[Tango-L] Social-ethical behaviours and protocol

[Myk Dowling]

On 16/08/10 05:13, Sergio Vandekier wrote:
> If a lady comes with company of the  opposite sex, or sits with such a person, or even shows an interest in him; such as talking to him more that the usual time...then the other men will not ask her to dance.  Frequently this extends to the following weeks, even when she comes alone and sits by herself.  She is perceived as having and interest or a romantic relationship with another man (even when he did not come-he might come later, who knows?).
>    
> Summary:  Ruben is from Uruguay (I believe) and he knows the milonga codes, it is fair to say that most people go to the milonga to dance.
>
> If some romance develops, even better. But the main purpose of going there is to dance, just for the pleasure of dancing.
> It is not the favorite place to pick up women.  There are many other places and occasions.
>    

There's a serious logical disconnect between these two points. If people 
go to tango just for dancing, with no "picking up" involved, then there 
would be no reason not to dance with a lady who is romantically 
involved. Clearly, tango is considered to be flirting at the very least 
by those who believe that romantically attached people should not dance 
with others.

I think that in America and Australia, dancing _is_ seen as just dancing 
(by most people, anyway), and there is no issue dancing with someone's 
lover. Maybe the Argentineans need to make up their minds one way or the 
other.

Myk,
in Canberra