Best Milongas in the world for followers

[opendoor]

..many women quit for these reasons..

But it is also always a great Hey! and Hello there! celebration when they come back home after 6 years.

 

[Tangogal]

Oh I forgot that another reason for quitting tango is the constant exhaustion! Everything seems to start late on a weeknight e.g. practilonga begins at 10pm on a Monday or Tuesday and you don’t get home before midnight and then you have to wind-down for bed. And the next morning you have to get up for work. After a couple of years it really catches up on you!

 

[itwillhappen]

Dipping in and out of swing dance is accepted and not penalised in terms of social dancing but dipping in and out of tango is frowned upon. As a follower I was considered not dedicated enough, not supportive enough and questioned as to my absence on the few occasions when I felt well enough to attend milongas.

That sounds tough. But what could be the reasons that it was different in the swing community?
And what does "penalized" mean in this context?

My companion at the first festival five years ago comes to mind, we danced half the night (although from today's perspective we were hardly able to do so ). Today she prefers to dance salsa and I might meet her maybe once a year at a milonga. I wouldn't think about penalization at all, but life went on, dancing with her is pretty average now.

Perhaps the personal experience also depends on the gender ratio? When my long-term relationship broke up, all tango-relevant positions (local, carpooling, events, workshops, travel) were quickly filled.

 

[ArbeeNYC]

Oh I forgot that another reason for quitting tango is the constant exhaustion! Everything seems to start late on a weeknight e.g. practilonga begins at 10pm on a Monday or Tuesday and you don’t get home before midnight and then you have to wind-down for bed. And the next morning you have to get up for work. After a couple of years it really catches up on you!

Midnight is early! But yes, it can be tiring. The best solution is a flexible schedule or unemployment. Much easier that way. Of course, that comes with its own set of problems.

 

[itwillhappen]

A BMitW for followers is not necessarily the same for leaders. I think I was at one of these at the last weekend - gender balanced, only inviting via mirado/cabeceo, without exception ever leader there danced at least well. Admittedly the mother tongue there wasn't mine.
After sitting there for an hour at the afternoon milonga without dancing, I went home, slept, meditated, showered, changed my outfit ... came back to the evening milonga and then danced for an hour without a break. This is undoubtedly a good way to correct one's inflated ego - but more than twice a year this is too exhausting for me. Next week I'm planning to attend to a nice festival in my area again where I know a lot of potential nice dance partners ...

 

[Rabbit]

A BMitW for followers is not necessarily the same for leaders.

Well, under the assumption that most people want lots of desirable partners of the other role and not too excessive competition from their own role - it would be surprising if it was the same!

 

[itwillhappen]

Well, under the assumption that most people want lots of desirable partners of the other role and not too excessive competition from their own role - it would be surprising if it was the same!

When my accompanying dance partner had to cancel at short notice, it was my risk. I'm not complaining, otherwise it could have been a win-win situation. And the next similar event is next month, where I will hopefully be with my mate, where I know more people, where I speak the language.

 

[itwillhappen]

Interesting question, are established dancer men or women more gung ho for Tango, or dance in general?

In my little area, there tend to be fewer men, but they tend to stick with Tango longer. There are more women, but women have more turnover. For example, it is fairly common to see a lady do Tango until she gets a boyfriend, and then she quits. If a man gets a girlfriend, he tends to keep Tangoing. This might be because a typical male won't do social dancing (so the girlfriend quits), but females love dancing (so the boyfriend keeps dancing).

It might be a case that the reasons women quit were still true during COVID, so they dropped off, but there was no influx of new ladies.

I have some supporting observations I'll put in an upcoming post.

The gender ratio is still surprisingly balanced here at the milongas. In the meantime I would agree with your explanation.

At least one year of regular class substructure is missing, from which, in my opinion, the follower could earlier expect a positive dance experience, they are less often on the milongas at the moment.

In the workshops, too, the improvers (in the imagined stages beginner/intermediate/advanced) from the regular classes are generally missing.