What is tango doing wrong: #1 - tandas

[JournalInTime]

I will account for the leader's ineptitude and the interaction of different body types, but if it keeps happening, I am assume that she's just bad.

The only way someone without a professional eye (like that of a coach or teacher) can judge anything about anybody's dance from the outside is to look at how they dance with several partners – the more, the better. A sample size of 1 partner tells you absolutely nothing. A sample size of 2-3 partners in a row often tells you only that a certain gang of dancers who dance a certain way have latched onto this person. A sample size of 5-10 partners at different points throughout the evening is usually enough.

If you don't like waiting that long, check them dancing with 2-3 partners and then switch focus to see how those 2-3 partners dance the next couple of tandas with others – particularly others you know and like to dance with. If their partners suddenly exhibit the same set of problems, it isn't the fault of the dancer you find interesting. It's their earlier partners making them look bad.

This second approach is the one I use. We have quite a few guys around here who make every follower look bad. Were I a visitor, a hasty judgment would lead me to avoid those followers. Generally, I tend to assume "Bad follower technique? 50/50 odds it's a response to bad leader technique." Actually, due to being in a follower-heavy scene, competition on the follower side is far more aggressive than that on the leader side, so followers tend to have better technique on average and the real odds it's a response to bad leader technique are closer to 75/25.

 

[JournalInTime]

I've more or less given up on dressing well (for some definition of well) and elegantly, because I sweat a lot, and can't be bothered to bring several changes of shirts

I sweat like a frosty mint julep on the bayou, which is why I bring extra shirts. I've been known to show up with a shirt, a couple of identical ones that let me keep a recognizable "look" for the evening (so someone who liked how I danced tanda #1 can identify me at the start of tanda #14 or whatever), maybe one extra for emergencies, and also a dreaded T-shirt for dire emergencies (I'd never show up to a milonga in one). Also, a towel or two, which I will use before changing shirts.

That's true; it makes you seem more of a known quantity, and if those people are relatively high on the social ladder, it goes a long way in piquing people's interests in dancing with you.

"The social ladder" isn't something I'm interested in climbing, but simply being in the same community for a decent length of time means that, eventually, you'll know enough people that some will just happen to be high-status types. In my case, I know and dance with a fair few teachers (just the other night, I showed up with three and danced with a fourth), so I'm sure that helps. However, it isn't calculated or cultivated . . . I'm not going to befriend people for status, high or low, nor reject them for it, also high or low.

Though I think visitors tend to be slightly more experienced/skilled than average, because having the self-confidence and desire to dance tango in a different city despite being unknown isn't the domain of an inexperienced dancer.

Possibly skilled, possible addicted. Lots of visitors are people who happen to be in town for whatever reason and always travel with dance shoes "just in case." They get the itch and they scratch it. Whatever my putative skill level, I can tell you that when I travel for work, I do this . . . I'd never sit around a hotel after my convention, meeting, or whatever if I knew there was a milonga within reach! I don't really care what my skill level would be relative to the average local, only that I'll be dancing rather than bored.

 

[pianistamediano]

The only way someone without a professional eye (like that of a coach or teacher) can judge anything about anybody's dance from the outside is to look at how they dance with several partners – the more, the better.

By keeps happening, I mean with multiple partners.

 

[Rabbit]

The only way someone without a professional eye (like that of a coach or teacher) can judge anything about anybody's dance from the outside is to look at how they dance with several partners – the more, the better. A sample size of 1 partner tells you absolutely nothing. A sample size of 2-3 partners in a row often tells you only that a certain gang of dancers who dance a certain way have latched onto this person. A sample size of 5-10 partners at different points throughout the evening is usually enough.

I have a party trick of being able to identify good dancers in a few seconds of observation without having ever seen them before. You can see it in posture, how they move/stand, involuntary reactions to music, etc

Doesn't say much about tango specifically, but if the setting is a milonga it's a pretty safe bet

 

[Bailango]

Ultimately, tango adapts to people, not the other way around. I think you can already see that the invitations are becoming more flexible, the dance posture more open, and couple communication more cautious. M

I don’t see them so it is locale dependent. And may not get exported.

 

[TTanguero]

I've been known to show up with a shirt, a couple of identical ones that let me keep a recognizable "look" for the evening

Easy for me – I have 12 identical white linen shirts ... I usually bring one spare to change halfway through a milonga, but take a couple of spares on a hot summer's evening.

 

[TTanguero]

(Duplicate)

 

[Bailango]

We also have a constant stream of people who are coming into tango from the sidelines,

As well as leaving. Therefore constant circulation. Globalization and urbanization has meant not only increased mobility but also people less anchored in life. Till 40-50 years back your life revolved around same set of people. Very few outsiders coming in. Now in urban centers it is very different. The smaller towns and rural areas in the USA are said to be hollowing out. Younger generation moves to urban centers for better opportunities. Improved social and professional mobility means people aren’t moored to any one urban center either.

 

[Bailango]

I don't think it's about being particularly good, or really skilled, it's about looking to invite, or be invited. That's not about cabeceo, although that is an element. If you're talking, grazing your phone, eating, or similar, you're not really available to dance.

I was not talking about people who make themselves unavailable whether by design or unknowingly. Those who do so unknowingly and then complain, I have no sympathy for.

My comments were strictly about those not getting to dance despite making themselves visible. To clarify it is not consistent. But enough that at one milonga they are invisible and at the other not. With the same set of people. So it is now that the patrons of the milonga has changed drastically.

 

[Bailango]

Appearance. Being aware of your own external image. Self-confidence. Social skills. Looking like you actually want to dance.

Certainly. But despite that. What social skills? Not everyone is or wants to be an extrovert. As it is we have discussed how afraid people are to smile back at milongas

 

[ArbeeNYC]

You surely don’t expect people to have zero expectations of getting any dance when they go to milongas? Because that does happen. Frequently. That’s the ugly underbelly of tango. We need to acknowledge it.

No, I don't. Just speaking personally. I think it's preferable to go with an open mind. That is I to dance when I want to dance (when I love the music) and find someone to share it with. That may or may not occur however. It doesn't mean I'm going to go home feeling miserable. I'll try to socialize, listen to the music, enjoy the crowd. However, if you go to a milonga assuming that you should dance as much as you want with the partners you want, you may be letting yourself in for a letdown. I feel it's best to go and just see what happens.

 

[opendoor]

Yesterday, as I was packing up my rig in the morning, I heard dancers discussing whether I had DJ'd traditionally or not.
I replaced one tanda with non or neotango in each TTVTTM round. That means 13% was not traditional stuff.

 

[itwillhappen]

Yesterday, as I was packing up my rig in the morning, I heard dancers discussing whether I had DJ'd traditionally or not.
I replaced one tanda with non or neotango in each TTVTTM round. That means 13% was not traditional stuff.

If you have been in bed with a lady five times and once with a goat in the backyard - what will the respectable citizens call you?

 

[David_In_CA]

I usually have to fly to get to any event worth dancing at, so I'm limited to my carry-on and backpack! Perhaps if I could carry more without being inconvenienced...

The last 3-day weekend event I went to I brought:
6 shirts
4 pairs of pants
1 pair dance shoes
And all the other normal stuff

in a carry-on + backpack, without having to resort to any clever packing hacks. Easy in the summer, but harder in the cooler periods where I'd want bulkier items for the non-dancing times.

 

[David_In_CA]

I've been known to show up with a shirt, a couple of identical ones that let me keep a recognizable "look" for the evening (so someone who liked how I danced tanda #1 can identify me at the start of tanda #14 or whatever),

This is so clever!