Height difference; avoid, open embrace, or some other strategy?

So I guess I feel kinda silly and embarrassed now. I never really knew there was a big difference between tangos. Someone told me once AT was more social than ballroom so I guess I assumed that is the style more people adopted. But yes I do believe I do ballroom tango not true AT.
 
Personally prefer to dance with women my own height or maybe a tad shorter, but not too petite. That balances things out and makes for a more comfortable dance. Unfortunately, I'm not very tall, about 5'9" and there seem to be a lot of tall followers (and add heels into the equation). I've tried dancing with taller women but it's just not that great for either partner. Slightly taller is OK, but beyond that, not so much. At some point it's about the mechanics of two bodies in motion. It also looks better aesthetically when the couple is matched.
 
I am a tall follower, and with heels even taller, taller than most leaders, so I got used to dancing with shorter leaders. When I dance with someone that is quite taller than me it feels more uncomfortable. Maybe it is because that happens rarely and I am not used to it. I even dance close embrace with some shorter leaders and it is much more comfortable for me than having my face burried in his chest and not seeing a thing. But, I guess it is not comfortable for them. :p They ask me though and I never turn down anyone because of height issues. It is even hard to find a lead at my height. That is the best yes.
 
I am lucky to be of average height for a USA woman (5'5"). I'm taller than a few leaders (when I'm wearing heels) and shorter than others. My heels are mostly in the 2.5" - 3" range, so even in them I'm not VERY tall.

I haven't had anyone avoid me as a partner due to my height, although I did have a very tall (6'-6" +) visiting leader specifically ask me to dance because I was taller than most of the other available followers that night.

I have noticed that a few of my favorite taller leaders feel very different to me (and get thrown off by the change) if I wear flats. However, these leaders have to dance regularly with followers shorter than I (some of them are still shorter than 5'5" even in their heels!). So it was probably not so much an issue of the leaders not being able to dance well with a shorter follower, but that they aren't accustomed to ME being shorter. Plus me not being used to connecting to them so low.

But generally, leader height is never an issue for me. One of the few situations in which being "average" is an advantage!
 
LadyLeader said:
The leader reaction is maybe not a height issue but about the heels. The step flow can feel different when the follower is using high heels compared to flats.
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Yes! There are VERY few women that I've found who I feel as comfortable dancing with when they are wearing flats as when they are wearing heels. Just last night I declined one of my favorite ladies for that reason. Gabriel Missé and Analía Centurión spoke to this issue in a workshop, saying that it was best, even to practice in the same type of shoes that would be worn to the milonga to dance in. I think part of what may contribute to the problem is that many women in flats tend to dance on tiptoe.

The main difference I make when dancing with taller or shorter followers is step length. For me, the embrace is always dictated by the woman. My default & preferred style is often called "close embrace". Significantly taller women may choose a more open embrace. I'm about 5'8" and for some of the taller women in my community my head is at about the level of their breasts.
 
Some followers prefere flats but others change shoes when the pain is just too much.
In Europe especially in Germany many followers tape their feet and they told me that this is the only option to continue to dance. I have seen red, black, blue or modest white tape

2015 Bandage-1195.jpg 20150803_221208 RED tape on feet (2)b.jpg

I am sorry to push a side track so hard but I want this info to reach every single follower who can be helped by this.
 
newbie said:
Wearing foot tape is a strategy for when there is a large difference in heigth?
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I think the point was that women end up changing their shoes during the evening when their feet hurt and it affects their dancing to go from a high heel to a low heel or flat. At the very least, there is an adjustment period that may affect one or more tandas.
 
Zoopsia59 said:
I think the point was that women end up changing their shoes during the evening when their feet hurt and it affects their dancing to go from a high heel to a low heel or flat. At the very least, there is an adjustment period that may affect one or more tandas.
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some wear two pairs as padding is flattened due the long hours of dancing.
 
Being fairly new at this, about 1 year and a quarter, I'll take any dance I can get. If someone is sitting, I will cabaceo them. Not to brag, but in the last 15 months I have danced with hundreds of different ladies, and some men. I struggle mightily with shorter followers. I'm only 5'9 myself. For awhile I was using a visual of a dance with my daughter. (I only have sons). Lately I have been bending my legs during parts of the dance. That's a good workout. I've encountered some truly tall followers. One of my slightly taller followers seems to dance with me in a perpetual volcada which puts us cheek to cheek. As I am not the youngest gentleman, I find that to be a lot of weight falling down on me during an entire tanda. All in all I guess these are good problems to have.
 
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