[Tango-L] Can somebody shed some light on the subject

[Michael]

I came back from the Atlanta Tango Festival today. I enjoyed it. However, I have some questions about cabeceo. 

I asked a few people about illumination at milongas in BA. I was told that the lights are completely on. At the milongas I've attended (Washington, DC ,New York, and I'm pretty sure, Miami) the amount of illumination has ranged from twilight to power outage. I don't see how you can use cabeceo with minimal light. A friend of mine at the festival said "Just forget it. Just go and ask." Next milonga, I'm bringing a flare gun and a flashlight.

Now, that brings up another issue. At Atlanta, I couldn't figure out which women wanted to dance when they sit together and talk to each other. I got the impression they didn't want to dance. I probably broke a rule and told a woman at a class I wanted to dance with her at the milonga but couldn't figure out if SHE wanted to dance because she was sitting with other women. She said she told her students not to sit together if they wanted to be asked. That evening she was sitting with her students but I went right up to her with my Count Dracula mesmerizing, hypnotic look. It worked. We danced. 

I spoke with the festival promoters about cabeceo. One of them told me that an out-of-town instructor has suggested for years that they teach a class on cabeceo at the festival. I told them I was clueless in figuring out which women want to dance when they sit motionless at a table and don't sweep the room like a radar antenna looking for a partner. I was told that there will be a class at next year's festival. My name for it is "Do you want to dance?" Their name is "How to establish presence on and off the dance floor." I suggest other festivals consider adding a similar class to their schedule. I'm going to push it with the NY Tango Festival committee. Cabeceo works wonderfully on the Staten Island Ferry milonga. One year, I thought the Captain was going to accept a woman's invitation, but he doesn't dance. 


Michael Ditkoff
Washington, DC
Figuratively and literally IN THE DARK
I'd rather be dancing Argentine Tango