Tango Music-Contributed by a Ghost Writter

What would dance be without music? First comes a beat, a rhythm that compels us to move.

Argentine tango music is unique. It uses distinctive instruments and syncopation that identifies it. Tango dancing is wedded to the special music. You can put the steps to anything, like we do with alternative music, but to capture the joy of Argentine tango dancing, it helps to be familiar with how tango music is organized and presented at milongas all over the world. You can walk into a milonga in Tokyo or Copenhagen, Paris or Buenos Aires and hear pretty much the same recordings, the same groupings that we hear in the best programs in San Diego or Southeast Michigan.

Tango music is centered in the Golden Classics that go back historically to the early orchestras of the 1920's onward. Nuevo music, sometimes included, as a short change of pace, is still identifiably tango, but works with a different arrangement, a stronger beat, or electronic instruments, but the music is identifiably Argentine tango. Alternative music is using pop, swing, blues, rock and latin music and while it is interesting and challenging, for a change of pace, it is outside the genre. You can put tango steps into anything but it won't be Argentine tango but a modern dance form. I am confining my discussion here to the classic universal form.

The music programmer, or dj) arranges music in tandas or sets of three or four pieces by the same orchestra, the same tempo, either a tango, vals or milonga. In between these tandas, a cortina is played to signal the set is over and to regroup, say “thank you” to your partner and walk back to the sidelines. Cortinas are usually non-danceable music so one is not confused if the set is over or not. Cortinas are anywhere from 15 seconds to a minute long.

Tandas and cortinas came into being to keep partners circulating. They also make it easier for leads to determine what they will dance to by hearing an orchestra or familiar music in choosing a partner. They bring clarity to the flow of the evening's experience.

Contributed by a Ghost Writter