943  Tango attire

Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2003 13:40:12 -0800
From: luda_r1 <luda_r1@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Tango attire

Thank you, Barbara, for your comments on this subject.
I just can't seem to find your e-mail at the moment to
quote you verbatim. You and Al are two of my favorite
people in the whole world. You two are a sight to
behold on the dance floor! Glorious!

I agree with what you say, especially about Argentine
women being comfortable with their own bodies (we
could certainly learn from that), but just because
tango started in the brothels of BsAs doesn't mean
modern women (especially independent American women)
have to look like that today. Bad taste is bad taste,
in any era. So, tango black may be "touristy" in BsAs.
So what? It's better than looking like a tramp. If a
woman is so desperate to get a dance that she feels
she must look like a tart, she has to look into some
other aspects of the scene. And her life. Or is this
what the men are really looking for? The bigger the
cleavage, the better, and the dancing ability can go
hang?

This is supposed to be an ELEGANT dance, right? I keep
hearing this over and over again from my teachers. The
elegant posture. The elegant presence. And I really
believe it. I think it is. That's one of the reasons I
like it so much. So how does someone who looks like a
prostitute manage to be elegant in all this?

Of course, I'm very naive, as you all know. I just
learned very recently that there's a lot of murky
stuff going on in the tango world that sounds pretty
scary. I hope it's not true, but I don't know.

Luda

Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 09:54:18 EST
From: Charles Roques <Crrtango@AOL.COM>
Subject: Tango attire or none at all?

Greetings,

A few random thoughts:

<<<my male friend R. spotted an attractive woman decked out in full man trap
slutty couture. Inspired, R moved across the floor to invite her to dance.
Two songs later he was back next to me looking quite disenchanted. "Back so
soon?" I commented. "Yes," he said "False advertising".>>>

Why didn't he just watch her dance for a while and decide that? Since when
was "full man-trap slutty" attire an indication of dancing ability? Perhaps
that was his fault and not hers for wanting to look appealing. Some women go
overboard to compensate, as do some men but why is this negative? If you want
to find out how somebody dances, just wait and watch them, not their clothes.

Although clothes do not make the dancer, there are a few positive sartorial
elements about choice of clothes that do help dancing. They are subtle and
visual but something to think about. None of this will make you a good dancer
but when you get to a certain level these subtleties help:

-Shoes - I have personally never seen anyone dance very well with regular
sneakers or wide-soled shoes or shoes with larger thick soles, etc and the
reason is purely technical. Dancing shoes are cut to conform narrowly to your
feet with only a minimum of materials which narrows their profile and allows
for tight close maneuvers. Sneakers tend to bounce a lot and cause larger
steps because they take up more room.

-On men (or women) loose and/or pleated slacks can give one a better profile
on the floor than blue jeans because they hang straight and tend to improve
on little physical quirks unlike jeans which gradually conform to your body
and accentuate them.

-Although many women may overdo the sensual look, there is a positive element
to consider in that it may help develop one's confidence about their
physicality which is good in tango. I have seen a number of mousy, shy women
and men gradually transform into more confident dancers because they started
feeling better about their body and overall appearance. They learn soon that
most "good-looking people" are half makeup anyway.

-Another more important issue is hygiene which is not necessarily part and
parcel of casual dress but it can be problematic if one gets a little too
casual, like for example, perspiration. Some people go to a milonga as if it
were going to the sandbox to play. One of the good things about t-shirts
under other shirts for guys is they help soak up the perspiration without it
coming through to the outside (unless of course that's all you have on). Your
outer shirt stays dry and relatively odor free. Also if you're wearing a
white shirt it will appear whiter. Someone who I observe who usually wears
t-shirts decided to wear a suit one night but put on his dress shirt without
a t-shirt under his coat (go figure). I think he lasted three or four dances
before becoming totally soaked so he then removed his coat and was dancing
the rest of the night completely wet and clammy. I overheard a number of
women comment about not wanting dancing with him and it was totally avoidable
by just putting on a t-shirt underneath. White cotton t-shirts keep you
cooler and dryer and more pleasant to dance with. There is a misconception
that they will be hotter which isn't true.

As to dancing naked, or almost, would anyone really dance with some of their
normal partners if they were unclothed? Some of course but would they dance
with you? Would you still want to dance with that cool old milonguero when
you saw how big his stomach really was and how much hair was on his shoulders
or back? Or her breasts weren't as firm as you thought and her butt has
somehow changed shape? Dancing is about being close without the need to be
naked. A naked milonga would probably just degenerate into an orgy for the
few that decided to stay.

<<<Do you want to be known as a great dresser who dances badly or as a great
dancer who dresses badly?>>>

Neither. How about a good dancer who takes some personal pride in their
appearance?

Cheers,
Charles Roques