Not sure what to do next

[Miradamiranda]

Not by much, if at all:

Leg length sex difference

Who has proportionally longer legs, men or women? Intuitively people assume that women's legs are proportionally longer but that is mostly a misconception. As seen in the graph attached to this article the crotch height (inseam) to body height ratio is almost identical between men and women...

misconceptions.fandom.com

It's very close to the same. It's just that long legs are emphasized by women's fashion, so people tend to assume that corresponds to proportionally longer legs.

Regina sells them via their online store. The place where I used to work did a lot of business with Regina. They're reliable. (No, I don't get a commission.)

Wow, interesting. I’ve always believed that because decades ago I had a pair of jeans hanging on a clothes line next to a guy’s jeans, he was several cm taller than me, he my jeans were quite a few more cm longer than his. The topic came up about how men’s torsos tend to be longer proportionally, and women;s legs tend to be longer. So I believed it. My own measurements are on the upper range of this chart, but not off the chart. Still, reaching down for those ganchos can be a challenge, especially when it’s my bad knee that has to bend much further (with my full weight on it) than it has to for all other tango moves.

Taking about sizes, thanks for the tip on Regina’s, but I’ve looked at many brands, none make them in my size, incl Regina’s.

 

[JournalInTime]

Wow, interesting. I’ve always believed that because decades ago I had a pair of jeans hanging on a clothes line next to a guy’s jeans, he was several cm taller than me, he my jeans were quite a few more cm longer than his. The topic came up about how men’s torsos tend to be longer proportionally, and women;s legs tend to be longer. So I believed it. My own measurements are on the upper range of this chart, but not off the chart. Still, reaching down for those ganchos can be a challenge, especially when it’s my bad knee that has to bend much further (with my full weight on it) than it has to for all other tango moves.

Biometrics fall on distributions, and activities select for optimal body types that sometimes fall way off in the tails of those distributions. I'm pretty sure that tango selects for proportionally longer legs and, particularly among leaders, proportionally broader (not the same as fatter), flatter (not the same as skinnier) torsos. I've also noticed more people on the tall side and the slim side in tango . . . the number of 180 cm-tall women I know in tango is not representative of the number in the general population!

Take a look at weightlifters or jujutsu disciples or marathon runners, and I suspect you'll see different trends.

So "women have proportionally longer legs than men" might well be true in tango.

Taking about sizes, thanks for the tip on Regina’s, but I’ve looked at many brands, none make them in my size, incl Regina’s.

If I come across another brand, I'll mention it on the forums when I do. Regina was my former go-to brand, but it's hard to find here; so, lately I've been buying D'Raso, who don't make booties.

 

[Miradamiranda]

proportionally longer legs than men" might well be true in tango.

Hmm, come to think of it, this one very tiny female lead I often dance with, does excellent ganchos that I CAN reach…

the number of 180 cm-tall women I know in tango is not representative of the number in the general population!

In my scene, it’s crazy how many women are taller than myself, even significantly taller, and I’m 178+cm (almost 5’11”) plus 5cm heels. It’s funny to run into guys I know from the dance floor on the street, both of us in street shoes, and suddenly the height differences are significantly different than when we dance. I’m suddenly much shorter and he is suddenly much taller than when he dances in shoes with soles barely thicker than socks.

But when I started tango in my other scene, at that time none of the local guys were anywhere close to my height. That’s how I got used to dancing with short guys. Otherwise I wouldn’t be dancing at all.

 

[TTanguero]

Taking about sizes, thanks for the tip on Regina’s, but I’ve looked at many brands, none make them in my size, incl Regina’s.

Talk to Einat at Balanceo. They offer a range of flats and low heels for women leaders, and offer custom sizes (I have wide feet, for example, so they make my shoes with the uppers one size larger than the soles).

 

[Bailango]

During my active tango period, I always had several pairs with different heel heights in my bag to adapt to followers. Today, I dance in flats and only with followers, which are 166 cm tall.

Ever since I started dancing I have favored flats. I don’t like heels and how they feel. Max heel on my shoes is half inch. I find I have more stability and balance when I am in flats or very low heel shoes.

I would never dance in Cuban heels.

 

[itwillhappen]

How perfect a description of how I got into tango!

She sells dreams, a blend of life wisdom and experiences of a highly talented and successful dancer.
She may be a really good teacher, but that's not exactly what helps a beginner to position herself appropriately.

 

[Miradamiranda]

Talk to Einat at Balanceo. They offer a range of flats and low heels for women leaders, and offer custom sizes (I have wide feet, for example, so they make my shoes with the uppers one size larger than the soles).

Thanks, I’m not looking for normal flats, but specifically those cool booties, but nobody makes them in my size. But they do look like nice shoes on their website. Customer made is my only option, and even then, most places don’t give options for all sizes.

 

[pianistamediano]

Thanks, I’m not looking for normal flats, but specifically those cool booties, but nobody makes them in my size. But they do look like nice shoes on their website. Customer made is my only option, and even then, most places don’t give options for all sizes.

I don't know any specific makers, but I'll ask some followers I know who wear those tango boots if I see them. Heard very good things about Turkish shoemakers (custom/ready-made) so that's one direction you can look into.

 

[Bailango]

Thanks, I’m not looking for normal flats, but specifically those cool booties, but nobody makes them in my size. But they do look like nice shoes on their website. Customer made is my only option, and even then, most places don’t give options for all sizes.

Search for “west coast swing dance boots”, you might come up with results that aren’t popping up in your search. Or search for USA region. By default search engines prioritize search results for the region it thinks you are in.

At 5’11” height, I think getting your size for the boots shouldn’t be that difficult.

SwayD is one of the popular brands for WCS followers. They have several different boot design and color choices

Urban Vibe | Women's Dance Boots | SwayD

The Urban Vibe is our latest design inspired by the very passionate dancers of our community. It boasts different styling options to express your individual

swaydshoes.com

I see these having size upto 44 and choice of medium/wide along with color. They have other boot styles too.


These are in UK, Italian made:

Harper | bootie suede black West Coast swing Line dance patent closed 3.4 cm

Harper bootie suede black West Coast swing Line dance patent black closed 3.4 cm

www.werner-kern.com

Expensive compared to what I see on USA websites. But sizes seem to be available.

 

[Bailango]

Search for “west coast swing dance boots”, you might come up with results that aren’t popping up in your search. Or search for USA region. By default search engines prioritize search results for the region it thinks you are in.

At 5’11” height, I think getting your size for the boots shouldn’t be that difficult.

SwayD is one of the popular brands for WCS followers. They have several different boot design and color choices

Urban Vibe | Women's Dance Boots | SwayD

The Urban Vibe is our latest design inspired by the very passionate dancers of our community. It boasts different styling options to express your individual

swaydshoes.com

I see these having size upto 44 and choice of medium/wide along with color. They have other boot styles too.


These are in UK, Italian made:

Harper | bootie suede black West Coast swing Line dance patent closed 3.4 cm

Harper bootie suede black West Coast swing Line dance patent black closed 3.4 cm

www.werner-kern.com

Expensive compared to what I see on USA websites. But sizes seem to be available.

Women's

Fashion for your infinite creativity. Comfort that will have you dancing 'til dawn. Keep your standards high with these durable, supportive and flexible dance boots and shoes! Contemporary designs for West Coast Swing and beyond.

marinelaurenshoes.com

 

[Bailango]

Not by much, if at all:

Leg length sex difference

Who has proportionally longer legs, men or women? Intuitively people assume that women's legs are proportionally longer but that is mostly a misconception. As seen in the graph attached to this article the crotch height (inseam) to body height ratio is almost identical between men and women...

misconceptions.fandom.com

I tried to find more scientific papers on this topic. Two relevant ones I discovered are:

Leg Length, Body Proportion, and Health: A Review with a Note on Beauty - PMC

Decomposing stature into its major components is proving to be a useful strategy to assess the antecedents of disease, morbidity and death in adulthood. Human leg length (femur + tibia), sitting height (trunk length + head length) and their ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144506000830

I fast read them but couldn’t determine what they were concluding when it particularly is about leg length between genders when all other physiological things being equal. Within the same gender (mostly men) we know that people who look of similar height when seating (torso length mostly) can have different heights when standing (leg length).

The second link above states:

In general, women tend to have a higher LBR than men.

The context of above is not clear to me nor whether it is saying women have proportionally (to their torso/upper body) longer legs or the opposite.

I don’t think there is a study that has done comparable studies on leg length to body ratio, leg length to torso ratio, torso to height ratio, on large scale across genders in different geographies around the world.

A few papers on aesthetics and how the leg length are perceived by opposite gender. Here is one;

https://www.science.org/content/article/what-makes-man-attractive-hint-look-his-limbs

I found more discussions among bike riders when it comes to leg length to height ratio. For examples here are 256 self reported ratios on a biking forum:

Short vs. long legs - Page 2

I noticed that quite many people on this forum says that they have long legs (in compare to their torso). Is in WW community more long-legged people than in nor

weightweenies.starbike.com

 

[Miradamiranda]

Within the same gender (mostly men) we know that people who look of similar height when seating (torso length mostly) can have different heights when standing (leg length).

This reminds me of once, actually probably my very first salsa experience decades ago, I was at a party sitting on a bar stool when this short salsa guy sitting across from me on the same type of bar stool. He was chatting me up and wanted to show me the basic step in salsa. Sitting, I look short. I got UP from the stool, while got DOWN from his stool and his face expression was one for the books…

 

[Miradamiranda]

Thanks for all the boot recommendations! I’ve found a Turkish company who does custom made. Anyone familiar with Movimiento? Tango-specific and in July great prices.

 

[Miradamiranda]

discussions among bike riders when it comes to leg length to height ratio.

Yeah that’s also an issue for me. My long legs require my saddle to be high, but since my torso is short and my arms length is normal, my handlebar is too far and too low for me. I love my bike, but I can’t adjust the handlebar height quite enough (for upright urban riding, not low road biking). Anyhow, I make do.

But a short torso like mine is an issue for cabeceoing while seated. I most definitely have more success while standing.

 

[TTanguero]

we know that people who look of similar height when seating (torso length mostly) can have different heights when standing (leg length)

Reminds me of a time I cabeceod a follower I didn't know. Sitting, she looked quite tall, but not super-tall. However, as soon as she stood up it was a different story! In the embrace, I literally couldn't see over her shoulder. I had to progress around the ronda by leading a turn to check the space before every move forwards.