The Most Common DJing Mistakes at International Events

DJing at an international tango event is a demanding responsibility. If you’re not careful, you might end up with an empty dance floor and a disappointed organizer. That’s why I decided to write about the five most common mistakes DJs make at international tango events.

I first published this article on my tango blog Pocas Palabras, and then it went viral – DJs and organizers shared it widely on social media, the Slovakian editors of the tango magazine Gancho asked me to include it in one of their issues, and many people still mention the ideas from it. I’m publishing it here again with some minor changes.

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Imagine more than a hundred top dancers from all over the world at an elite tango event, traveling perhaps 10 hours and spending over 500 euros for a weekend, only to dance 3 or 4 tandas in the whole night – and then leave the milonga long before the last tanda.

Strange? Trust me, this happens more often than you can think… and all just because of the music.

Being a DJ at an international event is quite different than DJing your local milonga – and trust me, the most valuable lessons are not learned at home. Sometimes simply traveling to international tango events as a dancer teaches you more than DJing your local milonga.

Over these years, traveling across Europe almost every month, I’ve seen good DJs and been disappointed bad ones; I’ve been pleasantly surprised by some sets and pushed to leave the milonga early by others – even from DJs considered good musicalizadores. I’ve also learned a lot from my own mistakes.

In this five points I will try to summarize the lessons I’ve learned, hoping that this post will save some milongas from ending long before “La cumparsita”. It should help organizers recognize good DJs and encourage DJs to reflect on their approach.

So, here’s what you need to watch out as a DJ at an international tango event:

1. Competing with other DJs at the event

… and in the process, forgetting the audience. DJing is not a competition. You don’t have to be different, try to be better, play tracks others don’t have, or be “original” for the sake of it. If you focus on comparing yourself to other DJs, you completely forget that you’re there for the dancers – not your fellow DJs. A musicalizador shouldn’t hesitate to play a track just because someone else already did – if it fits your concept, it belongs on the playlist. Focus on what matters – don’t miss the point.

2. Saving the best tandas for “the right moment”

The right moment is usually when the tanda first came to your mind – waiting longer is often too late. A good DJ should learn to trust their gut. I learned this the hard way: I saved the perfect tandas for “the right moment”, and later that moment was right for other tandas. This DJing tactic usually lowers the overall quality of your set.

3. Experimenting

International events are meant to concentrate the highest quality of dance – which means skilled dancers and great music. People come to these events to dance; you don’t need to surprise them with unusual tracks. Of course, it’s nice to refresh the mood with a forgotten or “new” track – but that refreshment should previously be well tested. This is why international DJs need local experience, where they can try out their tandas. Please don’t take risk at the international events by testing new ideas – people have traveled thousand of kilometers and spent a significant money to dance, not to be your test audience.

4. Slowing down

I’ve heard this many times, and in my experience, it’s a myth: when people are tired, you shouldn’t lower the energy of your set. In fact, I believe, the opposite is the true – when dancers are tired, the DJ should give them extra energy through the music. Tired dancers can still dance slowly, even to energetic tracks, but nothing kills the mood of a milonga faster than slow, passionless music. In my opinion, this is the number one mood killer at international events.

5. Disconnecting

My personal guiding principle is that “DJing for tango is like dancing with all dancers on the floor at the same time and making cabeceo with everyone sitting around.” This means you need to connect with the people around and never forget that you’re there for them. Seeing a DJ’s face glowing from the bright screen of their laptop is never a good sign – the screen brightness should be just enough to see what’s on it, not so high that it interferes with observing what’s happening around you.

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Of course, this article is not a rulebook. Everyone has their own experiences and opinions, which might be different than mine. If that’s the case, I’d be glad to discuss them in the comments sections bellow or via email.