1870  The purpose of the cortina

Date: Sun, 5 Oct 2003 15:57:36 -0700
From: NANCY <ningle_2000@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: The purpose of the cortina

However they are managed, in Buenos Aire they have
a purpose. The floor must be cleared so that the
dancers can do the eye-contact, head-nodding thing to
acquire their partners for the next tanda. One would
not want to seek out a partner until one had heard the
music and determined if the next tanda was to be tango
or vals or milonga or a tanda of musica tropical or
foxtrot as is occasionally done at Ideal.

The cortina time is very useful if one has spotted a
nice dancer or a friend on the dance floor but does
not know where he/she might be sitting. As the
dancers leave the floor, one can spot them heading for
their table and then know where to look for the next
tanda. It is the fact that many dancers will not wear
their glasses to the milongas so that the women or men
sitting 80 feet across the room are just a blur until
you lock eyes on the floor. A few gentlemen have told
me they always knew when I really wanted to dance
because I would put on my glasses. When I was cooling
off or avoiding music I would remove the glasses.

Now, if one does cortinas, then the men should
understand that one dances the entire cortina with the
lady unless she indicates she would like to stop. And
the cortinas should always be composed of like music,
preferably from the same orchestra, usually in the
same time period, not a mix of vals,tango and
whatever. Is this a comittment? Yes, it is, and your
community should decide if they really want to make a
comittment of dancing four dances with one partner.
If not, then two pieces of like music with no
noticeable cortina might work better.

Federico, a very good DJ in BsAS, is so attuned to
his dancers that, seeing some reaction to a
particularly danceable cortina selection might, later
in the evening, give the dancers a full tanda of such
music. That's how I managed to dance a full tanda of
samba at Ideal one afternoon.

Nancy
A 'Traditional, close-embrace, apilado-style dancer'
who wishes everyone the kind of style, music and
milonga management that works for them.

Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 13:15:52 -0700
From: NANCY <ningle_2000@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: The purpose of the cortina - OOPS!

--- astrid <astrid@ruby.plala.or.jp> wrote:

>
> > Now, if one does cortinas, then the men should
> > understand that one dances the entire cortina with
> the
> > lady unless she indicates she would like to stop.
> And
> > the cortinas should always be composed of like
> music,
> > preferably from the same orchestra, usually in the
> > same time period, not a mix of vals,tango and
> > whatever. Is this a comittment? Yes, it is,>
>
> You mean, there are tandas one has to commit to, and
> also lenghty cortinas
> that are to be danced thru even though their purose
> it clear the floor?
>

OOPS! THAT SHOULD BE:
Now, if one does TANDAS, then the men should

> > understand that one dances the entire TANDA with
> the
> > lady unless she indicates she would like to stop.
> And
> > the TANDAS should always be composed of like
> musi