
thinking about this and that, that being how I pick the ladies to ask.

I have a routine which gradually evolved; I didn't plan it out.

The first people I think of are friends, then acquaintances who always
let me know they enjoy dancing with me. I often don't dance with them,
though. Most of them are good dancers, and popular for themselves.
Only if they seem to be sitting out a lot of dances do I check with
them to see if they want to dance but, for whatever reason, are not
being asked a lot that night.

Then I check for ladies who aren't dancing at all or very much, for any
of several reasons. I have several motivations for this, selfish and
otherwise. One is that I fear being rejected less. And if they are
beginners they probably won't be highly critical of me. I'm pretty
good after twenty years of tango and thirty years of lots of other
dancers before that, but I'm not super-terrific. And I also know what
it is like to want to dance but not have the chance, so I sort of pay
back all the women who were kind to me by being kind to these ladies.

Soon I have warmed up not only physically but emotionally and
artistically, and I'm dancing well. So I begin asking the more popular
ladies to dance.

There's more to my routine than that, but that's enough to get a
discussion started. So. How do you decide who to dance with?

Larry de Los Angeles
https://ShapechangerTales.com - story added: "Kassandra's Last Warning"


Improve your driving ability with a stop at traffic school. Click now!
https://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2131/fc/BLSrjnsKnbV3TehioTqIJKxYo8mJMjM3IIN0R2CjJyVXloz59u5flG8UKC8/

Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:32:10 -0400
From: Steve Littler <sl@stevelittler.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] How do you decide who to dance with?
To: tango-L@mit.edu

Dear Larry,

I have pretty much the same routine. I have been dancing 1.5 years. In
addition I would like to say that in my hometown I start the evening
with my favorite dance partner with who I also attend several lessons
and practica's each week and 1 private lesson a month. And I return to
her several times during the night, especially for a Vals or Milonga
tanda or if we are both sitting for a Tango (or after dancing with
beginners. She will tell me to lean more or lead with my chest more if I
have degraded my posture or compas after dancing with beginners.) I also
try to dance with the local teacher ladies one tanda if they come that
night. (I'll usually get some valuable feedback.) I also dance with
beginners as payback for ladies that danced with me in the beginning.

My hometown milonga runs about 5 hours with an attendance of about 30
and I may dance with most of the ladies that night depending on how many
attend. The last few Milonga tandas I dance with my favorite again since
she is a strong Milonga dancer and the floor is not very crowded at that
time and we can fly and make large patterns without disturbing other
couples.( I like to end the night on a strong Canaro milonga.)

If I drive out of town 2.25 hours to the Tampa Bay Tango Club monthly
milonga which is only about 2.5 hours long and has an attendance of
about 100, I dance with the 5-6 best dancers (non-teachers) - that I
already know from past experience - several times (and maybe 1 beginner
due to time constraints of a short night.)

El Stevito de Gainesville
https://gainesvilletango.wordpress.com/

>

Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 03:39:51 +1100
From: Noughts <damian.thompson@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] How do you decide who to dance with?
To: Steve Littler <sl@stevelittler.com>
Cc: tango-l@mit.edu
<cb8208d0903200939l72f7294fr55376830d1f6a3f8@mail.gmail.com>

I always dance with my partner first and last - if that is possible.
If I have to excuse myself to freshen up at either end of the night
and miss either the first or last, c'est la vie.

However like others, then I love to dance my "warm up" tanda's with
people I know who are forgiving and kind to me and allow me to get the
kinks out so to speak.

Then, depending upon the music as to whom I dance with - I rarely
dance a milonga with anyone but an experienced dancer and one that I
have shared time with doing tango first. Milonga has so little
reaction time for the follower that you want to know that the partner
can keep up with change of pace, syncopation and quick changes of
direction first. Vals I dance with either beginnners, or advanced and
Tango with all. Nuevo (if you want to label) with more advanced, but
not only.

As for the order, whomever is available, but sometimes, I like to
watch too... sometimes people forget that this is also a chance for
men, women and kids if they are dancing or there, that we all like to
watch and see how everyone else is going.

I don't care about age, weight, race or religion - love to dance with
people that connect, the reason we are there ;-)

Damian


PS - I'll dance with men too, if we run short but hey, isn't that how
we improve? :-)

Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:15:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Trini y Sean (PATangoS)" <patangos@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] How do you decide who to dance with?



--- On Fri, 3/20/09, larrynla@juno.com <larrynla@juno.com> wrote:

> So. How do you decide who to dance with?

At local milongas, it depends primarily on the music for me. Since beginners arrive earlier to milongas than experienced dancers, it's common for music earlier in the milonga to be simpler to warm up the crowd. As more people arrive, the rhythm gets faster. Later in the evening there is usually a period of slow and intense music and/or alternative. That pace determines my evening.

My first and last partner is always my husband. For the simple music in the milonga, I'll dance with the beginners or intermediates (usually my students at a local milonga). But I try to save my favorite partners for later in the milonga so that I can go home with a smile. That also happens to be the time that the most interesting music gets played - Biagi, Pugliese, Troilo, alternative. I'm not the type that wants to dance every single tanda, either.

At festivals, I'll dance with my friends whenever I get the chance. In other cities, I'm also more flexible.

Trini de Pittsburgh