[Tango-L] Fw: Gender Imbalance in Tango

[Astrid]

Steve wrote:
 I find myseslf wondering, however, whether the cultural determination of
> ratio of women to men dancing tango in Tokyo is so strong that if the
> number of single men in Tokyo were to double while the number of single
> women was held constant, would tango venues in Tokyo still see the current
> ratio of approximately 3 women to 1 man.  Might the ratio not change
> toward 3:2?
> Given that are sufficient similarities in overall culture between Denver
> and Chicago, I think that any differences in the gender balance between
> single men and women in the two cities could affect the gender balances of
> tango in the two cities.  Chicago has more single women than men.  Denver
> has more single men than women.
>
I think, the tango gender imbalance has very little to do with the rate of 
single men or women in Tokyo. People here do not go to tango to get their 
hands on a partner. They go because they want to dance, maybe have a glass 
of wine or two and then they go home to their wife or husband. Or they go to 
show off their fancy dresses, look good while dancing, get some 
exercise...One of the main attractions is the student's show. There is quite 
a number of people, esp. women that harly even go to milongas, they mainly 
spend their time attending classes and private lessons, in order to be able 
to show off at the students' show, mostly by dancing with the teacher they 
took the privadas from. I would say, the main attraction for many of the 
women here are not the (single or whatever) Japanese men but rather, the 
chance to dance with one or several of the Argentine teachers, teaching 
assistents and milonga hosts.
The singles who are mainly after finding a partner do not go to tango, they 
dance Salsa.