"...if you don't give everything to your partners, what's the point of dancing tango?"

So there also is room for limited stylistic variation.
I never been to any Encuentro. Why do you call it limited? What would be an example of stylistic variation that will be out of place at Encuentro compared to at a traditional milonga.

If the stylist is variation is limited, does popularity of Encuentros an indication that limitation is a popular or more popular style preference in Tango world of Europe?
 
The videos, especially, give me the sense that encuentros do lack variety. There's a distinctive "encuentro style" that's almost as well-defined as "Mundial style," and which seems to privilege parallel-system movements, linearity, and pauses over constant, fluid system changes and turns.
How would you define ‘mundial style’.

What percentage of a song in a Tanda, do you dance in cross system compared to parallel system? From top of my head I imagine most people dance more time in parallel than cross.

Linearity/pauses vs constant/fluid vs turns - in my experience these are three distinct dance personalities I see. Assuming they are competent dancers, some are linearity/pause dominant, some are constant/fluid dominant, some are turn dominant. It is rare for me to see someone so linearity/pause dominant that I don’t see constant/fluid or turn in their dancing. To me the worst offenders in a Ronda are turn dominant dancers. They hog the space, stall the ronda progress, and generally are most unmusical.
 
How would you define ‘mundial style’.
Huge walking steps, static rather than progressive turns, excessive use of the ridiculous "milonguero dip," insufficient use of pure dissociation in its place, both dancers projecting their rear end back as much as their upper body forward. It isn't everybody, but watch a few videos and you'll see it's enough.
What percentage of a song in a Tanda, do you dance in cross system compared to parallel system? From top of my head I imagine most people dance more time in parallel than cross.
I dance mostly in cross. I spend very little time in parallel. I also make a lot of use of the 50/50 weight distribution when I pause, at which times system is "undefined" because I'm in neither and leading entirely with my upper body.
Linearity/pauses vs constant/fluid vs turns - in my experience these are three distinct dance personalities I see. Assuming they are competent dancers, some are linearity/pause dominant, some are constant/fluid dominant, some are turn dominant. It is rare for me to see someone so linearity/pause dominant that I don’t see constant/fluid or turn in their dancing. To me the worst offenders in a Ronda are turn dominant dancers. They hog the space, stall the ronda progress, and generally are most unmusical.
I'm a constant/fluid dancer. I agree with you about turn-dominant dancers who turn in place; those who turn progressively aren't usually much of a problem, and look more like your constant/fluid types. The "Just gotta be me!" subset of the linearity/pause people drive me craziest, though, as they alternate between pausing when the ronda says they should move and driving forward when the ronda says they should stay in place . . . mostly because they don't want to do the same thing as others around them.
 
How would you define ‘mundial style’..

Huge walking steps, static rather than progressive turns, excessive use of the ridiculous "milonguero dip," insufficient use of pure dissociation in its place, both dancers projecting their rear end back as much as their upper body forward. It isn't everybody, but watch a few videos and you'll see it's enough..
I've also noticed that you defiantly stick to this name, even though you know it's basically Estilo Villa Urquiza ;)
 
..Why do you call it limited? What would be an example of stylistic variation that will be out of place at Encuentro compared to at a traditional milonga.
Dancing for spectators or for the people in the table corner, inappropriate clothing, constant demonstrative open hold like in neotango, expansive figures (high circular boleos, linear boleos, wide circular colgadas), dancing on the spot.
..does popularity of Encuentros is an indication that limitation is a ..popular style preference in Tango ..of Europe?
It was 15 years ago. But this is not related to the style preferences of the attendees, but rather to the "conservative" mindset of the first organizers. Even before the pandemic, the encuentros began to die. Some names have survived, but there only few differences compared to marathons. In the meantime, even the initiators of the first encuentros have left the movement (We discussed this extensively in the other thread). Encuentros therefore were (to me anyway) a phenomenon at the beginning of the century.
 
..What percentage of a song.. do you dance in cross system compared to parallel system?
Admittedly, this question sounds a bit unusual. Only an over-ambitious beginner categorizes his technique on the floor while dancing (I once was such a specimen). But I can't answer the question myself now, because I don't analyze the proportion of crossed and parallel system in a dance. I improvise to the music. I use my vocabulary intuitively. If I feel like I need to add a chain of a certain step to the accents of a fierce Pugliese marcato, I do so. I don't think about the fact that I have to go into the crossed system beforehand.

..Assuming they are competent dancers, some are linearity/pause dominant, some are ..turn dominant... To me the worst offenders in a Ronda are turn dominant dancers. They hog the space, stall the ronda progress, and generally are most unmusical.
I freak out when linear start-stop dancers dominate the ronda. For me this is the death of tango. And honestly linear start-stop dancers belong to the technically stagnant and unmusical species (in my part of the world anyway).
 
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What percentage of a song in a Tanda, do you dance in cross system compared to parallel system? From top of my head I imagine most people dance more time in parallel than cross.

I think the more interesting question is - why do you choose to dance in cross system, or parallel?
Never really thought about it or analysed it! I'm equally at home in either, although I'd guess more of vals in cross-system. Probably around 50% average.

Why choose? Because of some move which works from cross, or parallel, or maybe because I can and it doesn't feel unusual, or maybe I just ended up there from some other move. I don't find the 'dark sides' that strange, and other possibilities exist from there.
 
I think the more interesting question is - why do you choose to dance in cross system, or parallel?
I choose to dance more often in cross that parallel for a couple of reasons:

1. With lower-level partners, even when I do my damnedest to lead clearly and unambiguously – even going so far as to break my own aesthetic rules and move past signals to strongly worded somatic suggestions – there's the risk that a step won't be taken. In parallel system in anything resembling a tango embrace, that's a synonym for stepping on feet. I'm sensitive enough to feel the foot and not transfer weight . . . which just puts me in cross system. Or I can dance there and avoid the problem by being in a different track in the first place. (I can also dance a mile from such a partner, or stick them way off to one side and be in, I don't know, four tracks, but those things veer into aesthetic rules I refuse to break.)

2. With partners of all levels, dancing in three tracks – as cross system typically requires – establishes a natural starting point for them moving around me or me moving around them. That's a huge family of movements; it's "most (though not all, I know!) things that aren't walking." Since walking is often forbidden by the pause-ridden floors I dance on, I find I can lead more if I mostly stay in cross.

There are 101 exceptions, of course.
 
I think the more interesting question is - why do you choose to dance in cross system, or parallel?
I don’t. Never occurred to me to consciously choose.
Admittedly, this question sounds a bit unusual. Only an over-ambitious beginner categorizes his technique on the floor while dancing (I once was such a specimen). But I can't answer the question myself now, because I don't analyze the proportion of crossed and parallel system in a dance. I improvise to the music. I use my vocabulary intuitively. If I feel like I need to add a chain of a certain step to the accents of a fierce Pugliese marcato, I do so. I don't think about the fact that I have to go into the crossed system beforehand.
Agree.

That’s why it took me by a bit surprise about the comment on dancers spending more time in parallel. I never consciously notice so in others nor am aware what I do. Intuitively I think people will be more in parallel than cross. But I don’t have any data or empirical observation to back it up.
I freak out when linear start-stop dancers dominate the ronda. For me this is the death of tango. And honestly linear start-stop dancers belong to the technically stagnant and unmusical species (in my part of the world anyway).
There are a very few of this specimens in my area. Most problems arise due to lack of leaders having skills and right tools. On the other hand some fairly skilled turn dominant dancers will keep doing giros and enrosques in place causing log jam. The worst example of it I witnessed was at a milonga in Istanbul. Their technique and skill was impressive. But in a small room with lot of dancers in the ronda, there were 5 or 6 leaders who were indulging in fast giros, enrosques, etc.
 
– there's the risk that a step won't be taken. In parallel system in anything resembling a tango embrace, that's a synonym for stepping on feet. I'm sensitive enough to feel the foot and not transfer weight . . .
I think I've taken this a bit too far - I've noticed that I tend to step heel-first more and more often over the years, and am able to reverse my step at a moment's notice if I should even feel a hint of their feet. And it's slowly become part of my "style"; I frequently walk and land on my heel, usually (but not always) on a note in the music that needs emphasis/a strong beat, then complete the transfer of my body weight and allow the metatarsal to lower and touch the ground. I sometimes allow that lowering to be felt by my follower — usually when it is sharp; but I like slowing it down and sort of rolling my foot onto the ground. I think I tend to use this to mark the beat or syncopation while leading the follower in the melody.

I've also noticed many times that, in the process of transferring weight, I use my other foot and calf muscles to push into the ground more than strictly necessary for walking, which lends more impetus to my follower. A few times, this has led my follower into doing back crosses, but I'm convinced that they were just lucky flukes in the case of the left back cross (their left leg behind their right). Still, something to explore.

With quite a few followers, I also tend to take larger steps with my left leg than right leg when there is space, because I know (from walking with them) that they might not step as far as I lead, so it's a safer option in general, since I can just step outside if their feet is in the way. That is significantly harder on the right side, because I don't want to have to open up/loosen the embrace more often than I have to. Unfortunately, this means my feet aren't getting the same amount of stress/exercise, so I'm attempting to balance it out in a variety of ways just to avoid overstraining my right foot and maintain overall foot health.
 

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