A Tango DJ Is a Batting-Practice Pitcher

Yesterday, I worked as a tango DJ for the first time in quite a while.

I used to DJ almost every week.

These days, however, I do it only a few times a year.

Choosing the music itself is enjoyable.

Still, working as a tango DJ requires a considerable amount of time.

You have to arrive before the milonga begins and remain there until it ends.

When you include the preparation involved in selecting the music, it is quite a demanding job.

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I did not become a tango DJ because I had always wanted to be one.

I once arranged DJs for a particular tango studio.

Eventually, however, we ran out of people who were available.

It seemed easier to do it myself than to continue searching for someone else.

In baseball terms, I sent myself in as the pinch hitter.

I began more out of necessity than desire.

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Once I decide to do something, though, I do it thoroughly.

That is simply my nature.

I searched for every book, article, and website I could find about tango DJing.

The characteristics of each orchestra.

The combinations of orchestras and singers.

How to structure a tanda.

The order in which songs should be played.

How to read the atmosphere on the dance floor and when to change its direction.

I read everything I could get my hands on.

Today, I could probably learn much more efficiently by consulting generative AI.

But this was more than ten years ago.

I had to find the information myself, compare different recordings, and learn little by little.

Eventually, people began inviting me to DJ at various events.

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Even so, dancing is still what I truly love.

I enjoy dancing much more than DJing.

If someone asked me what a tango DJ is, I would say that a DJ is like a batting-practice pitcher.

The pitcher delivers an easy ball that allows the batter to swing comfortably.

In the same way, the DJ plays music that encourages people to step onto the floor and dance with confidence.

The dancers are the ones who hit the home runs.

The DJ does not need to stand out.

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Yet people who actively choose to become DJs sometimes want to express their personal tastes and individuality.

They uncover unfamiliar songs.

They introduce rare orchestras and recordings.

There is nothing inherently wrong with that.

But from a dancer’s perspective, there are times when you find yourself wondering:

“How am I supposed to dance to this?”

When unfamiliar songs continue one after another, the desire to understand the music can become stronger than the desire to dance.

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That is why, whenever I DJ, I sometimes play familiar music as though I were releasing all the frustration that has built up inside me.

The moment the introduction begins, everyone recognizes the song.

Their bodies naturally begin to move.

They already know what comes next.

They can face their partners with confidence.

I play one danceable, familiar song after another.

Then I watch everyone enjoying themselves on the floor.

Nothing makes me happier than seeing that.

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When I frequently attended milongas in Buenos Aires, I rarely thought about the selection of music.

That was because the DJs always played songs I knew.

The same orchestras.

The same singers.

Songs I had danced to many times before.

I assumed that was simply how tango worked.

It was only after dancing in Europe, the United States, Asia, and other parts of the world that I realized how fortunate that environment had been.

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Milongas in Buenos Aires have strong preferences and unwritten rules.

With a particular orchestra, only a certain singer will do.

Certain kinds of music are played at particular times of the evening.

The repertoire regarded as suitable for dancing is, to some extent, already established.

I do not believe that this is the only correct approach.

But it certainly makes things easier for the dancers.

They can more or less anticipate what kind of music will come next.

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In other countries, DJs sometimes seek out and play unusual songs or little-known orchestras.

When I attended a tango marathon in Taipei, the DJ even played a song in Chinese.

I was honestly surprised that such a selection was possible.

The way tango is understood changes from place to place.

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An Argentine tango dancer once told me something said by a well-known DJ in Buenos Aires:

“A good tango DJ does not speak loudly. He whispers.”

I understand exactly what that means.

A DJ should not loudly assert their presence.

Instead, they quietly converse with the people on the dance floor.

What does the floor need at this moment?

Which song will naturally encourage people to stand up and dance next?

The DJ responds through music rather than words.

That, I believe, is the role of a tango DJ working quietly behind the scenes.

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If you consider the payment alone, DJing is certainly not a particularly rewarding job.

You listen to an enormous number of songs.

You assemble tandas.

You choose cortinas, the short pieces played between tandas.

You watch the dance floor from the beginning of the event until the end.

It really belongs to the world of passionate hobbies.

Without a genuine love for it, it would be difficult to continue.

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Doing it occasionally is certainly enjoyable.

But if I had to return to DJing every week as I once did, it would begin to feel burdensome.

I would still rather be dancing than playing the music.

Even so, as I watched everyone happily dancing to the music I had chosen yesterday, I thought that working as a DJ again was not so bad.

I throw them an easy ball to hit.

Everyone dances with pleasure.

That is enough.