Scenario 25
A fairly experienced male dancer invites quite an inexperienced lady to dance at a milonga. On the dance-floor he should:
- while dancing, lead her through the full range of tango figures he knows, thus giving her a sample of things to come in her tango life.
- start with walking and very simple figures, always remaining within a range which is comfortable and enjoyable for her.
- explain to her how to execute the movements he is leading as they dance, so she understands what to do.
Scenario 26
It's fairly indisputable that a DJ's role at the milonga is to provide music so that people can dance tango. A milonga convention is that the music is usually presented in brackets of 3 - 5 pieces of tango, vals or milonga (tandas) separated by a short segment of non-tango music (cortina). Should the DJ:
- present a range of non-tango, but danceable music to cater for the diverse tastes of the people attending the milonga?
- present pieces from his/her extensive library of music which aren't very popular or the most danceable, but are interesting and different?
- play only music which really summons dancers to the floor and is accessible for most levels of tango experience?
- play a somewhat educative role in his/her tango community by gradually exposing dancers to the common body of great tango music played internationally at milongas?
- at a milonga accept without notice, requests to play certain music without a chance to pre-listen?
Scenario #25: 2. Of course!
ReplyDeleteScenario #26: Depending on the milonga and the crowd, 2, 3 & 4 are possible and may be desirable. 1 is also possible in some scenes (though I personally prefer not to dance to non-traditional music, there is no law against it). 5 is a definite no no.