The tango band decided to participate in the Battle of the Bands at Tango de los Muertos this year. On the web site, bands are advised of the following:
The point here is not to choose the band with the highest level of musicianship - although that is important - but to choose the band that is the best TO DANCE TO. What makes a band great to dance to? For starters they have to have a strong, driving beat with few tempo changes; they should play repertoire that is familar to dancers; the music must have a good walking tempo (120bpm or faster); and please note that dancers don't necessarily appreciate clever arrangements.
Oh, puh-leeease. With the exception of the "good walking tempo" comment, I disagree with every statement in there. As a dancer who listens to the music (relatively rare in most tango communities, I realize, but that's another topic...), I live for music that's interesting, varied, well-orchestrated, and soulful. So unfortunately those tips had the effect of making me and the rest of the band want to mess with dancers' heads--just a bit. We've been so looking forward to it that we sort of forgot it was a competition until someone mentioned it the other night. Oh yeah--winning? We're not even going to try to win. But we'll try not to torture the dancers too much.
I just finished an arrangement of La Cumparsita, which we'll rehearse this Wednesday in preparation for the Battle. Strong, driving beat with few tempo changes: check. Familiar repertoire: check. Good walking tempo: check. Oh, yeah, it's also written in 5/4. Let the fun begin!