[Tango-L] Gender imbalance, tips for female followers

[Nussbaum, Martin]

Tip one: come to NYC. Unlike other cities I travel to,  here most
milongas have more male leaders than female followers.  There are also
more female leaders than there are male followers, which makes the
gender imbalance even worse, as it takes two "eligible" women out of
circulation.  Through Darwinian laws of survival, more men work  harder
to improve their tango, so the number of very good male leaders
outnumbers the number of very good female followers.  
Tip two: Arrive late, stay late. For example, at the all night milonga,
even if there is close to gender balance early in the evening, or rarer
still,  more women than men, this is very temporary; after a few hours
it skews heavily male, and closer to the end of the night almost two to
one male/female ratio.  Seems at around 1 or so, women leave early en
masse, as if on cue. The men who are dancing are aware of this, latch on
to their partner, and rotation of partners ceases.  Also, better dancers
tend to come later and stay later. Dont ask me why.  Maybe the people
who come early are there for the free beginner or intermediate lesson
early in the night and have had enough after a few hours.  So if you are
a woman visiting NYC, take a nap in the afternoon, have a leisurely
dinner, see a show, come to the milonga after midnight, you will not be
sitting out any tandas.  Also, the floor craft improves as the night
goes on and the crowd thins out.  And if you are willing to dance with a
non-professional, you will have very little competition, as the better
local women will only dance with their best friends or one of the many
male teachers or professionals in attendance. 
I disagree with Igor, who says that becoming a better dancer gives you
more dance partners. It is just the opposite.  There are less partners
that you will be interested in dancing with.