the Tanda

The tanda is a grouping of four tango songs played together that we dance to (or three milonga or three waltz) at the milonga, with clearly non-tango music before/after as a break to indicate the end of one tanda and the start of the next. Here are some basic things you should understand about the tanda to "use" it to your full enjoyment.

1. You should listen to the music before you ask someone to dance. Asking someone to dance before the music starts indicates a total beginner and usually merits and automatic decline.
2. The first song you hear sets the tone for the tanda. The three following songs will be of the same orchestra, with music from the same era, with the same singer. There should be no surprises in the tanda. Dancers can be confident that when they decide to dance to the music they like, it will not change suddenly during the tanda. Imagine I am good at salsa, and you hear salsa music playing, so you ask me to dance, but then midway through our dance, it switches to swing music and we can't dance swing at all. Not cool. So you can expect the same energy and same sound through the four songs.
3. It only takes one note of the song to recognize what song and or orchestra is playing. You will probably have favorite dancers for different kinds of music, because people move differently, and there will be someone who moves to this orchestra the way you like and you will want to ask them for that tanda with you, so you should know where all your favorite dancers are all night long!  Pay attention to where people are sitting and position yourself in a strategic place to catch their eye when the music starts.
4. It has been said that a tanda is a 12 minute love affair, or that a whole life happens in four songs - the courting, the wedding, fights, kids, divorce, death, all of it! If tango is a language, then we could also say that the tanda is a conversation. We would not approach someone and say to them "Last night I slept in the car. My wife and I are just staying together for the kids. I'm not really sure how long I can take this." Not even someone we know.  This is not a good opener. We need to establish something between us before we can get into the deep and complicated stuff. In tango too, we don't jump in, dance, and get out. There is a lot of two-way communication to create and enjoy something together. So with this in mind, approach the tanda in stages.
5. No matter if you have danced with someone before, even if you always dance with them, the first song of the tanda, we establish our coupleness. We connect, we walk a few steps, we gauge many things about this person and this music, and we start simple. We want to create comfort and confidence. By the second song, we have established the willingness and abilities of our partner to do certain steps and moves, so by the third song, we are doing this stuff pretty well and should be enjoying the common ground we have found. The fourth song can be for playing (and for dancing like a hurricane!) but again only if one's partner is receptive to it. Remember that these differences are very subtle. To viewers, the last song of a tanda might look slightly more fluid than the first, but to the couple, this progression feels like the experience of a lifetime in twelve minutes! 

Below are two tandas. Listen for the similarities within each tanda and the difference across tandas. Because of these characteristics of the music, you would not ask someone to dance before you knew what music was playing. The other side of that coin is that even though another dancer likes to dance with you, they may not want to dance with you to THIS tanda. So ALWAYS remember to use the cabeceo and respect everyones right to propose, accept, and decline whatever dances they want to!