Here you will find music instructions for the specific flavour of open dancing

• See Playlists for inspiration.
• Optional: Provide a printed list of songs and the corresponding dances - it is always greatly appreciated by the dancers 
• If your playlist is public, please consider sending it to events@tanzquotient.org so we can include it in our collection.

(Ballroom) Open Dancing

The Standard and Latin blocks are in the same order as in a competition. Everything else is mixed around these two blocks.
You can start with any block.

• Standard Block
  • English Waltz
  • English Tango
  • Viennese Waltz
  • Slow Fox (most blocks)
  • Quickstep
• Popular Dances Block
  • Disco Fox
  • Lindy Hop / Charleston (occasionally)
  • Westcoast Swing (maybe once)
• Latin Block
  • Samba
  • Cha Cha Cha
  • Rumba
  • Paso Doble (every other block)

  • Jive

• Salsa & Bachata Block
  • Salsa
  • Bachata
• Choreos (maybe one)
  • Sex Bomb / Timber / Wellerman / Letkiss

• Special Dances Block (at most one dance per block)

  • Polka (maybe once)

  • Tango Argentino (once or twice)

  • Kizomba / Zouk (maybe once)

See the Playlists page for song suggestions.

Beginner Ballroom Open Dancing

Please stick to the following order of dances for the Beginners Open Dancing:

• English Waltz
• Pick one per round: Tango / Viennese Waltz / Quickstep
• Discofox
• Cha Cha
• Rumba every other round
• Jive

Latino Open Dancing

1. Order of Dances
   1. The playlist should contain 50% salsa, 40% bachata and 10% free choice.
   2. Make sure to use songs with different speeds (slow, medium, fast). 
   3. Feel free to adjust the playlist to the audience.
2. See Playlists for inspiration.

Beginner Latino Open Dancing

Swing Open Dancing

Swing music covers several related dance styles, but the most commonly danced style at Tanzquotient is Lindy Hop.

Lindy Hop — danced to swing jazz with a clear pulse, playful rhythm, medium tempos. The majority of songs played should be suitable for Lindy Hop.

Charleston — closely related and often mixed into Lindy Hop. At TQ Charleston is taught from Lindy 3 onwards so many people will be familiar with it; for Charleston the music is faster and more energetic.

Balboa / Shag-friendly Swing — fast and tight rhythmically; and not so beginner-friendly and there might be only few people familiar with these dances but feel free to play some songs.

Blues / Slow Swing — slower and more relaxed; useful for variety

You can check out this playlist for inspiration but feel free to play your own swing music as we always enjoy discovering new songs!

Tango Argentino Practica

Argentine tango music falls into three main rhythmic styles:

• Tango — the foundation of the dance; characteristic 2/4 or 4/8 rhythm, ranging from lyrical and melancholic to sharp and dramatic. This is what dancers practice most.
• Vals — tango in 3/4 waltz time; flowing and romantic, more advanced in feel and phrasing.
• Milonga — a faster, more rhythmic style with roots in Afro-Argentine music; requires confident technique and sharp timing.

At a practica, focus almost entirely on tango. Milonga and vals are more advanced and can disorient beginner and intermediate dancers — keep them minimal or omit entirely.

Structure: Tandas and Cortinas

At milongas, music is traditionally organised into tandas — sets of 3–4 songs in the same style and by the same orchestra — separated by a cortina (literally "curtain"): a brief musical interlude (15–30 seconds, often non-tango) signalling that partners change. This structure is part of tango's social tradition and helps dancers navigate the floor and invitation system (the cabeceo).

At a practica, strict tanda/cortina structure is not required, but awareness of it is valuable — you can use light cortinas to give dancers natural breaks.

Key Orchestras

Some essential names for your playlist:

Recommended Playlists for Practica

For a practica, a curated Spotify playlists work well. A good starting point:

🎵 Tango – The Argentine Tango School Practice Playlist (search on Spotify)

Focus on golden age orchestras like Di Sarli and D'Arienzo for accessible, rhythmically clear music that helps dancers practice footwork and connection. Avoid very slow dramatic Pugliese sets in the early part of an evening.