How it is done in Buenos Aires
I’d like to start up a meandering and far-ranging discussion of tandas/cortinas.
When did they become customary in BA? I don’t imagine live orchestras used them in the ‘40s. What is the history of them?
Why do we use them? Is it because it’s how they do it in BA? Are there benefits that I am unaware off?
I actually dance less because of them. If I feel like dancing to a particular tune or in a particular moment, and I realize that it is the last tune of a tanda, I sit the tune out instead. I only enjoy milongas occasionally and I many only want to do one or two. If a milonga tanda begins and I feel like dancing, but don’t want to dance four milongas, I sit out the whole tanda.
What are your thoughts?
The responses to your questions have been from those who have never been to Buenos Aires. I will try to answer your questions as they relate to the customs in Buenos Aires. After all, that is where tango traditions originated.
It was customary to have two orchestras alternating during dances--one for jazz and one for tango. Many of the tango orchestra leaders also had jazz orchestras -- DJ Daniel Borelli shared this tidbit with me recently. Each orchestra played for 30 minutes on stage. Those who went to dance tango danced--no tandas or cortinas. Then the jazz orchestra played for a half hour. They alternated during the night since no orchestra could play several hours for dancing without a break.
Tandas originated when recordings were used in the downtown confiterias for the evening dances. A larger variety of music was played for dancing in the 1950s than today in the milongas of BsAs. It included jazz, bolero, tango, vals, milonga, salsa, cumbia. Today there may be only one tanda of jazz or salsa music during an entire evening. When tango returned to its popularity in the late 80s, other kinds of music was reduced.
Alberto Paz wrote about the
cortina in his tango blog
www.elfirulete.wordpress.com This is a term borrowed from the old radio days where a distinctive musical interlude served to separate segments of a program. In the dance halls of Buenos Aires, a distinctive musical interlude is played between sets of tango music. This is done to clear the floor so the waiters can take orders and serve people at their tables. Also people use the break to go to the bathrooms, or get to walk to the bar to get a drink and get a better vantage point.
A milonguero told me that the cortinas were several minutes long with enough time to smoke a cigarette. Today, as soon as the floor is cleared, the next tanda begins. The faster pace of life is reflected in the musical programming. People don't relax between tandas. Men wipe the sweat off their brows at the table rather than retiring to the men's room as they used to.
Tandas or sets are not restricted to the ballrooms of Buenos Aires. They were standard for every ballroom in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. The musicians needed a break from playing, so the orchestra leader called out the number of the charts for each set, usually three of the same dance. Men signed dance cards of the women with whom they wanted to dance in advance. The ballrooms, like the Aragon in Chicago, were so large that there was no nodding going on for dances. Men had to know where the women were seated in the ballroom and find them for the set they promised to dance.
The benefit of tandas is having four dances with one partner. It is important to pay attention to how many tunes have been played in the tanda so that you don't end up dancing the last half of the last tune. It is advisable to wait until the second or third tune of a tanda when dancing with someone for the first time. This is standard practice for milongueros.
When a woman is invited at the beginning of the tanda, the man dances four tunes with her. If a woman is uncomfortable with her partner for any reason, she says thank you and he escorts her off the floor. On rare occasions a man will cut a tanda short at a milonga.
The way the tanda is programmed makes a difference. The first tune has to motivate dancers to want to dance. This is the DJ's most important task. If the best tune of the tanda is the last, then those sitting out will not be dancing.
Tandas (sets) are a way of organizing the dancing. Otherwise, people would be walking off the floor after each dance trying to find a partner for the next dance. The system established sixty years ago is used in Buenos Aires because it works.
You can read more about this on my blog.
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The best solution then is to find someone you love dancing with and dance with them into the next tanda.
